new Northern Laos (Muang Sing/ Walking trails)

These walking trails were copied from a leaflet distributed at Adima guesthouse & restaurant.

Route 1

Adima - Nam Ded Mai - Pou Don Than - Adirna

This is a short walk but very rewarding for those that only have a few hours to spare. Leave your bike at Adirna and walk further up the road that you came up from the main road.

Within ten minutes up hill you reach Nam Ded Mai, an Akha village with 33 families, Most of them have paddy fields along the main road. Uphill from the village, past the school, you can find their upland gardens with vegetables, corn, sugarcane and some fruit trees. As you stand in the first uplifted part of Nam Ded Mai, coming from Adima you get a good view of Pou Don Than to your right. To get there, you will find a few small trails through the bushes that lead to Pou Don Than.

Pou Don Than is in fact a sequence of four Yao villages, all connected, but with their own name and separate village leadership. The Yao women dress very distinctively with their turbans and bright red collars. lf you walk along the main path in the village you will pass the handicraft. store.

To return to Adima you take the road leading frorn the clinic (a white wooden building) to the main road. This road runs more or less parallel to the road leading to Adima and Nam Ded Mai. Walk along this road down hill till Fou Pou's farm. Enter his farm through the nice gate. Fou Pou is a very hard working man. He might have some guava's, mango's òr other fruit for sale. Cross the small river behind his property and then walk along the rice field bunts back to Adima.

Route 2

Adima - Nam Ded Mai - Nam Ded Kauw - Pou Don Than -Adime

Start as route 1, but in Nam Ded Mai go through the village, downhill to the lower part past the tap stand and go slightiy to the left and pass the school. This train leads uphill. Passing upland fields you will be going along a mountain side pretty steep up hill.

After about 45 minutes you get to a three way section. The track further up hill, towards the left leads to more upland fields.

Turning right will lead you to Nam Ded Kauw vintage. On clear days you get a good view of the Muang Sing valley.

Folllow the trail downhill and you reach Pou Don Than after about 30 minutes.

Get back to Adirna as described in route 1.

Take a half day to do this walk. In the dry season you might want to wait till the afternoon. In the rainy season it's probably a good idea to get an early start to avoid the heat and humidity while walking uphill.

Route 3

Adima - Pou Don Than - PaKba - Lak Kgam - Muang Hun Oudomsin - Adima

After reaching Pou Don Than instead of going back to Adima, keep following the main trail through the village. After a while you can turn right, through

a stream and then walk past the primary school that is on your right, situated on a small hill. Keep going along the track which will, after passing another group of Yao houses, lead you out into upland fields.

There are different tracks you can choose from at different points, but if you keep walking more or less to the right you will after about 45 minutes reach Pa Kha villages. This Akha village has recently moved to this site. The old vintage site can be reached with a steep up hill hike of about 30 minutes past the irrigation dam. On clear days it's worth the while because of the splendid view you have from there.    At Pa Kha village you basically take a right following the main roads that is also used by bicycles, Chinese tractors and an occasional 4WD truck.

After a while you can go either right or left. Turning left leads you to Lak Kgam, another Akha village. Turning right will lead you to Muang Hun, a Lao Luu village situated along the main road. To get back to Adima turn right on the main road and then take a right again at the signs at Oudomsin village.

Route 4.

Adit-na'Pou Don Than - PaKha - Poeng Kok - SiliMoen - NaKham - Oudornsin - Adima

In stead of taking a right at Pa Kha as in Route 3, you leave the village going a little bit more uphill towards the mountains, across an irrigation canal and then turn right. This trail leads through fields and lush forest and brings you after about 30 minutes to the Akha Village narned Poeng Kok. This trail can get pretty closed-in during the rainy season. You might meet some leaches then as well. You can leave the vilage on the other side.

Go through the village past the main village gate and turn right at the first junction. This is a wider track also used by tractors and trucks. lt leads you through paddy fields, after which you then cross the Sing river, and walk via the lao Luki village Silimoen to the main road.

Take a right to go towards China again, across tlie bridge, through Na Kham, village, then along Muang Hun towards Oudomsin where you turn right at the sign to get back to Adima.

Route 5

On the contrary to the other four walks, this walk takes you to the other (north) side of the road frorn Muang Sing to China.

From Adima, walk back to the main road. Take a left along the main road for about 200 rneters.

At the end of Oudomsin village take a right. This dirt road crosses a few streams and after about 15 rninutes there is a turn to the right leading to PaNja Luang village, about 30 minutes ahead. You'll pass some old big trees.

Going straight instead of turning right will lead you to Pa Rhat luang village, also an Akha village. This is about an hours walk away. There are trails froin Pa Bhat Luang leading to NaKbam, but they are sometimes hard to find and in the rainy season cross over several paddy fields. Try it if you like. Choosing for a safe option means walking back the way you came.

If you have further questions on Laos, please e-mail Geert Van Vaeck