Activities in and around Muang Hiam
& Nam Et-Phou Louey National Park
MUANG HIAM TOWN & AROUND
Muang Hiem town in Houphan province was known to be dangerous for its many tigers, so people were told when passing through here “to beware”, which in the local dialect is “hiem”. Hence, the town was called Muang Hiem (“muang” means town or district). The Nam Khan River in Muang Hiam is the same river that flows by Luang Prabang UNESCO peninsula in to the Mekong River.
A small stupa, situated atop the hill, amazingly survived the heavy explosions during the war, and an unexploded bomb lodged deep inside the earth (the bomb was detected by UXO clearing teams).
In the center of town, is the market. You can purchase some fruits, sticky rice, BBQ and sour vegetable PakSom for picnic lunch when exploring the surroundings of Hiam.
Nam Et-Phou Louey National Park’s Headquarters & Visitor Center
(Open Monday-Friday from 9-5pm (lunch break 12-1.30))
The NEPL NP is the largest protected area in the country, spanning across three provinces: Houaphan, Luang Prabang, and Xiengkhouang. The NEPL NP is a critically important habitat of numerous threatened and endangered wildlife species. The National Park’s Headquarters and Visitor Center is located nearby the junction towards the hot springs. The visitor center offers an introduction to the protected area’s conservation work and the wildlife ecotourism projects. Contact the national park’s ecotourism team for more details. See location here.
Wildlife Conservation Tours & Homestays
Ecotourism in NEPL NP is designed to create a direct link between conservation and tourism, so that the money that visitors pay has a positive impact on encouraging local people to protect endangered wildlife. The ecotourism projects offer a unique opportunity to enter the Totally Protected Zone of the national park. (Read more).
Hot Springs (Open every day, 6am-11pm).
If you cross the bridge over the Nam Khan River and take right on to the dirt road, you will arrive to the hot springs located just 10-min walk from the main road (passing the national park’s office on the left). This is one of the hottest natural springs in the country; in fact you can boil an egg in it, so be careful! In daytime, relax and enjoy picnic huts. For bathing, you can choose between bathtubs or showers. Please remember to wear appropriate clothing (see Cultural Guidelines). Entrance fee 15’000LAK. See location here.
Muang Hiam School Forest & Self-Guided Hike (2024 update – closed).
The Hiam School Forest, a conservation forest of 635 ha was established by the Hiam secondary school in 2010. A self-guided hiking trail is available, and is starting from the national park’s office. Along the way see a bamboo forest transitioning into deciduous forest, the Indochina War trenches, a Tree House/View Point offering a beautiful view over Muang Hiam town, and Hok Don Waterfall. You can choose to either end the tour by visiting the giant old growth trees, or to go straight to the hot springs. Traveling 0.6 Km past the hot spring will take you to Muang Hiam Secondary School. More information and maps are available at the national park’s office. Please pay the hot springs entrance fee if you cross it.
Dam. Tad Louan Waterfall & Swimming
(5km. Around 20 min one way or 12 km the loop).
A quiet country road will lead you to the hydroelectric dam and waterfall, nice for swimming. To start, after crossing the Nam Khan River bridge, turn left before the petrol station. The route passes Ban Houay Saa village, a Hmong village that has traditional houses built at ground level (rather than on high posts). At the Y-junction, keep right and you will arrive at the top of the dam on the Nam Sat River. Pass the dam 100m, you will find a small path going down to the river. If you keep following the main road, it will become narrow after the power station and eventually lead to the Nam Khan River, possible to cross by bamboo bridge (motorbike will need to do river crossing). Continue through the rice fields and you will arrive at the main road in Viengthong village, turn left to return to the town. The loop is 12km, and is great for a run, or by bicycle/motorbike).
Tad Salay Waterfall & Swimming
(8 Km. Around 30 min one way by motorbike).
Travel towards Nong Khiaw/Luang Prabang for 4 km and turn right before the NamSat bridge. Continue beautiful country road trough mountainous agriculture valleys upstream the river for 4 km. There is no information sign about the waterfall, but you can notice the sound of the falling water, and a walking/motorbike path going down to the river. Bring some snacks to enjoy picnic by the waterfall.
Indochina War Airbase (Lima Site 36) & Village Homestay
(27 km. Around 2h one way by motorbike)
From Muang Hiam town, follow the signs as you head south for 7 km to Poung Hai village where asmall Buddhist temple is located, and is the only one in the area. Turn left at Poung Hai, and follow a scenic mountain dirt road for 15 km, and take a left at the Y-junction. After another 5 km, you will reach Ban Nakout. The village is 100% Tai Phuan ethnic group. Evidence of the former Indochina war airbase can still be found in the area (air slip, fuel tanks, etc.). The area is highly contaminated with UXO, please be careful! A simple but comfortable homestay/lodge is available in the village. Mr. Thongphet speaks English, contact him on +856 30 4818006. (Read More)
www.NamEt.org
+856 20 2860 0038
Cultural Guidelines
- Please dress appropriately when visiting villages. Men must wear a shirt and women must cover their shoulders and knees.
- Please take off your shoes when entering a house.
- If you want to take pictures of people, please ask for permission first.
- Smiles beget smiles. Please, be patient and kind.
- When bathing/swimming in public, women must cover the body from chest to knees.
- Please do not buy any wildlife or wildlife products. Selling & Buying wildlife is illegal in Lao PDR.
Trekking Tours
“The Nests” and “Cloud Forest Climb”
The Nam Et-Phou Louey National Park is pleased to introduce new ecotourism attractions “The Nests” and “The Cloud Forest Climb”!
These new hiking/trekking tours is a unique opportunity to visit and stay overnight in the protected area’s core zone. The tour length varies between 2 and 5 days (see the tours below) and along the trail clients will have the opportunity to help to check the wildlife camera traps and will receive electronic copies of the photos from their trip.
These new tours located in different part of the National Park than the Nam Nern Night Safari tour aim to distribute the visitor flow to reduce the negative impact to the protected area and to offer an economical alternative for new villages.
The treks operated in collaboration with surrounding villages and will directly benefit 12 villages through a village development fund. The amount of money received by the villages depends on the number of photos of rare wildlife taken by camera traps along the trail.
The project is designed to create a direct link between conservation and tourism so that the money that guests pay has a positive impact on encouraging local people to protect endangered wildlife.
The Nests
(Moderate to Difficult Trekking, 2 to 3 Days, Dry season only)
Moderate 2 and 3 day family friendly hiking tours to the heart of the protected area with overnight in cozy spherical baskets hanging from the trees – ‘The Nests’. Enjoy wildlife viewing from the observation tower at the nearby Poung Nied salt lick, which attracts animals such as the rare Sambar deer from far and wide.
Note: The Nests tours are available during the dry season only, from October to May/June (depending on the rainy season)
-> Click here to view the itineraries…
Cloud Forest Climb
(Challenging Trekking, 3 to 5 days, Dry season only)
An adventurous trekking 3 to 5 days up to the summit of Phou Louey (Forever Mountain) – one of the few Cloud forests in the region. This trek through the evergreen forest with overnights in the jungle huts in the heart of the protected area offer a great opportunity to track wild species such as white-cheeked gibbon, bears and wild dog using camera traps, which will be set up along the trail and maintained by tourists. You will also learn about the surrounding village life as the first night is spent in a Khmu village home-stay. The longer 5 day option also includes the final night in ‘The Nests’.
Note: The Cloud Forest Climb tours are available during the dry season only, from October to May/June (depending on the rainy season)
Do you know what a dhole is?
Did you know that this predator has disappeared from more of its traditional range and faster than the tiger and that it is thus considered by many to be more endangered? The Nam Et-Phou Louey National Park is blessed to still be host to a robust population of this rare canid and it is one of the most crucial locations for the species’ survival in mainland Southeast Asia.
The dhole (Cuon alpinus) is a member of the family canidae like wolves, domestic dogs, coyotes, and jackals. Though small in size (10-20kg) dholes hunt in large packs (often over 10 individuals) making them a competitor of the much larger tiger across its range in India and east Asia. They are one of only three hypercarnivours in the canidae family, meaning that their diet consists entirely of flesh. They have enhanced slicing teeth and reduced number of molars unlike most canids which have dental adaptations for omnivorous diets. This hypercarnivory is associated with their large pack sizes which makes for more efficient hunting of many large prey. This need for many large herbivores and thus very large ranges to feed such large packs is part of the reason the dhole has been so decimated by the habitat loss of the last half century; this in addition to persecution by humans for perceived dangers to livestock. As Nam-Et Phou Louey still contains relatively large tracks of forest and relatively high density of wild ungulates (such as pigs, muntjaks, serow, guar, and deer) the protected area serves as an island of relative safety for the dhole in a land otherwise barren of suitable habitat.
A Tiger Hunted By Wild Dogs (1807) by Samuel Howitt
In Nam Et-Phou Louey dholes have been demonstrated as having a strong preference for muntjacs (Muntiacus spp.) and sambar deer (Rusa unicolor), avoiding the much more abundant wild pig (Sus scrofa). This is perhaps due to the dangers posed by wild pigs’ own social pack behavior. They also have been observed to have a negative preference for serow (Capricornis milneedwardsii), possibly due to the serow’s almost exclusive occurrence in rugged upland areas while the dhole prefers the flatter lowland forests. The protection of muntjacs and sambar deer from human market hunting and illegal hunting in the Nam Et-Phou Louey Totally Protected Zone is thus essential for the dhole’s survival in Nam Et-Phou Louey and in Laos itself.
Sambar deer are a close second to muntjacs in dhole preference in Nam Et-Phou Louey
Muntjacs have been found to be the most sought after prey of dholes in Nam Et-Phou Louey
Dholes in Nam Et-Phou Louey appear to hunt in smaller packs than in other areas of their range such as many remaining populations in India. This could be due to smaller packs being necessary for ease of movement and ambush in the dense vegetation of Nam Et-Phou Louey as opposed to the more open environments of India. Maybe this smaller pack size is partially responsible for a greater ease of survival of dholes in Nam Et-Phou Louey, pure speculation.
The area east of Phou Louey mountain with its lush forests, less extreme topography, many salt licks, and high preference by muntjacs and sambar deer is thus a haven for dholes. This abundance along with the dhole’s diurnal (day time) behavior means that is one of the more likely large predators to be seen by visitors on any of the new eco-tourism trekking options offered by the protected area and the local communities; much more likely than seeing any of the very clandestine, very nocturnal cat species of Nam Et-Phou Louey. More, they are not an uncommon capture on the camera traps set up along these trekking routes as the photos here attest to (all taken within the same week in two different distant camera trap locations).
The new trekking tour options vary from 2 to 5 days inside the Protected Area and all tours include camera trap verification. Follow the link to read the trekking tour itineraries: https://www.namet.org/wp/wildlife-trekking-north-laos/
For more about the 2012 dhole study conducted in Nam Et- Phou Louey, its methods and its results, please see the attached article from The Journal of Mammalogy, June 2012 (https://academic.oup.com/jmammal/article/93/3/627/834260/The-diet-prey-selection-and-activity-of-dholes)
The Nam Et–Phou Louey National Protected Area hosts a large number of endangered species including the last tigers of Indochina, gaur, Sambar deer, and white-cheeked gibbon. Eco-tours organized by the protected area and Wildlife Conservation Society Laos offer unique opportunity to visit the protected area core zone and try luck to see the wildlife.
When on the Nam Nern Night Safari tour visitors can view rare wildlife as Sambar deer, various species of civets, Slow Loris, and Muntjacs while cruising down the Nam Nern River in the dark with the boat engine turned off (See more – What kind of wildlife can be seen on Nam Nern Night Safari tour?).
A new method to view wildlife has been introduced with the New Trekking Tours – The Nests and The Cloud Forest Climb – which opened in April 2016. These 2 to 5 day adventures inside the national protected area offer a unique opportunity for visitors to see rare wildlife – captured by the camera traps! The camera traps are special cameras that are equipped with a motion sensor that detects moving objects such as wildlife and are commonly used for ecological research to capture images of wild animals when researchers are not present.
The Wildlife Conservation Society Laos together with the monitoring team of the Nam Et-Phou Louey national protected area have identified the most appropriate locations, and ten camera traps have been installed along the trekking trails.
When on the trekking tour, visitors will help the protected area guides to check the camera traps and sort the wildlife photos captured by the camera traps. These photos will be shared with visitors as souvenirs, as well as uploaded to the website for further viewing and download.
See the first camera trap wildlife photos captured by the Poung Nyied saltlick nearby the Nests camp!
The Nam Et – Phou Louey national protected area has gained its popularity as being home to the last wild tigers in Lao PDR as well as for many other wild species endemic to Indochina as Gaur, Sambar deer (status: vulnerable), and the White-Cheeked Gibbon (status: critical).
The area displays an outstanding diversity of carnivores that includes:
- Six cat species (tigers, leopard, clouded leopard, Asian golden cat, marbled cat and leopard cat),
- Dhole (status: vulnerable),
- Two species of bear (Asian black bear and sun bear, status: vulnerable),
- 11 small carnivores including civets, mustelids, and mongoose.
Want to see larger list of all the species? –> Click here.
The Nam Nern Night Safari, the 24 hour eco-tour inside the protected area is promoted as “One of the few opportunities in Laos to see rare wildlife”. While visitors can see a range of wildlife during the tours, some species are very difficult to spot as they hear people approaching from a long way off. For example, due to its secretive nature and low numbers, the tiger is almost impossible to spot. This tour is very different from an African safari where lions may lounge by the road while clients take selfies. So the questions you may ask is: What wildlife can I actually see during the Nam Nern Night Safari tour?
The chart above presents the percentage of seen wildlife per species on tours in period of 2010-2015. Almost all our clients (90%) have seen at least few of the animals listed above and the average sightseeing per tour is 5 animals. The most common wildlife to be seen during the Nam Nern Night Safari tour is the rare Sambar Deer, Civets and Monitor lizards. Other common species are Muntjacs, Slow Loris and Otters. Some lucky clients have seen Asian Black Bears, Porcupines, Asian Golden Cat, Tiger Tracks and even a Leopard!
You are sure to see also high number of various bird species especially during day time. Preliminary surveys of the avifauna in the NPA were first undertaken in 1998 (Davidson 1998) and resulted in a list of 299 species. Of these, three species are listed as endangered or near threatened (NT), including Rufous-Necked Hornbill Aceros Nipalensis (VU), the beautiful Nuthatch Sitta Formosa (VU) and Blyth’s Kingfisher (NT) (IUCN 2009). However, the most common species you will most likely see during the tour are: Crested and Common Kingfisher, Red Jungle Fowl, Silver Pheasant, Crested Serpent Eagle, Black Drongo, Red-whiskered Bulbul, Spotted owlet.
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- Silver Pheasant
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- Crested Serpeant Eagle
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- Black Drongo
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- Red Jungle Fowl
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- Common Kingfisher
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- Red Whiskered Bulbul
The Nam Nern Night Safari is for those who wish to immerse in the heart of protected area and try their luck to spot the rare wildlife in cautious manner to preserve the animal natural behaviour. When doing the night safari, you encourage the local people to protect endangered species as the money received by villagers depends on the wildlife health and on the numbers of wildlife seen by the tourists.
We can’t guarantee that wild animals will hang out by the river to greet visitors, but we can promise you will learn about the wildlife conservation in Laos from naturalist guides and ex-hunters in the middle of the protected area, and if lucky spot wild animals.
See our previous client thoughts on Tripadvisor
We are proud that the Nam Nern Night Safari eco-tour in the heart of Nam Et-Phou Louey protected area has won the prestigious ‘World Responsible Tourism Award’ at the World Travel Mart in London, England, both in year 2013 and 2014.
In 2013, Nam Nern Night Safari won in the category, Best for Responsible Wildlife Experiences. The London judges describe the project as:
Nam Nern Night Safari has been designed to support the conservation of tigers and their prey, as well as other wildlife, by placing a monetary value on tigers and other wildlife for local people. Each reported sighting of wildlife by a tourist results in a financial reward for the villagers, and this includes people who might otherwise poach… The initiative has been very successful in increasing the number of wildlife sightings per boat – they have doubled.
In 2014 the Nam Nern Night Safari was the winner in the category People’s Choice in Responsible Tourism in association with National Geographic Traveller (UK). World Travel Mart comments:
When asked to prepare a special video for the People’s Choice this year, Nam Nern rose to the challenge – reminding us all what makes them so special. Developed by the Wildlife Conservation Society, they are a model for ecotourism in Laos – involving travellers in wildlife conservation by asking them to keep a record of the animals they see. Each animal is allocated a specific value, the more animals tourists see, the more money villagers get, which has led to a big reduction in poaching. The judges liked this project because of its benefits for both communities and wildlife – and it seems the people agree!
For more information see the World Responsible Tourism Awards website.
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