Day 156 – Nong Khiaw
Hiking 100 Waterfalls and 360 degree views
Today we had breakfast before arriving at Nong Khiaw Adventure Tours, for our tour of 100 Waterfalls at 9:00am. There was a group of 8 people and our tour guide Mr Mun. He was fluent in English and was quite funny. We started by walking to the pier and getting a boat, which went down the Nam Ou River for an hour.
The mountains were covered in mist and it was a little chilly in the boat. Every time someone moved, the boat would sway a little too much for my comfort levels and it must have been the same for most people, as no one was moving. The views were stunning and the water was cool.
We arrived at a small village with only 35 families. Here we got a local guide, who had his 11 year old son come along too. We walked away from the village and into the relatively flat areas that are normally used for rice paddies, but currently were used for growing tobacco.
There were a few streams to cross, and the mountain views surrounded us. After an hour or so, we arrived at a stunning site, the first waterfall. The local guide just walked straight into it. That’s when we realised our shoes are going to get wet. Some people decided to go bare foot. The water wasn’t too deep with my hiking boots staying dry for around 80% of the waterfalls. It only got wet when I put my foot into a waterfall, which let the water flow in from the top.
The name “100 Waterfalls” comes from the cascade of heaps and heaps of waterfalls as the water makes its way down the mountain. It was a very cool experience. There were some slippery rocks to walk on, but for the most part the hike was easy to moderate.
After maybe an hour of hiking, we arrived at a massive 20-25 meter tall waterfall, which was the final waterfall. After resting a bit at the base, we climbed around the waterfall to a view point with some tables for lunch. Here we ate food, that the guide had bought from the city. It was noodles with eggs, and it was delicious.
After lunch, we descended the mountain from the side and just followed the local guide’s son. At a rest point we waited for the two adult guides. It turned out the local guide was making bamboo shot glasses, which were super cool. It looked like we were the only group to receive this so it depends on the local guide you get.
We then went back to the starting village and chilled for a while. It was fun to watch the kids running and playing their random games. We then got on the boat and returned to Nong Khiaw. The mist from the morning was gone, so it felt like we were going down a completely different river.
In town, we said goodbye to the group and went to get some fruit shakes to cool down as the sun was beating down on us, at 2:30pm. We then headed back to Pho Sai Riverview Guesthouse and relaxed.
We then decided to walk to the Nong Khiaw Viewpoint, which is a steep hike up a mountain, really popular at sunrise and sunset. We started the climb from the base at 4:50pm and reached the top in an hour as we went as fast as we could. The climb was intense, but OMG, that view. The 360 degrees views of the small town, river and mountains is incredible.
Just before the end of sunset, we decided to leave, so the climb down would not be in complete darkness. The descent took us another hour. The night skies are amazing with stars and what was possibly a planet visible.
One of the coolest days in a while!
The 100 Waterfalls trek’s price depends on the number people on the tour. We paid 200,000 LAK / $32.56 AUD per person. The Nong Khiaw Viewpoint entrance fee was 20,000 LAK / $3.26 AUD per person.