Namtha River Cruise

Immerse yourself in Nam Tha river life by cruising the province’s main waterway to ethnic villages and overnight stays. You can hire a boat and book a tour at the Visitor Information Center, with choices from one-day village visits to multi-day river adventures led by local guides. The Nam Tha enters Nalae District near Ban Had Nalaeng, a Khmu village offering home-stays for travelers boating from Luang Namtha, and a destination for buying handicrafts like vine bags, all kinds of baskets, and woven cotton goods. You’ll feel like a 19th-century explorer as the river winds through mountain walls bristling with lush vegetation and old-growth forest along the Nam Ha NPA, home to several wildlife species and easy-to-spot birds. On the downriver run from Nalae Town to Houei Lao near Bokeo Province, stop at Old Nalae, once the municipal seat, and inspect Vat Boun Huang, built in 1903, and its golden Buddha images. Further along, the captain maneuvers over rapids, while local riverboats hug the shore, picking up and delivering goods between villages. Locals fishing with nets, poles, and basket-like traps straddle the banks. You’ll coast into Ban Khone Kham, a Tai Lue weaving village that evolved into a home-stay hit among adventurers taking a private boat to Houei Xai on the Mekong, and those on a multi-day Nalae tour. Standing at the end of the Nalae District line, the Khmu Rok village of Houei Lao is regionally known for its bamboo and rattan baskets and woodwork, and offers optional overnight home-stays before boating back to Nalae.