The Nests

2 Days 1 Night 'Nests' Trek

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2 Days 1 Night 'Nests' Trek

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2 Days 1 Night 'Nests' Trek

Overview

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.

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.

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.

>>Please find detailed information for each day of the itinerary below<<

Tour Inclusion

National Park’s Conservation Fund 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

Recommended Attire

Long pants/sleeves and trekking shoes

Thing You Should 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)
Sun hat for daytime
Wool cap for night
Long pants for walking in the forest
Good walking shoes
Sandals for bathing
An extra t-shirt
Shorts for sleeping/bathing
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
Toiletries
Insect repellent
Flashlight
Reusable water bottle (help us to reduce waste)

Optional:

Your own sleeping bag and/or sleeping sheet (we provide a sleeping bag and sleeping sheet, 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.

Thing You Should Know

Please note that we provide boiled stream water on multiple-day trekking tours. Please take your own water purification tablets.
The NEPL NPA’s ecotours are non-profit ventures with the majority of the income from the tours directly benefiting the local communities. All earnings are reinvested back into ecotourism and other conservation projects.

Term and Condition

Cancellation Policy

100% refund at least 7 days before the tour date
50% refund at least 5 days before the tour
0% refund if least than 3 days before the tour date

Refund Policy

Kindly be advised that only tour/activity fees are refundable; Bank fees cannot be refunded under any circumstances.

Note

If you have questions or encounter problems with the tour, please contact WhatsApp/Tel: +856 20 59 533 720

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Company

Nam Et-Phou Louey National Park

Duration

2 Days 1 Night

Start Price

150 $

Code

HO-2D1N-NEPL-02

Availability

Seasonality: DRY SEASON ONLY (Oct-June)

Physical Level

Moderate

Pick Up

Include

Start Point

Your hotel in town in Muang Hiem

Pick Up/Start Time

08.30 AM

Drop Off

Include

End Point

Your hotel in town in Muang Hiem

Drop Off/End Time

14:00 PM on Day-2

Travellers

Family Without Young Children , Friends , Solo , couple

Destinations

Houaphanh

Things To Do

Nam Et-Phou Louey National Park

Day Tour Type Type

Day Tours

Join

Booking Date

Booking Code (join)
Join

Adult

0 $

Lao Resident

0 $

Total Price

0 $

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Day 1

Overview

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

Overview

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.

Departure suggestion (If travel with local transport)

Overnight in village homestay 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 a walk through the school forest trail and/or enjoy the Muang Hiem Hot Springs before getting the bus at noon at the bus station.