Thakhek vs Pakse motorbike loop in Laos
After Vientiane, I decided to move on towards the south and make my next stop in Thakhek. I had heard from other travellers about a motorbike loop there which was supposed to be amazing.
Thakhek Loop
Thakhek itself has not much going on for it. A small and quiet town with not many activities for tourists. That being said, it immediately felt different from the previous cities I had been at in Laos – more authentic. I arrived in the evening and decided to rent a scooter on the following morning and head out for the famous loop.
The route for Thakhek loop came out something like this:
Day 1
I drove off early to catch most of the day. Immediately after leaving Thakhek you come across limestone cliffs on both sides of the road and plenty of opportunities to visit several caves. I personally decided to skip most of them and visit one that was supposed to be the biggest one in that area – Tham Nang Ene. The cave has walkways and stairs built inside of it so it is an easy visit. There is also a possibility to take a boat which takes you 1 km further inside but I decided to skip since there was no boatman around at that moment and I did not fancy waiting for a long time. It was probably because of the low season.
The road conditions turned out to be super nice along the way. Decent asphalt, wide roads and after turning away from the highway there was basically no traffic at all. I enjoyed driving in these conditions a lot so I kept on going and arrived at Thalang already by noon. Usually, people spend their first night on the loop in that village. I decided to grab some lunch at a local homestay restaurant and keep on going to reach Konglor at the end of the day.
The scenery got even nicer along the way. After Thalang, you will be surrounded by a river with dead trees around you. The road started to get more mountainous with easy turns and ascents/descents.
I reached the Nasam waterfall at 3.30 pm. The entrance was being closed already at 4 pm but I still decided to go for it. The 3 km trek there turned out to be more difficult than expected. It took me about 45 min through the jungle but after a couple of misturns, I finally reached it. Because of the rainy season, the amount of water in the falls was high and it was impossible to reach the actual waterfall. But, it was possible to see it from the distance next to a natural swimming pool. Since I seemed to be the only one there and I was pretty certain that no-one is gonna be there after me it was a perfect opportunity to do some skinny-dipping in the pool. What a refreshing and relaxing experience after a relatively hard trek.
After getting back from the waterfall it was still 60 km to Konglor. I arrived with perfect timing to see the sun setting on rice fields and mountains around from a bungalow. I checked in to Koun Mee Guesthouse. The dormitory-style bungalow cost only 30.000 KIP (ca. 3 €) and I happened to be the only guest.
By the end of day 1, I had driven 250 km.
Day 2
After waking up the next morning I walked straight to the Kong Lor Cave entrance. Since it was quite early in the morning and the boat needs to have at least 2-3 people to leave I needed to wait for some more people to arrive. Luckily, the waiting time was only 15 minutes for two other people to arrive. The price for the entrance is set these days at 65.000 KIP (ca 6.5 €) per person.
Kong Lor Cave is basically a river which heads through a limestone cliff. The cave has been called one of the South-East Asia geological wonders. It is 7 km long and wide and in some parts as high as 92 m. I managed to visit the Puerto Princessa Underground River cave in the Philippines before as well. Even though the Puerto Princessa cave is larger and longer the experience in Kong Lor was so much better – fewer tourists and the boat took us all the way through.
After visiting the cave I headed straight back to Thakhek this time using the highway. I was back already by 3 pm. By the end of day 2, I had driven 190 km. So in total, the loop is about 440 km.
So instead of usually recommended 3-4 days on the loop, I did it in 2 days. Personally, I didn’t feel like I rushed myself too much and managed to visit quite some places. But it is up to everyone themselves how long they wish to spend on the loop. I am just saying it is also possible to do it in 2 days.
Pakse Loop
After Thakhek I took a bus to Pakse. The town itself is quite similar to Thakhek (a bit bigger) with not much to do in it itself. There are only 2 cheap accommodation options (yummy bagpackers hostel and Down Town Guesthouse) for backpackers so it is not that hard to choose the one to stay at. After one day in the town, I rented a scooter again to head out for the loop in Pakse. The most popular motorbike rental (Miss Noy Motorbike) is just around the corner from Yummy’s and just across the street from Down Town Guesthouse. The loop was supposed to be done in 2-3 days.
The route for Pakse loop came up to something like that:
Day 1
Since I experienced in Thakhek that I can do quite some more distance in a day then I decided to add an extra visit to the loop. Wat Phu is a Khmer temple, so it belongs to the same heritage as Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Wat Phu is located 50 km south of Pakse which means it added 1h drive + 1h visit + 1h drive to the day. I was back at the start of the loop by 11 am.
If you are fond of waterfalls, then you are in for a treat on this loop. I attacked the loop clockwise direction and after about an hour of driving, I reached the first waterfall – Tad Pasuam. There are actually two waterfalls on that site.
After Tad Pasuam I took a break in Mr Vieng’s coffee plantation & homestay. It is also possible to take a tour around their plantation but I was happy with the delicious coffee already.
After half an hour more driving I reached the destination of the day – Tad Lo, by 3 pm. There is a small village with plenty of homestays & hostels to stay for a night. I can totally recommend Mama Pap homestay & restaurant. They offer food with huge portions and the pancake for breakfast was just amazing. Cheap prices for both food and accommodation. And the owner, Mama Pap, is just an amazing person.
Next to the village, there are two big waterfalls and the third one is just about 10 km away. I went on to check out Tad Lo and Tad Hang on foot from the homestay. One guesthouse in the village has a couple of elephants which they bring for a bath in the river at about 4.30 pm. While I was waiting for it next to the riverside, a couple of young monks came to my table and started playing checkers with just a bunch of rocks from the ground. It doesn’t take much to be happy, right?
Just before it was getting dark I made a last-minute decision to check out Tad Soung waterfall for sunset. I drove to the entrance which was already closed, but I just passed it with the bike to get closer. First, I went to the viewpoint of the waterfall which was disappointing. So, then I went to the top of the falls and I arrived there just in time! Managed to capture a beautiful sunset on the cliff with the water falling in front of it.
So by the end of day 1, I had driven 170 km + the roundtrip to see the sunset 20 km.
Day 2
On the morning of day 2, I wanted to check out Tad Soung from the bottom as well, but after a couple of different efforts, I did not manage to find a way there. Sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose.
The only other stop I made before reaching Paksong and the highlight of the loop was for fueling up.
The four main waterfalls are almost next to each other – Tad Yuang, Tad Fane, Tad Champy and Tad E-Tu. All of them are equally amazing! Tad Fane is the highest waterfall in Laos with a 120 m straight drop. There is a zipline option over the valley of Tad Fane, which I decided to go for. It is a bit pricey but the experience outdoes it for sure.
I had a break for a smoothie at Tad Champy and I was back at Pakse already by 3-4 pm.
The length of the second day was only 120 km. So in total, the drive was 310 km, including the visit to Wat Phu.
Conclusion
Both of the loops are great and worth doing. I think the duration I spent on these loops was quite sufficient for me to see the essentials.
The roads themselves are cooler in Thakhek (turning and winding through some hills as well) but I personally liked the loop in Pakse more just because of the waterfalls.
It is important to mention that the road conditions of both loops have increased dramatically during previous years. They are all wide and have newly paved roads. I was reading other blog posts from a couple of years back and they were talking about muddy and tough conditions. So both loops are an easy drive for also beginners and manageable with an automatic scooter these days.
The Pakse loop was really one of the highlights of my visit to Laos!
To get a better feeling about the loops and also Laos then check out my video – 3 WEEKS IN LAOS – land of temples, caves and waterfalls
