2 Days The Nests and Wildlife Observation Tower

In Brief: Trek into the heart of the National Park and overnight in spherical baskets hanging from the trees – ‘The Nests’. Identify proof of wildlife along the trail (footprints, scat, scratches, etc) and verify wildlife camera traps. Try your luck to hear the critically endangered Northern White-Cheeked Gibbons and to spot birdlife and wildlife from the observation tower overlooking a salt lick that attracts animals such as the rare Sambar deer from far and wide.

Accommodation on tour: 1 night in The Nests.
Option: Add extra night in the ecotourism village home-stay the night before/after the tour.

Seasonality: Dry season only, from October to May/June (depending on the rainy season).

Difficulty: Moderate to Hard. Please note this itinerary requires a total of 14 kilometers walking in difficult terrain over two days (rocky streams to cross, steep hills to climb and dense vegetation). Please sign up for this tour only if you have experience with trekking and if you are confident in your physical ability to deal with such stresses.

Elevation profile, Day 1 & 2 follow the same path:

Rates & Booking, follow to this link: RATES & BOOKINGS

For more information, please contact info@namet.org

Itinerary:

Please note that the itinerary below is approximate. Small change can occur as we are in remote and wild Laos and it is impossible to predict everything. However, please trust that the National Park’s guide will do the most to ensure you have the best possible wildlife experience.

Day 1

Enter the National Park. Wildlife Observation Tower and overnight in the Nests.
(5km local tractor + 7.5 km forest trek. 1h tractor + 4 hours trek. Elev. Gain/Loss +460m/-420m. Avg. Slope +11%/-10%)

Morning

The National Park’s English-speaking guide and driver will meet clients at around 8:00am at the guesthouse in Muang Hiem.

First, visit the National Park’s headquarters and Visitor Center in Muang Hiam. The guide will share a presentation of the Nam Et-Phou Louey National Park and introduce the on-the-ground efforts in protecting wildlife.

After a 30-minute drive along a curvy road through gorgeous mountainous landscapes and through the National Park corridor you will arrive at Ban Nam Poung Village, an ethnic Khmu Village, situated on the edge of the National Park’s boundary.

The village guide, porters and cooks will be waiting to greet you at the village. The guide will inform you about the itinerary of the upcoming tour.

At around 9.30 am clients will get on a hand tractor (tok tok) – a tractor for plowing rice paddies that can be converted into a transportation vehicle and pass through this Khmu village. This is a good opportunity to see the daily village life and briefly learn about Khmu culture. The following 5km on the tok tok will continue through the village’s rice and corn fields with moderate climbs, learning along the way about upland rice cultivation and rural livelihoods.

Once at the edge of the fields and forest the guides will explain the different management zones of the park and we will start trekking into the National Park. The trek will follow a 7km trail built and maintained by the village. This trail passes through a thick jungle and mixed deciduous forest. At about 12:00, enjoy a local picnic lunch inside the National Park.

Afternoon

After the lunch, continue trekking. The local guide will show you medicinal plants and spot animal tracks and birds along the way. After around 4 hours trekking inside the National Park, you will arrive at the Nests campsite and will be shown to your accommodation – the hanging spherical “Nests”. Enjoy free time to relax and bath in the nearby river.

Evening

Relax around a campfire inside the National Park and enjoy a traditional Khmu dinner prepared by the village cooking group at around 6-7 PM. Dinner is eaten at the camp and is not allowed at the observation tower.

After dinner, you will receive a briefing about wildlife viewing at the Poung Nied salt lick – one of the largest salt licks in the National Park. The guides will inform tourists about the species of animals they may see and explain the rules and expectations for spotlighting.

It’s important to follow the introduced rules, such as: no talking, no eating at the salt lick observation tower. We will stay at the observation tower for a few hours (depending on your curiosity and patience) until no later than 11:30 pm.

The most common animals that you might spot include Sambar and barking deer (AKA muntjak) and various species of civets, although, if lucky, you may see also other protected animals such as bears, dhole, several species of wild cats and others.

Please wear warm clothes as it can be quite cold in the late evening/night time.

Night

Overnight in The Nests (two people per Nest).

Day 2

Morning Gibbon calls and Birdwatching. Exit the National Park.
(7.5 km forest trek + 5km local tractor. 4 hours trek + 1h tractor. Elev. Gain/Loss +420m/-460m. Avg. Slope +10%/-11%)

Morning

Early morning before breakfast, your guide will offer you two options:

First option, wake up at 6:00 AM walk back to the nearby salt lick to identify different wildlife tracks. Spend approximately an hour in the observation platform, as morning is a great time for bird watching. After, follow the guide to check the camera traps.

Second option, wake up early morning at 5:30 and walk for 20 minutes up the mountain to try your luck to listed to the calls of the critically endangered Northern White Checked Gibbons. Enjoy sunrise and birdwatching from a small viewpoint platform in a tree. At 6:30 follow the guide to check the camera traps.

Once back to the camp, enjoy breakfast and view wildlife camera trap photos taken by the camera trap during the previous night.

Twelve surrounding villages involved in this project receive monetary bonuses in the form of a village development fund based on the number and type of wildlife, and wildlife proof identified and viewed in the camera traps (Fee is included in the tour price).

Return – trek from The Nests to Ban Nam Poung Village

Trek back through the forest to the village’s fields, and enjoy a farmer’s picnic lunch before riding the tok tok (hand tractor) back to the village. Arrive in the village in early afternoon. Once arriving in the village your village hosts will bid you goodbye.

You will be then transferred back to Muang Hiem by private truck or van.

-end of the itinerary-

Departure suggestion (If travel with local transport)

Overnight in Village home stay or in Muang Hiem after the tour.

The local bus to Sam Neau and Phonsavan junction departs at 8am every morning from the Muang Hiam bus station.

The local bus to Nong Khiaw and Luang Prabang passes through Muang Hiem every day at approximately 12pm -1pm.
In the morning go for walking through the school forest trail and/or enjoy the Muang Hiem Hot Springs before getting the bus at noon at the bus station.

What to bring?

Weather note – Weather can be both very hot during the daytime and very cold at night. It is recommended that you bring clothes for both extremes.

Water note – Please note that we provide boiled stream water on the multiple day trekking tours. Please take your own water purification tablets.

We ask that you please bring just one small backpack and leave large suitcases or long‐haul backpacks in the village or your car.

Please bring the following:

• light rain jacket or poncho (strongly recommended)
• fleece jacket (strongly recommended as November to February can be very cold)
• both sun hat for daytime and wool cap for night
• long pants for walking in the forest
• good walking shoes and sandals for bathing
• clothes for bathing (shorts and t-shirt). Please no nude/bikini bathing.
• Warm clothes for sleeping (as November to February can be very cold)
• snacks (food is provided, but you might want to bring something to snack on)
• water purification tablets (for multi-day treks the water is boiled)
• towel and toiletries
• insect repellent
• flashlight
• binoculars
• reusable water bottle (help us reduce waste)

What is included:

• National Park’s Entrance Fee
• Village Ecotourism Benefit Fund Fee
• District Office of Information, Culture & Tourism Fee
• National Park’s English Speaking Guide
• Village team services: village guide/wildlife spotter, porters, cooks, cleaning and handicraft group
• Transport Muang Hiam-Village-Muang Hiam
• Food and water
• Sleeping equipment (Mattress, Mosquito net, Pillow and Sleeping Bag)
• Leech Socks

Optional:

• Your own sleeping bag and/or sleeping sheet (we provide a sleeping bag, but you can use your own if you have)
• Our porters will carry all camping equipment, however if you would like someone to carry your personal items for you, you may pay extra for an additional porter. Please ask our staff about this.

Packing list recommendations from a former visitor, please follow this link: https://www.faces2hearts.eu/asia-pacific/to-the-jungle-travel-tips-for-trekking-in-nam-et-phou-louey/

For more information, please contact info@namet.org