Remote Mountain Adventure

A recent upgrade to Route 17B from Sing to Long District has opened the door to adventure travelers seeking trails off the radar screen and the Long District Tourism Office is ready with trained local guides. A short but strong tour menu features multi-day treks to distant mountain villages, an overnight motorbike ride to Xieng Kok on the Mekong, and a one-day waterfall hike. The district is also developing a rafting tour from Long Town to Xieng Kok. Long Town is a 48-km drive (about 90 minutes) or motorbike ride from Sing Town, and just three hours from Luang Namtha Town, placing remoteness within easy reach. Several of the mountain villages you can visit have been cutoff from the outside world for more than 100 years, and money rarely enters into their sustenance lifestyles. Regardless of their ethnicity – Akha, Khmu, Lahu, Lanten, or Tai Lue – they make, grow, gather, fish, or hunt for most of their needs. Overnight home-stays dig even deeper into the various groups’ distinct culture and day-to-day lives. You’ll eat and drink homemade alcohol with your hosts and sleep in their homes. Treks from Long Town pass through pristine wilderness, as the trails climb mountains to ridges presenting pictures of peaks and valleys disappearing into the distance. You’ll cross rivers and streams by suspension bridges, bamboo rafts, or wading, and catch shade from towering 100-year-old trees. We spotlight five Provincial Tourism Department-supported experiences you can book at Long Town’s Visitor Information Center located on the main road at the southern end of town.