Organised treks

A number of tour operators in town specialise in taking groups to Muang Sing's surrounding ethnic villages to learn about life as an ethnic minority.

While the Muang Sing tourist office on the main road offers all sorts of different trekking options, the staff weren't particularly passionate about their treks when we inquired. Instead, we found both the trekking services of Phou Iu Guesthouse 2 and Hill Tribe Eco Treks to be particularly interesting.

Somphone Syavong of Hill Tribe Eco Treks speaks great English and acts as both guide and translator for you as you visit a variety of minority groups in the surrounding hills. His standard fee is 500,000 kip for an entire group to trek for one day, making it extremely economical if you can rustle up a few friends to split the costs. He's also able to customise treks for you if you want to go more remote or just don't feel like trekking for hours on end and want to shorten things up. Contact him on (030) 511 0578 or see him at his Muang Sing Views restaurant in the south of town.

The information on trekking at Phou Iu is very professionally laid out on laminated cards with detailed information about the trek you'll be undertaking. This gives a feeling of confidence that these people know what they're doing and know what you want. The fees here are a little more expensive than Somphone's, starting at 270,000 kip per person for a one-day trek.