Accommodation with a Twist

Most tourists who have traveled to Laos’ outlying provinces know the guesthouse deal: clean, comfortable rooms, often with TVs. They are familiar with bungalows and eco-lodges on riverbanks, and their range of amenities and rates.Likewise, Luang Namtha’s accommodation scene encompasses all this, while adding alternatives to your overnight plans. Homestays are hard to beat when seeking authentic experiences, and with the new trails traversing Luang Namtha’s distant mountains, a growing number of remote villages are now hosting overnight guests. Far flung Akha, Khmu, Tai Lue, Yao, Lahu, and Hmong villages welcome travelers with traditional massages, local food, homemade alcohol, and singing and dancing, before opening their homes and providing beds for the night.
More and more communities around Luang Namtha are building lodges and upgrading their facilities for visitors seeking more privacy and comfort. Some locales are sprouting small shops selling local handicrafts and necessities to better accommodate guests.
Forest retreats are the latest rave. Locals build these small, simple structures with rattan walls and thatched roofs. They sit along the trails, and hearken back to the days when travelers walking great distances would seek refuge in communal huts. The more adventurous can spend the night at jungle camps, impromptu shelters, oftentimes just a bare-bones bamboo frame with a banana-leaf roof and floor. Like forest retreats, meals consist of mountain rice, items gathered along the way, and sometimes self-caught fish cooked in bamboo tubes.
For a more complete Luang Namtha experience, sign up for a multi-day trek that offers offbeat places to sleep.