Spotlight: A Walk in the Wood

Select a trek in the Nam Ha NPA, and embark on an adventure in pristine wilderness you’ll never forget. You can pick a path that climbs to peaks overlooking waves of green mountains, or a trail that uses bamboo rafts to cross rivers. At night, stay in an ethnic village home or lodge, camp under the jungle canopy, or sleep in a small forest retreat. The Luang Namtha Eco-guide Unit and local tour operators offer a myriad of one-, two-, and multi-day treks, and your greatest challenge, aside from a day hiking on rugged terrain, may be in choosing the program that best meets your needs. When picking the perfect trek, put your priorities first. Are you a nature buff dreaming of trails that pass 300-year-old trees and offer possible glimpses of wildlife? Do you want a guide who teaches you how to catch fish and cook meals with products you gather in the forest?  How about camping overnight next to a river, or sleeping in a secluded forest lodge?  You might want a trek with a cultural lean. Sure, you want to learn about forest products, but visiting ethnic groups that use them in their daily lives really piques your interest. You can visit and spend the night with mountaintop Akha villagers, easy-to-reach riverside Lanten people, hillside Hmong villagers, Khmu communities, Tai Lue folk, and distinct lowland Yao groups. Whatever your trekking desires, review the various itineraries, look at the pictures in the tour operators’ books, and see if you fit in the scene.