Immerse yourself in Laos' deep-rooted traditions and culture, ride on good roads through fairytale landscapes and explore an area previously off-limits to tourists.
SpiceRoads Cycle Tours introduces Hidden Laos by Road Bike, a moderately challenging 8-day road biking adventure. This tour takes through a magical area with unspoilt nature and wildlife, unique rustic flavourful cuisine and spectacular landscapes. The tour goes through some historically interesting areas including a region which was until recently closed due to hostilities with Hmong rebels.
“Road biking is becoming increasingly more popular and to cater for this interest we are launching more road biking tours. Last week we introduced a ride along the mighty Mekong on the Thailand border with Laos and today we launch Hidden Laos by Road Bike. This tour is perfect for riders who are explorers at heart but like the pace and style of riding a road bike,” says Struan Robertson, CEO SpiceRoads Cycle Tours.
Tour highlights
- Cycling along the Mekong River through small villages
- Riding through the foothills of Laos’ highest mountain and into the Xaysomboun Special Zone, recently opened to tourists
- Visiting the mysterious Plain of Jars: a field littered with 2,000-year-old stone jars ranging from 70cm to up to 4 metres, the purpose of remain an enigma to this day.
- Hanging out riverside amongst the karst cliffs of Vang Vieng
The route
The tour starts in Vientiane with a pleasant ride along the Mekong River. The roads are flat and a perfect warm up for the days to come. After an evening enjoying the sunset over the river the tour heads north the next day and follows the San River upstream towards the foothills of Laos’ highest mountain – Phou Bia (2,819m).
It is then onto Phonsavanh through an area which was heavily bombed, where bomb craters can still be seen, and is home to the mysterious Plain of Jars.
The ride then heads towards Phou Khoun along a very scenic route: through an outcrop of magnificent limestone peaks and along the western side of the vast Nam Ngum reservoir, the first major hydropower project in Laos. The final day is a breeze: it’s flat, a pleasant 64 kms and culminates at the impressive Phatuzay, Vientiane's own Arc de Triumph.
Go the distance
This 8-day tour includes 6 days of cycling from 80 km to 150 km per day clocking up a total of 694 kms. The tour is 100% on tarmac and has been designed with road bikers in mind. A support van follows behind the group carrying cold drinks, snacks and is available for anyone in need of a break.
2016 departures
Mar 20 – 27
Jul 3 – 10
Oct 9 – 16
Nov 6 – 13
Dec 18 – Dec 25
2017 departures
Jan 29 - Feb 5
What are the costs?
The tour costs US$1,850 (US$250 single supplement) with an additional US$125 standard bike hire.
Download tour photograph here.
For more information and photographs please contact [email protected]
Contact: Sally Hoare
Telephone: +66 (0) 2 381 7490
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.spiceroads.com