Things to do in Pakse

Ban Saphai

The small island on Don Kho, 17km from Pakse on the Mekong river is home to Saphai village (Ban Saphai) which is renowned for it's silk weaving, and provides an excellent opportunity for a day-trip or overnight stay from Pakse. It was settled by a group of families from Attapeu hundreds of years ago, and today there are 44 families living on the island, making up a total population of 396. Their traditional Lao-style houses ring the island which can be easily circumnavigated in a couple of hours. The houses are all on stilts providing a cool space beneath where just about every family spends the day spinning thread and weaving fabric by hand -- when they aren't cultivating local crops of corn, watermelon, and rice.

It's frequently visited by tour groups and the islanders are well-used to visitors, though they have a surprisingly light touch when it comes to hawking their wares and a great sense of humour about being the object of so much attention. Looking around the island today, it's hard to believe that it was the administrative centre of the area for ten years during the 1800's under French colonial rule, before the centre was moved to Pakse. Don Kho also provided a safe and convenient location for docking French ships, though the old administrative buildings are gone now save a few stones here and there.

Tours are available which include information about weaving, about the history of the island, but we found it was a great place to visit on your own, stroll around a bit, and chat with the locals. You can also stay overnight -- one of the families will put you up for 20,000 kip per night, and you'll have to kick in for meals.

There are houses all over the island, so just take a stroll around. There's a small restaurant on the western side of the island -- take the road that runs east-west through the rice fields, turn right at the end, and look for the sign. We can't guarantee you'll be well-fed -- on our visit all they had was eggs! But it's a relaxing place for a cool drink overlooking White Beach, a patch of sand that's not really white, but you can swim if you want, though April through March are the best months for that. Also, the sand is increasingly being carted away and used for construction. But it's a pleasant spot all the same.

Tours can be arranged at the Visitors' Information Centre in Pakse or through any place that has travel services. A boat tour of the island should cost about 50,000 kip per person, 40,000 kip extra for an English-speaking guide.

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17km from Pakse
How to get there: To get here, head 17km north along the road to Vientiane. At the town of Saphai, turn left, and continue until you hit the water. There you can easily hook up with a very skinny traditional boat called a rua pai, fitted with a modern boat engine, to take you across to the island for 5,000 kip. You can also ask for a paddle boat if you prefer. Be careful getting in the boat -- they tend to tip over pretty easily. Once you reach the other side you'll be scrambling up a bamboo ladder built on the side of the embankment.

Tad Fane

Just past km 38 along the road to Pak Song is Tad Fane -- a picturesque twin set of waterfalls spilling 200 metres down into a deep gorge, located in the jungle of Dong Hua Sao, which is a National Biodiversity Conservation area. Overlooking the falls is a single resort, appropriately called the Tad Fane Resort. The falls are quite striking, but unlike other falls in the area, swimming opportunities aren't available unless you take a half-day hike under the supervision of a guide -- both the top and the bottom of the falls are a long haul from the resort through the jungle. For the casual visitor, pretty much all you can do is look at them. Half-day treks to the top of the falls can be booked here for US$5 per person, full-day treks including a visit to a local village and a coffee plantation cost US$10. This is another good example of how the Lao government is wisely developing the tourist infrastructure -- local villagers are allowed to sell handicrafts to tourists only if they promise not to engage in illegal hunting and logging which has been having a negative impact on the ecosystem. So, save a tree and buy something.

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38km from Pakse
How to get there: To get out here from Pakse, a tuk-tuk will take you to the falls for US$20 flat rate. The local bus costs 15,000 kip, and departs from Pakse's Southern Bus Terminal. Entrance to the falls if you're not staying at the resort is 3,000 kip. If you don't plan to take a trek or stay at the falls, it's worth a quick look on the way to Tad Nguing.

Tad Nguing

Just two km up the road from Tad Fane, this waterfall is often overlooked -- for no good reason we can think of. It's a stunningly beautiful spot, brilliantly green, and though the waterfall is not the highest in the area, it's wide and amply impressive. It's easy to access from the road -- the path leads first to the pools at the top of the falls, and then there's a path to the right that winds down to the pool at the bottom. It's a slippery, slightly treacherous climb down the stone steps, which are perpetually slick from the constant spray, but once down you can scramble across the rocks into the water for a cool dip in one of the most beautiful spots in Asia.

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2km from Tad Fane