Thakhek > Mahaxay> Ban Doei > Tha Falang > Thakhek

We depart from our office at 8am and cycle out of the town towards Mahaxay. As we continue onwards we quickly escape the main road and enter the area of Phou Hinboun, an area full of amazing limestone mountains and forests!

We head along a trail which was used by the French to set up a railway to Vietnam but was never finished. We ride for around 8km to Buddha cave, this amazing cave was only rediscovered in April 2004 by a local farmer and is home to a large selection of bronze Buddhas. After taking some time to enjoy the cave, we continue our trail that snakes in between the towering limestone peaks and several small villages. We stop off along the way to learn about the local rural daily life before reaching the amazing and rather isolated Pachan cave. Here we take some time to explore before continuing to a stupa at Ban Phalem village. From the village, we cycle on to Ban Doei where we enjoy lunch with a local family and take some time to relax for a while.

After our lunch, we return back the same way we came for a few kilometers before turning off on to a small path which leads us to the beautiful Tha Falang. This famous swimming spot was used by the French during the colonial period to relax on the weekends. Now it is a popular place with the locals and a great place to relax and swim. The swim will be especially refreshing after all our cycling! After, we jump back on our bikes to ride back to Thakhek where we shall arrive at around 4.30pm.

Approximately: 6 hours cycling & 3 hours sightseeing