| Mekong Express Home | - Laos Home - | Editor for Mekong Express |
 |
 |
 |
Kuang Si Falls: Waterfall Wizardry
by Matt Pantel
Not all waterfalls are created equal. Approximately 30 kilometers south of Luang Prabang on Route 13 North (see map), the multi-stepped falls at Kuang Si are remarkable. Rising in mist, the limestone staircase appears not only endless but is wholly enclosed by a multi-canopied forest. Is Kuang Si the result of a wizard in an outlandish outburst? Perhaps!
There used to be a sign on Route 13 North marking the approach to Kuang Si but not now. However, the falls are well known to the inhabitants of Luang Prabang and just about anyone should be able to tell you how to get there. The site is particularly popular on Buddhist festival days during the rainy season when the water--its content high with lime--runs fast, runs deep.
If you're the hail and hearty type, consider renting a motorbike (usually no more than US$5 per day) and biking there yourself with a Luang Prabang native as a guide. The road is quite good--paved. The scenery is fabulous--especially as you climb and cross the saddle between Xang and Xouang mountains. Rising more than 1,500 meters (over 4,500 feet), directly east will be a superlative view of Phouhin Namno. Be sure to carry your camera.
Within half an hour you'll find yourself at a turnoff to Kuang Si. The turn is to the left, sharp, and in less than two kilometers you're at a village called En. This village is actively engaged in running the boats that carry passengers about two kilometers down the Nam Khan (Creeping River) to the point where everybody--natives and foreigners alike--walks a narrow path to Kuang Si.
A dollar will pay your passage--fees are collected one way, going to the falls, not returning. The boat ride is not only pleasant but really too short. If you have a guide, ask him to tell the boatman to take you upriver and down to see a bit of the local scenery. In fact there seems to be a fair amount of traffic going upriver all the time, probably because small villages, like Pakkhan and Xiang-Ngeun (you could also motorbike there for refreshments after visiting the falls), dot the banks. But going downstream--back towards Luang Prabang--there are almost no villages. But at least go downstream to the point where the Kuang Si spews into the Nam Khan.
Once you've followed the footpath through elephant grass and scrub to the falls--you'll hear the sound of water crashing before you'll see Kuang Si--the odd and unexpected thing one discovers are picnic benches everywhere, their legs half-submerged in rushing water! It seems crazy at first but then again this place is particularly popular in the rainy season, which is also the hot season--or at the very least very humid. So it helps sitting at picnic benches with cool water running around your legs nearly up to your knees.
Many people settle for climbing no farther, especially as local vendors are well-stocked with food and drink at this level. But many push on--especially Lao youngsters and inquisitive foreigners--to upper levels of the staircase to see just where all this water is coming from. This can be a bit tricky and even dangerous during the rainy season as the climb is steep and there is very little to hold onto. Lose your grip, miss your step, and for sure you will spill into the brink. On the other hand, the odd-looking falls from the bottom up look still odder from the top down.
The idea is to rest awhile once you get there. So a bit of companionship is probably in order, at least for conversation. The Lao seem to make a half-day affair out of going to Kuang Si, and before the annual boat races in Luang Prabang, Kuang Si sees some sort of special festival when a sizable portion of the whole town turns out in a Spirit of Wetness! (Incidentally, there is a cave beneath the large lower fall. Look for local boys jumping from the tree overhanging it, afterwards swimming through the cascading water to the cave. A few foreigners usually find the opening and swim inside it too.)
If you return to Luang Prabang from Kuang Si sooner than expected, you might want to motorbike (or take a tuk-tuk) to Phanom, a village about 4 kilometers from the airstrip. This is a Thai Lu village that is more commonly known as the "weaving village." Even if you are the only prospective customer, the large one-story market building will soon fill itself with Thai Lu women wanting to sell hand-loomed fabric. It is not only gorgeous, it is also very reasonably priced, many items going for just a few dollars apiece.
Should you want to press on a bit farther, within a very few kilometers you can visit the tomb of Henri Mouhot, the French explorer who "rediscovered" Angkor Wat, and, a few years later, died, probably of malaria, in Luang Prabang in 1861. But don't be fooled into believing that Henri's ashes actually lie beneath the reasonably large concrete monument. This monument is of recent construction, donated by "Friends of Mouhot" in France. His actual resting place may be unknown. It is said that the Nam Khan overflows the original grave during the rainy season, and since 1861 has probably changed its "creeping" course.