Luang Prabang City Tour & Kuang Si Waterfalls
Description
This full-day private tour combines a Luang Prabang city tour with an afternoon excursion to Kuang Si Waterfall. In Luang Prabang, you will visit various temples and royal palaces and learn about Lao history culture and local life. Walking with a local guide, you will hear stories about the history of the temples and the city, Buddhist stories and legends painted all over the walls of the temples, and more, giving you a taste of Luang Prabang's culture. In the afternoon, we will head to Kuang Si Waterfall. There will be time to bathe in the emerald green waterfalls and visit a bear rescue center. On the way back, we will visit a Hmong village and have the opportunity to meet the ethnic minorities and get a glimpse of their culture.
Tour Options
Itinerary
[5:30 am opition only] In Buddhism, alms or almsgiving is the respect given by a lay Buddhist to a Buddhist monk, nun, spiritually-developed person or other sentient being. It is not charity as presumed by Western interpreters. It is important to know the ceremony is also a spiritual practice to accumulate good karma for those who give the alms. It is closer to a symbolic connection to the spiritual realm and to show humbleness and respect in the presence of the secular society. The act of almsgiving connects the human to the monk and what he represents. The morning alms giving is a living Buddhist tradition for the people of Luang Prabang which, because of its beauty, has become a major tourist attraction. However, when tourists are unaware of its customs their inappropriate behaviors can be disruptive.
[5:30 opition tour only] I Following alms giving, we visit a local morning market. Luang Prabang morning market lining a couple of quiet streets near the Royal Palace, starts early and is over by mid-morning. It sets up along a couple of side-streets next to one of the city’s many Wats. A butcher and some of the more touristy stalls have actual tables for their wares. But most of the vendors, selling anything from rice, to fresh vegetables, to steamed fish, frogs, and anything else that might be the day’s catch, just set up on the ground. We go back to your accommodation and have a free time for breakfast until 8:30 am.
The second part of this tour begins at riverview park on the peninsula tip. You will have a brief introduction to Luang Prabang, standing where the Nam Khan River meets the Mekong River. From there, walk to the famous Wat Xieng Thong temple.
Wat Xiengthong was considered the ceremonial gateway to the city and was the arrival and departure point for foreign dignitaries for centuries. We will walk up the stairs to the main gate and enter the temple like ancient dignitaries. Wat Xieng Thong, once known as “The Temple of the Golden City”, holds great cultural, historic and architectural importance. It is serenely situated near the tip of the peninsula at the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Khan Rivers, with a grand staircase leading up from the Mekong. (Entrance fee 30,000 kip)
Next, we will go temple hopping in the neighborhood. At Wat Sene, where there is a school for novice monks, you may meet again with novice monks you met on the morning alms. The temple was built in 1718 by King Kitsarath with 100,000 stones from the Mekong river. It literally means "Temple of 100,000 treasures"
[The museum is closed on the last Thursday of every month and cannot be visited] We will visit the Royal Palace. The Royal Palace, which is today the national museum and built by French colonialists between 1904-09, displays a lovely collection of the artefacts reflecting the richness of Lao culture. (Entrance fee 60,000 kip)
The morning tour ends with a climb up Phousi Hill. Rising 150m in the centre of town, you enjoy spectacular 360 degree views across the city and its many temples, and over the surrounding landscape to the mountains in the distance. (Entrance fee 30,000 kip) Free time until the afternoon to head to the waterfall
Kuang Si Waterfalls
[Joint tour options only] The journey continues as we follow the water's path to the Kuang Si Heritage Rice Farm. Witness how the falls' water irrigates the terraced paddies and taste fresh, traditionally pressed sugarcane juice. You'll see firsthand the vital connection between the forest, the water, and the local way of life. Conclude your unforgettable day with a magnificent sunset cruise, returning to Luang Prabang around 6:30 PM. This gentle journey back on the Mekong perfectly captures the tranquil spirit of your adventure.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We will pick you up from any accommodation in Luang Prabang city. Choose the 5:30 tour start if you want to participate in the early morning almsgiving
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants are required to sit on an adult’s lap
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(92)
This was essentially a walking tour of Luang Prabang, with an added visit to a beautiful series of waterfalls about 30 km away. My guide was a former Buddhist monk from a highlands tribe who provided great insight into how Laos is culturally "put together" among the various population groups. He was also easily able to relate the stories behind the temple displays, and explain the meaning of the rituals performed there.
The falls were great. 2 hours were allotted to spend there. Opportunities to swim, visit the bear refuge, zip line or climb to the tree top cafe. The stop along the way at the Hmong village seemed rather rushed and an afterthought though since we were rushing to have more time at the falls. We had a good guide who gave commentary on the drive to and back from the falls.
Tiring morning driving, too many unnecessary details, for the rest it is really worth it, well organized and beautiful places, probably the organization for the Tak Bar, can be improved.
After the takuhatsu, they came back to the hotel to pick us up again, and we went sightseeing in the city, and then back to the hotel again, and finally it was a waterfall process. There was no guide who spoke Japanese when he came to pick me up, but when I got to the Takuhatsu place, there was a guide and he taught me about Laos very carefully. I can rest assured that nothing in particular has happened! You can go in and play at Quancy Falls, so you should take a swimsuit or wear one. Also, if you want to climb, you should go with sneakers (it's very slippery depending on the route, you might need a towel if you want to go into the pool) because you can climb (and sometimes the gaijin go to the English guide, although I picked up three times but I ride the bus with a lot of people. I might be able to walk around the city if I tried, but I was right to join the tour because I was traveling around Laos by car or motorbike. The takuhatsu was also early in the morning, but I recommend it. Quancy Falls was also great. I found it wonderful that they were guides who spoke both Japanese and English. Thank you very much.
Started the day with alms giving followed by walking the morning fresh market. After breakfast, visited the Royal Palace (now a museum), the Haw Phra Bang temple and Phousi Hill. After lunch, visited a small village and Kuang Si waterfall. Quite a lot done in a day - all of which were wonderful. Both guides (morning and afternoon) were excellent.
Activities during the day were great! Just a very packed day and therefore sometimes too little time at some places. Overall great experience!
😊 Got the mix of fun activities but maybe a bit too jam-packed 😅. Would you say it was worth it or would you tweak the schedule next time?
The entire tour, that is, early in the morning give the monks rice, then morning market, after breakfast the lookout point, royal palace and temple, and after lunch the drive to the falls and Hmong village is already a great program. Organization, leadership, drivers are all excellent. Unfortunately, Luang Prabang is now a totally overrun tourist place, many groups with the group-typical ruthlessness, it is necessary to avoid them. The Hmong village was really precarious in my eyes, here the country and the tourist organization does itself no favors to show this.
Thank you for your kind appreciation. I truly value your recognition and it means a lot to me. Your words of encouragement have motivated me to continuously strive for excellence. I assure you that I will use your positive feedback as a driving force to improve my performance further and contribute more effectively to the team and the company. Once again, I appreciate your gratitude and I am grateful to be part of such a supportive team under our leadership
We took the option of entering offerings to the Monks in the morning and the truth our guide was not friendly. Then, when we were joined by more people, while his attitude improved, he was not a good guide. Afterwards, he took us to lunch at a restaurant that we could not choose (not included in the value of the tour) and when 15 minutes passed since the dishes were brought, he started to rush us because more people joined the tour and we had to finish lunch, so I could not eat my whole plate. We didn’t know that more people (twice as many) were going to join the tour and they changed the guide without warning, which was ill-mannered and the Van didn’t have the necessary safety measures for the seats ahead. Besides, when I asked him a question about the option of taking a boat, he was rude to me.
Thank you for sharing your feedback regarding your recent Luang Prabang City Tour and Kuang Si Waterfalls excursion. We sincerely apologize for the series of frustrations you experienced; this is far from the high standard of hospitality we aim to provide. First and foremost, please accept our deepest apologies for the incident at the restaurant. It is completely unacceptable that you were directed to a place without choice and, even worse, rushed to finish your meal only 15 minutes after being served. We understand how stressful and disappointing this must have been, especially as you were looking forward to a relaxed lunch. We also take your comments regarding our guide’s lack of communication and professionalism very seriously. We clearly failed to inform you about the change in group size and the transition between guides. A guide's role is to be helpful and respectful, and it is distressing to hear that you were treated rudely when asking a simple question about the boat option. Furthermore, we have noted your concerns regarding the safety measures in our vehicle. Please be assured that we are currently reviewing our guide assignments and vehicle safety protocols to ensure this does not happen again. We value your honesty, as it highlights the areas where we must improve. We would like to make things right—please feel free to contact us directly so we can discuss this further. Sincerely, Yuki
Enjoyed our tour very much! Our guide Boune took told us interesting info about Luang Prabang, and helped take our photos. He is very funny also! We started really early, and the program went on as planned without feeling like we were rushing.
Manifa Travel I joined a sightseeing tour of the city with a Japanese guide, Quanshi Falls. In the morning we went with a group of five Japanese people and seven of us. They will participate in Elephant Camp Elephant Empowerment Tour in the afternoon, The afternoon tour is just for us. The tour was kept to itself by the Japanese guide. Mr. Kang's explanation was easy to understand and he was courteous. It was a lot of fun. It was also a kind and wonderful tour. Thank you very much. The driver was also a very nice person and gave me a plastic bottle. I thanked him for our poor Laotian "kop chai" and he returned it with a smile. He was a lovely man with a smile. Thank you very much, Mr. Kang, the Japanese guide, and the driver.
