Trekking from Salavan

Salavan may one day become an important centre for trekking and tours, but until the road goes through to Vietnam in 2009 (or whenever it's actually finished) its potential remains on hold. The provincial tourism office has begun to establish two local treks that can be done either by motorbike, bicycle or on foot. Bicycles can be rented at the market or at the Provincial Tourism office for about 50,000 kip per day -- motorbikes can't be rented in Salavan, so you'll have to have rented your own before arriving, or find a local who's willing to rent you their motor-bike for the day. The treks can be done on your own or with a local guide -- 50,000 kip per day. We haven't reviewed these yet, so if you try them out, let us know how it went.

Nong Bao Lake
This is an 18km trek that takes four hours each way on foot, two hours on a bicycle, and less than an hour by motorbike. Along the way you can visit the ethnic villages of the Il and Souay tribes. It terminates at an old, natural lake -- Nong Boa -- which has long been inhabited by crocodiles. These days there are only three crocs living there in the dry season, and as many as 6 in the wet season. If you go up on your own and want to crash for the night, just ask one of the local villagers for a home-stay -- you should offer to pay at least 20,000 kip per night.

The Ho Chi Minh Trail
This famed 'trail' -- hero of the war with America -- was, of course, not a single trail but a complex network of pathways used by the Vietcong and their allies as a north-south supply route to their forces fighting south of the DMZ. In a testament to its strategic importance, the Americans were always trying to bomb it, and when they couldn't find it, just carpeted the whole area where it might be hoping to hit something. Little did they know at the time that a 40km stretch of the trail, linking the villages of Ta Oy and Kaleum, could be easily accessed by a scenic 7km trip to the north-east of Salavan, by bicycle, motorbike, or on foot. The minority villages of the Ta Oy, Il, and Souay can be visited along the way. In rainy season, it will be necessary to do part of the journey by boat on the river. If you do the trip on your own STAY ON THE TRAIL. This area is lousy with unexploded bombs. Best to hire a guide.

Ta Oy
For those undeterred about the dire warnings about this epic, 80km journey in our introduction to Salavan Province, the road you're looking for is 15B, not that you'll find signs to that effect, and it heads out of Salavan to the northeast. May the Force be with you.