Bird Watching

24 Hours - Nam Nern River Safari

Home
Tour
24 Hours - Nam Nern River Safari

Outdoors

24 Hours - Nam Nern River Safari

Overview

Opened in 2009, the Nam Nern Night Safari is a 24-hour boat-based wildlife spotting tour into the Nam Et-Phou Louey National Park. The trip highlight is night-time wildlife spotlighting: long-tail boats drift down the Nam Nern River looking for wild and endangered animals such as: Sambar Deer, multiple species of Civets, Spotted Linsang, Asian Golden Cat, Leopard Cat, Pythons and many more. Day time boat trip upstream the river offers opportunities for birdwatching, including Blyth’s Kingfishers, Red Jungle Fowl, Mountain Hawk Eagle. In addition, visitors are welcome to follow the National Park’s guide on a short optional hike around the camp to learn about the medical plans and history of the area, as well as to visit the nearby ranger substation. Visitors of the Night Safari stay overnight in jungle bungalows inside the National Park, built and managed by the community.

This innovative and adventurous journey is not only one of the few opportunities in Laos to view wildlife, but the trip is designed to support alternative livelihoods for local people and generate community support for wildlife conservation.

The Night Safari has gained public recognition and international visibility as well as won the ‘World Responsible Tourism Award’ both in year 2013 and 2014. The project currently employs directly around 40 families and benefits 14 villages.

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

Tour Highlight

Easy 24 hour tour. All year Long. All Age.

Travel by Boat into the Total Protection Zone of the National Park
Best for Nighttime Wildlife Spotting & Bird Watching
Visit an old Buddhist Stupa covered by Jungle (Optional)
Meet the Forest Rangers (Optional)
Overnight in comfortable Jungle bungalows
World Responsible Tourism Award in 2013 & 2014!

Tour Inclusion

National Park’s Entrance Fee
Village Ecotourism Benefit Fund Fee
District Office of Information, Culture & Tourism Fee
National Park’s English-Speaking Guide
Village team services: wildlife spotter, boatmen, cleaning, cooking, and handicraft group
Boat service fee and petrol
Food and water
Sleeping equipment (Mattress, Mosquito net, Pillow and Blanket)
Life jackets and helmets for the boat trip
Flashlights
15-20L Dry bags for your important personal items

Recommended Attire

Long pants/sleeves and trekking shoes

Thing You Should Bring

We ask that you please bring just one small bag/backpack and leave large suitcases or long-‐haul backpacks in the village or your car.

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.

Please bring the following:

light rain jacket
fleece jacket (strongly recommended as the night safari can be very cold)
both sun hat for daytime and wool hat for night
long pants for walking in the forest
shoes for short walking and sandals for bathing
clothes for bathing (shorts and t-shirt). Please no nude/bikini bathing. Please cover the body from chest to knees.
clothes for sleeping
insect repellent
snacks (Lao food is provided, but you might want to bring something to snack on)
towel and toiletries
reusable water bottle (help us to reduce waste)
binoculars. Option: Possible to rent BERSKA Embark 10x42mm binoculars from National Park office. Check the box when filling in the tour inquiry form.

Thing You Should Know

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 the ecotourism and other conservation projects.
Seasonality: ALL YEAR LONG (except August-September if heavy rains)

Term and Condition

Child Policy

Ages 1-5: Free of charge (Share sleeping equipment and food with parents)
Ages 6-10: 50% discount /person
Ages 11 and above: Full-price

The price for children varies based on group size. If you have children under 10 years old in your group, please contact us at +8562059533720 for details.

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

Show More Show Less

Company

Nam Et-Phou Louey National Park

Duration

24 Hours

Start Price

175 $

Code

HO-2D1N-NEPL-01

Availability

Seasonality: ALL YEAR LONG (except August-September if heavy rains)

Physical Level

Easy

Pick Up

Include

Start Point

Your hotel in town in Muang Hiem

Pick Up/Start Time

08:00 AM

Drop Off

Include

End Point

Your hotel in town in Muang Hiem

Drop Off/End Time

10:30 AM on Day-2

Travellers

Family With Young Children , Friends , Solo , couple

Destinations

Luang Prabang , Xieng Khouang , 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 $

Cancel Enquiry

Day 1

Overview

Night Safari Tour

Morning

Departure from Muang Hiam (formerly Viengthong) by public bus or your private transportation at 8 am. After approximately 1.5 hour drive along a curvy road through gorgeous mountainous landscapes you will arrive at Ban Son Koua, a Khmu Village and the Nam Nern Night Safari tour start. If you are traveling from Phonesavan or Sam Neua, you can travel directly to Ban Son Khoua village (read more about “Getting to the Night Safari start“). All visitors should be in Ban Son Khoua village for 9.30 am for the tour start.

In Ban Son Khoua, meet your National Park’s English speaking guide who will be the key person sharing information about the National Park, and translating from Lao, Hmong, and Khmu languages information provided by the village wildlife spotters, the former poachers.

The tour begins by a village guide taking you on a short visit around the village to introduce the daily life and the animist traditions of appeasing the village spirits.

At around 11am visitors embark on a 1.5-2 hour journey on the Nam Nern River by long-tail boat to the National Park’s Total Protection Zone and the tourism camp located nearby the ranger substation. Along the way see the village upland agriculture and temporary farms. As closer we approach to the National Park boundary as more birdwatching opportunities will occur.

Afternoon

Once arrived at the tourism camp, enjoy Lao lunch prepared by the village cooking group. After lunch, National Park’s staff will share a presentation about the Nam Et-Phou Louey National Park and the on-the-ground efforts in protecting wildlife.

You will then be shown to your accommodation, bamboo huts close to the river. Free time to relax at the camp.

Optional: The National Park’s guide will invite you on an optional jungle walk around the camp to learn about the use of medicinal plants and the history of the camp site, which was once a village. Depending on the ranger availability, the park substation can be visited to learn about the law enforcement work.

At late-afternoon, the group takes the boat again to continue the journey upriver deeper inside the National Park. Enjoy birdwatching and the village wildlife spotters / boatmen might point out evidence of wildlife, such as tracks or scat if spotted at the riverbanks.

Dinner

The boats continue upriver to the dinner site, a sandy, flat bank, where visitors can swim and enjoy relaxing around a campfire while team prepares the dinner. After dinner, with the help of the National Park’s English speaking guide discuss around a campfire with the wildlife spotters/former poachers. Great opportunity to ask all the questions that you might have! Afterwards, the village guide will introduce the species of animals that might be seen during the spotlighting and explain the rules and expectations for spotlighting.

Evening

The group departs for the night wildlife spotlighting once it is total dark, drifting silently down the river with the engines switched off. The wildlife guides and boatmen use their headlamp to spot wildlife. If they see something, they will give a clear sign. Then you can switch on your own flashlight to have a better look at the animal. Hence, tourists will have their flashlights switched off most of the time to avoid scaring animals. The wildlife spotter and boat drivers communicate via hand signals to avoid talking that might disturb the animals. Animals that can be seen include Sambar deer, Barking deer, various species of Civets, Spotted Linsang, Otters, Slow Loris, Porcupines, Owls. Seeing wild cats and bears is very rare, but not impossible! The latest cat sightings by Night Safari visitors include: Leopard Cat in Dec. 2019 and Asian Golden Cat in April 2019.

Night

Overnight in Lao style bungalows.

Before falling asleep in your jungle bungalow, do not hesitate to spotlight around your bungalow as a Slow Loris, Civet or Sambar Deer can be just next to your jungle accommodation.

Day 2

Overview

Night Safari Tour

Morning

Early wake up. If lucky, you can spot a Sambar Deer opposite the river from the camp.

Enjoy breakfast and morning tea and/or coffee. After breakfast, the boats will return back to the village. First boatmen will drift down silently the river with the engines switched off. Possibility to spot animals as otters, sambar deer, and bird life.

Optional: If the jungle walk around the camp was not done in the Day1, it can be done in the morning of the Day 2. National Park’s guide will make this decision based on the timing on Day1.

Return

Upon arrival in the village around 9.30AM, you are invited to fill out a wildlife monitoring form that is used to monitor wildlife abundance and indicate the amount of bonuses put into the 14 Night Safari ecotourism village development fund from the tour costs (There is no extra fee for any seen wildlife).

A minivan driver will return back to Muang Hiam at around 10 AM. After approximately 1.5 hour drive, you will arrive to Muang Hiam.

If you wish to continue to Phonsavanh or Sam Neua, transfer can be arranged to Kohing junction where local bus passes by at around noon. To arrange this transfer, please inform us and your guide before the tour start.