Nahm Dong Park — Attraction in Luang Prabang

Nahm Dong Nature Park: This is one of the less visited sightseeing attractions in the Luang Prabang area. Possibly because getting there involves a ride over eight kilometers of rough dirt road. The site is located in mountains, approximately eleven kilometers south west of Luang Prabang Township. Travel time to get there is around thirty minutes. Note: for anyone considering going to this attraction, it’s recommended to go only in the rainy season. In the dry (December to May), there’s very little water flowing over the falls. Onsite: The park is located in a fairly remote area so it’s advisable to take your own supply of drinking water when you set out from Luang Prabang. There is a secure parking area just inside the entrance gate, where you can safely park your motorbike. The park has a nature trail, a small adventure circuit and a nice swimming with a small café and restaurant nearby.

Fees: The entry fee for the park is 25,000 LAK per person.

The nature trail: This starts at the swimming and restaurant area. The trail is well sign-posted and takes you up to a lookout, where you can get some nice views across the mountains and back to Luang Prabang. The trail is actually a circuit which drops down to a small river from the lookout. When you reach the river you’ll see a swing bridge, suspended between large jungle trees, which takes you across the river. From there you have the option of continuing further downhill to a small ethnic village, or coming back across the river and following the trail up the water fall levels. Note: if you choose to follow the trail down to the ethnic village, due care is advised. The trail, although having handrails, becomes a fast-flowing creek in the rainy season.

The waterfall levels: This is actually the best part of the nature trail. It takes you along the edge of the river and slowly ascends a number of levels, which have picturesque waterfalls and small swimming holes. The trail eventually leads back to the restaurant/café area but on the way there’s a couple of covered rest points where you can relax next to the river and/or go for a refreshing swim.

Safe...

If I could hand out 6 stars I would! This place, like much of Laos (it seems), is severely underrated!!! We‘ve spent a lot of time travelling around Southeast Asia, and coming to Nahm Dong was one of our favourite daytrips of all time. Being here feels like a relaxing nature spa and an adventure park at the same time. You can spend your time strolling through the beautiful gardens, hiking along jungle trails, lounging in Tikki huts and thatched treehouse platforms, watching the iridescent hummingbirds, or bathing in the most incredible waterfalls! And if you are looking for more adrenaline filled fun, the treetop trekking and ziplines are absolutely top notch! Walking through the Laos jungle along hanging bridges and zipping through the treetops was so much fun! Staff are very good at keeping you safe, and all the equipment is in great condition. They also have a number of cool workshops that can be done such as bamboo weaving, paper making, or traditional Hmong embroidery. The food at the restaurant is also quite delicious and all the staff is SO nice. I promise nobody paid me to write this review! The park is just awesome. Bring shoes that won’t fall off your feet and a bag that you can securely wear and close for the trekking and ziplines. One safety note: the pools underneath the waterfalls are fairly deep, but I would strongly advise against diving in headfirst as there are some shallower areas that can’t be seen. Jumping with your feet first...

It is, what the name says: a park. Sadly I thought it was more of a natural national park. What I came across was an artificial park, that's still - what seems to be - under construction at a lot of points.

Entry fee is only 20.000 Kip, so it's alright, but if you want to do something more special like zip lining you'll pay at least 140.000 Kip.

The biggest problem for me was getting lost all the time. The map they give you is no help at all and I'm considered to have a very good orientation, still I ran around in circles quite often. There are several points where a map is shown as well, but they didn't pin where you were standing right now, so they weren't helpful.

The park looks a lot bigger on the map than it actually is. Their 45 minutes hike was 20 minutes for me. During march most of the big waterfalls were small or completely dry.

Don't get me wrong. There were some really nice spots and once everything is green and finished (there was a lot of plain soil around, making it look rather boring) I think it has nice potential. You can easily find spots to relax and have a good time or make some decent photos. But it just wasn't worth the struggle to get there compared to the other places around Luang Prabang.

The last 5 kilometers to the park are extremely difficult on motorbike. Some structural work for the road should...