As part of the Luang Prabang experience, taking in the Kuang Si Waterfall is right at the top of the list. About a half hour away from Laos’ second city, it’s a great half-day trip whether you go on your own or book a minivan to take you.
Legend claims a wise old man beckoned the waters by digging deep into the earth. After the water arrived, a golden deer made its home under a protruding rock — ‘Kuang’ means deer, and ‘Si’ means dig.
Use the bathroom before admission (there’s one up the hill, but it’s along the road, not the walking path). After arriving and paying the admission fee, head up the hill and right, down the quasi-rugged dirt trail. You get the sense that thousands — millions? — of feet have trodden this path, but since you’re discovering it for the first time it’s all good.
Before reaching the waterfall, you’ll have the opportunity (but not the obligation) to take in the Bear Rescue Centre (the cleverly named bearlao.com). These bears are rescued from wildlife trade, and get plenty of room to meander around their area. Each has a name, which a sign offers along with a description of each bear.
Get some pictures of the Malayan Sun bears and the Asiatic Black bears, on the raised wooden platform. If you’re arriving with a tour group, however, zoom ahead or lag back to avoid the crowd of smartphones and point-and-shoots.
Not pictured nearby are other signs (in English) telling you more about how the bears were rescued and their personalities — also around is an ample opportunity to buy t-shirts (save the bears), computer cases, aluminum water bottles and so on.
Go on, get your photo ops in. The polar bear is especially photogenic…
Before long, you reach the first of three pools — in the unlikely case people haven’t jumped in, use one of the changing rooms and be the first. There are a few benches for your stuff, but you’ll want to wear sandals or shoes you don’t mind getting wet — there are some sharp rocks that are hard to see. Also watch out for tree trunks that don’t appear above the water.
Not this bench, though.
One of the pools further afield all but encourages you to jump from the tree — it’s only a few meters high, and judging by the lack of injuries I saw, it’s deep enough that you’ll be fine.
As you’d expect, the waterfall itself is off-limits for swimming, but the platform and benches are a great way to take it in.
You have to go all the way to the edge of the bridge — depending on whether the waterfall is overflowing or not, you might find the bridge a bit slippery.
If you’re up for a bit more walking, look to the left for a fairly steep dirt path that goes up even further — this is not one you’ll want to take barefoot, although the rest of the area is entirely doable sans shoes if you’re careful.
While it won’t be confused with an off-the-beaten-path destination, it’s plenty of fun and well worth the visit. Be sure to stock up on your drinks and snacks (if you want them) — there’s a cafe near the top, for all the first-world folks that need a cappuccino to round out the waterfall.
As an aside, I’ll note the guided tours may stop by a misnomer of a place, a ‘community development center’ that uses children to hawk bracelets. It’s not on the itinerary, and does zero to develop the community (unless you believe training children to hawk stuff to tourists is a worthwhile endeavor). Do your conscience a favor and don’t participate in the ‘market’.
Ready to see more of Laos?
Spend 3 days exploring Vientiane or see Luang Prabang as well.
Name: Kuang Si Waterfall (Kouangxi waterfall)
Address: south of route 1 down an unnamed road (GPS: 19.751952,101.996586)
Directions: From Luang Prabang, head to Phothisalath road and head southeast out of town. This turns into route 1 — stay on this road for about 25 kilometers. Look for the left turn down an unnamed side road and go about 3.5 kilometers until the road dead-ends. Any tuk-tuk driver worth his kip knows where the falls are.
Alternatively, find one of the myriad travel agencies that offer the half-day or the full-day trip to make the journey that much easier.
Hours: 8am-5:30pm
Admission: 20,000 kip.
Ratings out of 5 ratchaphrueks (What’s a ratchaphruek, or how do I rate destinations?)
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