Xe Champhone Loop - the hidden beauty of central Laos

The district of Champhone is the fifth most populated district of Lao PDR (110.000 inhabitants in 2015) with main ethnies being Lao, Phutai and Mangkong. 

Its capital city, Kengkok, is located 1h30 east from Savannakhet city. The district hosts the largest of Lao PDR’s two RAMSAR wetlands area of international importance: the Xe Champhone Wetlands (another one is Beuang Khiet Ngong in Champasak Province).

It is composed of perennial and seasonal river channels, freshwater marsh, swamped forest, lakes, reservoirs, seasonally flooded woodlands and rice fields, providing a privileged environment for biodiversity conservation. 

Among the wildlife that can be seen in the area, we can name the endangered Softshell turtles, the rhesus macaques, the critically endangered Siamese crocodiles as well as water bird species and fishes.

The wetland also allows villagers living near reservoirs to plant and harvest rice twice a year, which means that rice fields landscapes and activities can be seen and organized almost all year long.

First thing first, what is the best time to visit Champhone Loop? 

In general, you can visit Champhone Loop throughout the year though it will be a little muddy during rainy season from May until late August.

The best time to visit the area is during dry season from mid-October until late April. If possible, you can manage to visit Champhone Loop around January when you can join the Taleo Temple Festival. Check with us for the detailed date if you are interested.

That said, the Champhone Loop is hosted by the Champhone District in Savannakhet Province, hence, to get to Champhone Loop, we will first need to get to Savannakhet City.

Savannakhet City is the biggest city in central Laos with the convenient connection with Vientiane (more than 1 hour flight or about 10-hour transfer), Pakse (more than 4-hour transfer), Lao Bao Border with Vietnam (5-hour transfer), and Mukdahan Border with Thailand (30-minute transfer).

The best way to get to Savannakhet is to take the flight from Vientiane.

Here are more details about how to get to Savannakhet

Upon arrival in Savannakhet, you can take the private transfer to Champhone District, which will take about 1 hour and 30 minutes.

Then it is the good time to start your exploration of the Champhone Loop.

Check the maps that we made below to see how to get to Champhone Loop from Savannakhet.

Champhone loop is the combination of beautiful landscape, unique culture, and hospitable people. Thare are plenty of things to do and see along the loop such as visiting the natural sites of Wat Phoukor, That Kou, or Monkey Forest; or learning more about the culture and history at Ho Taypidok – the first library in laos or Taleo Old Temple.

Below is the full list of what you can do in see here.

Nonglamchan or Ho Taypidok - The first library in Laos

This peaceful site known as "Ho Taypidok" in Lao is famous for its wooden repository which contains some 400 palm leave manuscripts displayed in traditional cabinet.

You can also contemplate the collection of amulets and notable objects in the museum, admire the meeting hall and its massive wooden poles, feed the fishes of the pond, and walk on the Buddha grove.

Taleo Old Temple

This beautiful and singular temple is famous for its church-like architecture, the frescoes on its inner walls and the ruins of the monastic school.

You can visit the brand-new museum on site to learn more about the history of Taleo village during the American Secret War and see a 3D wooden model of the monastic school like it was before it collapsed.

Monkey Forest

This 23ha forest hosts more than 300 rhesus macaques so you are 100% sure to see them. Enter the forest to feed them and watch them swing in the monkey playground, learn about the story of this sacred forest, about the plant sand how villagers use them, and observe the giant beehives through binoculars.

Turtle Lake

This small lake is home to the biggest concentration of the endangered soft-shell turtle of Laos PDR, about 50 specimens, thanks to villagers who have been protecting them because they believe that the turtles are sacred.

You can feed them from the bridge leading to the beautiful shrine on pilotis and buy Phutai handicraft.

Soui Lake

It is the biggest reservoir of Champhone district, sometimes called the Champhone Sea. It allows 2 rice harvests per year so you will see beautiful green sceneries from January to April and from May to November.
You can have lunch in a floating restaurant to taste the famous Soui snails and local fishes while looking at fishermen and waterbirds on the lake, or embark on a boat tour around the sacred islands

Wat Phoukor

This singular forest temple has been designed without wall so people can stay in touch with nature while praying Buddha. While walking in the beautiful surrounding forest, you can observe many statues depicting Buddhist hell and famous Lao tales

That Kou

That Kou is the ruin of one of the many pre-Angkorian constructions from the ancient Khmer Empire in Laos. This sanctuary was built at early second millennium with impressive lava stones and used to be a Hindu shrine.

Crocodile Watching

You can visit the Croc center located in the temple of Tansoum village. Boat tours and other tourist activities and services will be developed there, in the core of the wetlands, by WCS project.

Workshops at the local villages

Along the loop, there are plenty of chances to visit the local villages and join some workshop and learn more about some traditional activities such as traditional weaving, grasshopper farming, natural dying, or Lao Khao traditional distillery. 

Contact us for further details.

For a light traveler with limited time, you can spend just 1 day to explore the Champhone Loop exploring some main sites such as Ho Taypidok, Taleo Old Temple, Monkey Forest, or Turtle Lake and join one workshop such as Lao Khao traditional Distillery at Taleo Village.

To get the most out of the loop, we recommend spending at least 2 days and 1 night here spending one night at a homestay to learn more about the local life so that you can get both the nature and culture beauty of the area.

Below is our recommended route for 1 or 2-day trip in Champhone Loop

Departure from Savannakhet at around 8AM then take the road trip to Champhone District.

Pay the first visit at Mokey Forest, learn about the cooking and medicinal plants, feed the macaques, and observe the giant beehives.

We then continue to the Nonglamchan Library, the first library in Laos, and learn about the palm leave manuscripts tradition of Laos and this peaceful site.

We will enjoy the leisure lunch with a boat tour on Soui Lake, the sea of Champhone.

Start the afternoon with the visit to Taleo Old Temple, find out more about the impact of the American Secret War on this historic site of Phoutai village through the museum.

Our last visit today is the peaceful Turtle Lake, observe the endangered soft-shell turtles from the bridge leading to the picturesque shrine over the pond.

We then drive back to Savannakhet to conclude your day trip.

Day 1: Savannakhet – Champhone Loop (Homestay Ban Taleo)

Departure from Savannakhet at 08:00-08:30AM, road trip to Champhone District.

• Visit That Kou, the pre-Angkorian shrine of Champhone
• Observe the endangered soft-shell turtles at the peaceful Turtles Lake in Ban Done Daeng
• Join the Traditional Phoutai indigo fabric workshop in Ban Done Daeng: Natural dying and weaving.
• Lunch at the one of the huts on Turtle Lake.
• Visit Taleo Old Temple and its museum, find out more about the impact of the American Secret War on this historic site of Phoutai village through the museum.
• Listen to the tales and traditions of Phoutai ethnic group at the foot of the biggest tree which host the protective spirit of the village
• Walk through the charming village of Taleo and meet Meetao Bouali to learn how cotton thread were produced with the wooden tools of 1970s
• Visit the Lao lao distillery and taste samples of different durations of fermentation
• Share the dinner with the host and spend the night at Taleo Village (Homestay)

Day 2: Champhone Loop – Back to Savannakhet

Departure from Taleo Village at around 08:00-08:30AM

• Join the Banana Leaf offering workshop in Ban Nonglamchan, which will be used for your offering at the Namlamchan Library.
• Walk through the forest of ban Dongmouang, feed the monkey, and learn about the cooking and medicine plants.
• The lunch can be served either with a local family at Ban Donyeng or on boat along Soui Lake.
• Either way, you will still have the boat trip on Soui Lake whilst listening to the legends of the serpent spirit and the golden boat.
• Walk through the forest of Phoukor Temple to learn about the theory of life and the punishment for the bad behaviors in your afterlife. 
• You can choose to spend the night at another homestay in Champhone Loop or take the road trip back to Savannakhet

Champhone Loop can be considered as part of the bigger itinerary of central Laos, where you can also visit Thakhek Loop, Xe Bang Fai, or Dong Phouvieng National Protected Area.

Normally, your Laos tour can start in Luang Prabang or Vientiane, where you can explore some must-see places of the northern Laos. Then you can continue down to visit Central Laos and further south to visit southern Laos before taking the departure flight.

You can find below some of the ready-made tour packages for more ideas of what you can do and how to combine Champhone Loop into your Laos tour plan. For the detailed itinerary, do not hesitate to contact us.

PACKAGE 1:  CENTRAL LAOS ADVENTURE (12D11N)

Code: LAET-CL12

1. ARRIVAL IN VIENTIANE
2. VIENTIANE EXPLORATION – BUDDHA PARK
3. PHOU KHAO KHUAY ORCHID TREK – PAKSAN  
4. PAKSAN – KONGLOR CAVE – BAN NATANE (HOMESTAY)
5. BAN NATANE – PHAGNA MEANGWAN CAVE – TAD SAO E WATERFALL
6. BAN NATANE – KONGLOR CAVE – NAM SANAM WATERFALL – SAINAMHAI LODGE
7. NAMSANAM – BIRD WATCHING – BAN THALANG
8. BAN THALANG – THAKHEK
9. THAKHEK – SAVANNAKHET
10. SAVANNAKHET – CHAMPHONE LOOP – HOMESTAY 
11. CHAMPHONE LOOP – BACK TO SAVANNAKHET
12. SAVANNAKHET – DEPARTURE 

PACKAGE 2: UNCOVER THE HIDDEN CHARMS OF LAOS (16D15N)

Code: LAEU-HC16

1. ARRIVAL IN LUANG PRABANG
2. ANCIENT CITY & HIDDEN CORNER OF LUANG PRABANG
3. MORNING ALMS GIVING – BUFFALO DAIRY FARM – KUANG SI WATERFALL
4. MEKONG RIVER BOAT TRIP – PAK OU CAVES – TAEC
5. TRANSFER TO XIENG KHUANG
6. PLAIN OF JARS & MUANG KHOUNE
7. TRANSFER TO VANG VIENG
8. VANG VIENG EXPLORATION – VIENTIANE 
9. VIENTIANE EXPLORATION – BUDDHA PARK
10. FLIGHT TO SAVANNAKHET – CHAMPHONE LOOP
11. CHAMPHONE LOOP – BACK TO SAVANNAKHET
12. SAVANNAKHET – BOLAVEN PLATEAU – FANDEE ISLAND
13. BOLAVEN PLATEAU – CHAMPASAK
14. WAT PHOU – KHONG ISLAND – KHONE ISLAND
15. 4000 ISLANDS – KHONE PHAPHAENG WATERFALL – PAKSE
16. PAKSE – UBON RATCHATHANI – DEPARTURE

PACKAGE 3: ON THE ROAD ADVENTURE (26D25N)

Code: LAEU-RA26

1. ARRIVAL IN LUANG PRABANG
2. ANCIENT CITIES – MEKONG RIVER – PAK OU CAVES
3. BAN LONG LAO – KUANG SI WATERFALL
4. MORNING ALMS GIVING – NAHM DONG PARK
5. LUANG PRABANG – XIENG KHUANG
6. PLAIN OF JARS & MUANG KHOUNE
7. XIENG KHUANG – VANG VIENG
8. VANG VIENG EXPLORATION – BAN THAHEUA
9. CYCLING BAN THAHEUA – VIENTIANE
10. VIENTIANE EXPLORATION – BUDDHA PARK
11. VIENTIANE – ORCHID TREK – PAKSAN
12. PAKSAN – KONG LOR CAVE
13. KONGLOR CAVE – NAMSANAM WATERFALL
14. NAMSANAM – BIRD WATCHING – BAN THALANG
15. BAN THALANG – THAKHEK 
16. THAKHEK – SAVANNAKHET – VIVANOUK HOMESTAY
17. CHAMPHONE DISTRICT EXPERIENCE
18. SAVANNAKHET – BOLAVEN PLATEAU – FANDEE ISLAND
19. JEEP TOUR EXPLORATION HIDDEN COFFEE TRAIL
20. TRANSFER TO PAKSONG 
21. PAKSONG – WAT PHOU – CHAMPASAK – DONE DAENG
22. DONE DAENG – PHOU ASA TREKKING – DONE KHONG
23. DONE KHONG – 4000 ISLANDS – DONG KHONE
24. DONE KHONE – KHONE PHAPHAENG WATERFALLS – PAKSE – NKM HOMESTAY
25. HIDDEN PAKSE EXPERIENCE
26. PAKSE – UBON RATCHATHANI – DEPARTURE