Luang Prabang: The Waterfalls

Luang Prabang is beautiful and it is surrounded by waterfalls, elephant camps, and other wonderful things one can visit. Unfortunately, we had a strict time limit so we had to choose amongst the numerous attractions available to us. We decided to go to the biggest waterfalls in the area for our last day.

When we got there, signs indicated that there were two ways to walk up to the waterfalls, left or right, but all signs recommended going to the right. Augustin wanted to go to the left. Why would we listen to a nineteen year old, right? I don’t know, but we did. The trail started off not so bad, but it was steep and it had just rained. The result? A mudslide. We got to the point where we had gone far enough that we didn’t want to turn around. By then I had already lost one of my shoes, fallen in the mud, and slid my way through the jungle-like forest. So when we came to a hill so steep I literally had to dig my way up with my hands and bare feet, it didn’t seem like that much of a big deal.

The problem is, if getting up was that difficult, coming back down would be worse. We eventually arrived to the top of the waterfalls, where we could see across to the other side. On the other side tourists were walking along a wooden pathway, clean from mud and sweat-free. I wanted to be where they were. Unfortunately, we saw that although there had once been a bridge connecting the two sides, the strong current had broken it. But the other side was so close. We had a choice: we could slide back down on our rear ends, dodging rocks and branches as we go, or we could try to cross despite the numerous “no swimming” signs. Quite the pickle. What to do? Well, Eve and I did what any logical, self-respecting woman would do: we sent the nineteen-year old boy in to test the waters.


Augustin, after a little feeling around, found an area where the rocks were high enough to allow him to cross without getting taken downstream by the current. This was excellent news, so we made him come back to carry all our stuff. Then, much to the surprise and awe of the tourists looking on from the other side, we stripped down to our bikinis and boxers and made our way across.

On the right side, the distance from top to bottom was a ten-minute walk. It had taken us 45 minutes on the other side. Damn that nineteen-year old.

We only found the real gem of the waterfalls about 45 minutes before we had to leave. This was a swimming hole that had a large tree and a rope so that you could jump right into the falls. If I could do it again, I would spend the entire day there. I would pack a lunch, bring some toilet paper, and make it my home. Unfortunately, we had very little time, but we made the most of it!