Vang Vieng, Laos - The Paradise to Discover
Go for Vang Vieng Challenge, amazing place of adventure in Vang Vieng, showing this popular destination from a completely different and previously unseen angle.
Vang Vieng, Laos - Top 10 Tourists Attractions in Laos
If you’re the adventurous sort, you should not miss the adventure capital of Laos, Vang Vieng. As it is surrounded by karst hills, limestone cliffs, caves and rivers, you can do a lot of adventure activities in the area such as kayaking, rock climbing, spelunking, trekking and more! To make your experience extra special, ride a hot-air balloon and view the incredible scenery up above.
Vang Vieng is a small town north of Vientiane, on the Nam Song River in Laos. It's surrounded by striking limestone mountains and caves. Tham Poukham, to the west, is a cave with a blue-green lagoon and a reclining Buddha statue. North is the deep Tham Nam Cave, which has a spring at its entrance. Nearby, Tham Xang Cave has a stalactite resembling an elephant. The town is home to 16th- and 17th-century monasteries.
Vang Vieng, Laos - Top 10 Tourists Attractions in Laos
Vang Vieng for many travelers is simply a piece of heaven on earth. Surrounded by scenic landscape ranging from mountains to rivers and limestone cliffs to rice fields, this small and scenic town offers a long list of interesting attractions. The Nam Song River is where you will witness the famous tubing – and young travellers sitting in large inner tubes floating downriver is a common sight in Vang Vieng. Actually it has become a large part of the reason why many young people come here in the first place. The well-known Tham Poukham Cave features the ‘Blue Lagoon’, a nice spot to swim and swing lazily on a rope, while Tham Norn is among one of the biggest caves in Vang Vieng. If time allows, make a stop at the local market to catch a gimpse of everyday life in a typical Lao rural area.
Vang Vieng Dining
The dining scenery in Vang Vieng, Laos has much to entertain gourmets. You find a plethora of foods, from the Asian stir-fired dishes to pasta, soups, salad, pizza, etc. If these mouth-watering names are to your liking, then just pick up any of the following fantastic restaurants where to eat in Vang Vieng to stay happy throughout the culinary adventure in this laid-back destination.
Best Nightlife in Vang Vieng
Vang Vieng has a number of bars catering to the backpacker crowd. They serve beer in bottles or you can buy cheap spirits in plastic buckets that come equipped with straws so that one bucket may be shared among many. Young people gather around their buckets and guzzle away. The main bar of this sort in town is the Q Bar on the main street about 20m (66 ft.) from the main junction heading north. There is an island in the river opposite the Vang Vieng Orchid Hotel where a whole slew of bars have appeared. They are effectively giant shacks with overworked sound systems that do little for the natural evening serenity of Vang Vieng. The aptly named Bucket Bar and the longer-running Smile Bar seem the most popular but that can change week by week.
Vang Vieng Organic Farm
Though the guesthouse at Vang Vieng Organic Farm, formerly the Organic Mulberry Farm, has gone downhill, the restaurant remains a great spot for a meal and it’s a worthwhile pit stop before tubing or if you’re out exploring by bicycle or motorbike. While we’re not sure if they still produce their once famous goat cheese or how much of the ingredients are still grown on the farm, the dishes are tasty and ingredients fresh. The yellow harvest curry is superb as are the spring rolls and the mango sticky rice. Thirsty? You have to try the mulberry juice for 15,000 kip. Main dishes start at only 25,000 kip. Sadly this place seems a bit lost and it is rarely busy but it should be because it’s better than a lot of the stuff in town. Vang Vieng Organic Farm is located four kilometres north, directly next to the tubing start point. Prices here are great for the quality on offer and cheaper than some of the generic places in town. Worth a trip in its own right.
Kangaroo Sunset Restaurant
Kangaroo Sunset Restaurant and Bar is a good spot for watching the magnificent Vang Vieng sunset while snacking on a tasty burger and sipping on a cold beer. What really sets this place apart is the bright and breezy pavilion - a perfect place to chill. A pool table is free to use and there are some groovy beats on the sound system too. Open 08:00-midnight.
Sala Pha Deng
Sala Pha Deng riverside restaurant has some of the most stunning views in town. Located on the banks of the Nam Song River, the restaurant has a big terrace and plenty of tables to choose from as well as a lovely wooden bar. The views of the unspoiled river and mountains are a major reason why this place is so popular.
Vang Vieng Shopping
Laos is an excellent destination for anyone interested in picking up elaborate handicrafts. Hill-tribe silks, arts, crafts, home-furnishings, jewellery and couture quality textiles dominate the market. Although many of these products are available in Thailand, some of the things listed above are unique to Laos and its hill-tribes. In buying traditional crafts such as silks and carvings, tourists are invariably helping to support a still-growing and fragile economy.
Vang Vieng Activities
When you arrive in Vang Vieng, a visually unappealing town, you'll be faced with a choice: fight or flight. Resist the urge to flee. Fight through the central backpacker ghetto, with its guesthouse restaurants blasting Friends DVDs on a constant, mind-numbing loop, and make your way to the Nam Song River and the breathtaking karst peaks beyond. The surrounding natural beauty more than makes up for the appearance of the town itself -- less than a mile across the fast-moving waters rises a complex of karst limestone mountains rippling into the distance to a great height, their summits often wreathed in trails of cloud. A few days spent exploring caves, kayaking, trekking, or just sitting at a riverside bar and enjoying a cocktail while admiring the scenery (a personal favorite) is highly recommended. Vang Vieng also lies at the start of one of Asia's great mountain journeys -- the spectacular drive to Luang Prabang.