Overview
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.
Description
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. Like a rural scene from an old Asian silk painting, Vang Vieng (ວັງວຽງ) crouches low over the Nam Song (Song River) with a backdrop of serene cliffs and a tapestry of vivid green paddy fields. Thanks to the Lao government closing the river rave bars in 2012, the formerly toxic party scene has been driven to the fringes and the community is rebooting itself as an adrenaline-fuelled adventure destination. The town itself is no gem, as concrete hotels build ever higher in search of the quintessential view. But across the Nam Song lies a rural idyll; spend a few days here – hire a bike, zipline, climb a cliff, go tubing or trekking – and soak up one of the country's most stunningly picturesque spots.