We did the two day trek with nights in a Khmu village. Well, great experience, not too difficult, the village was really top and authentic. I highly recommend.
In addition I injured my arm quite badly, the guide really took care of me with the local plants. Then the manager took care of me for the hospital and everything else.
A big thank you to him for this support.
So for all that thank you.
My partner and I booked a 3 day trek with Forest Retreat Laos and it was one of the best experiences of my entire trip.
On the first day of our trek, we started with rafting. It was beautiful and a great workout! :) On the way we stopped at a couple villages, both full of kids who wanted to play with our rafting paddles or play volleyball.
When we arrived at the village where we would spend the night, we were greeted with big smiles and curiosity. The next day we started the trek. Again - great exercise! Peang, our guide, was very thoughtful to stop whenever the group needed a break. Food was delicious and inspired by the jungle itself! We had delicious bamboo, lots of veggies and not once did we go hungry.
Night time was filled with telling riddles around a fire, playing cards and appreciating the quietness of the night at the top of the mountain.
Although it rained on our last day, and we slipped a little here and there, it made the jungle adventure trek even cooler in my opinion. I loved the difficulty level and recommend anyone who wants to disconnect from the computer screen and immerse themselves in the Laos jungle to book a tour with Forest Laos Retreat.
Enjoy!
Forest Retreat Laos Minority Restaurant is one of the best ambiances to hang out in. I would strongly recommend it to anyone. Their tours are also amazing, sharing profits with local communities since their inception.
We booked a 2 day trek. Guides and food were excellent especially the vegetarian options. However, when they say the trek is hard it is really hard! Highly recommended as they provide a large variety of options and guides speak good English.
3 days in the middle of nature, completely disconnected from the world, to discover extraordinary populations, to live with the minimum just what is essential. Just predict the mosquito repellent and flashlight
Not disappointed with the trip !! Nice welcome, 3 days of trekking in the jungle with two really great guides.
I do not know how are the other Luang Namtha agencies but Forest Retreat Laos is TOP! .
I highly recommend.
We did a 4 day trek and it was great! Before booking we ve checked out few other companies next door but they charged much more than Forest Retreat and offered similar treks. Very good value (we paid under 300 USD for 2 people, the whole group was 4, other companies charged this and more per person!). Guides were also great - we had Kong (really funny guy, very knowledgeable, friendly) and Jai (he is amazing! Really good English, caring, helpful and a great chef - best tomato soup we ve ever had!!! If you do the trek ask for Jai, he the best guide we ve had when travelling in Laos, you won t regret it!).
We had a homestay and then 2 other camp stays, everything was comfortable, we had good vegetarian food cooked for us, camp was built too, water provided, enjoyed cosy evenings by the fire and night jungle noises.
Treks were beautiful, quite tough to be honest (carrying your bag up the steep hill for many hours) but we enjoyed this challenge. Walked 5-6 hours a day, mostly up the steep hills. I m sure they can tailor the trek for you but we wanted a good challenge and we got it :)
Last day we joined a local Lao village for a new built house ceremony - that was a super fun party, experience we could never replicate again. We highly recommend the company and guides.
Extraordinary experience in the jungle and in a village during the trek of 3 days. Great professionalism of the guides, with a true kindness and a reception outside norm. The hard part was the kayak because not quite enough water. I recommend without hesitation.
Absolutely to do for those who want to immerse themselves, even if briefly, in the true reality of the jungle
I did the 3 day trekking (2 days walking, 1 kayaking) in the dry season (February) and I couldn't be happier. This trek will take you through different sceneries like tree forests, riverbanks, jungle, bamboo forests... You'll visit several villages and stay overnight in one of them getting to know their lives and sharing some lao lao. At some points the hike can be pretty hard, but it's all worth it when you get to the cabin next to the river, where the sky opens, there is nobody around and you finally feel in the middle of the jungle. The last day of kayaking it was easy and fun. Special mentions to our guide, which was very helpful explaining all kind of curiosities about the surrounding nature. To Lod, our official cook who prepared delicious meals every single time and even went fishing at night to let us taste some fresh fish, and to the villagers that accompanied us on every stage doing the heavy lifting. These guys really know how to survive in the jungle with little more than a knife and a bottle of lao lao!
I had been scammed by another company who told me there were two people signed up for a trek and then mysteriously cancelled the next morning when I showed up ready to go. (Apparently they are known in town to do this.) I went to Forest Retreat to see if there was another trek leaving. Although there was not (it was low season) we had a long chat and I had the feeling that this is who I should have signed up with in the first place. Man I spoke with (the owner I believe) genuinely wants visitors to have a good and safe experience, and was very transparent with all the details of the treks and tours they offer. I ended up renting a brand new mountain bike to tour of the area (recommended, but get ready for a sore butt on some of those dirt roads). Forest Retreat is the way to go!
Highly recommend these guys, we had a couple of requests and they catered for everything perfectly at a good price. The treks were challenging but always fun and the guides did a fantastic job (Jai and Kong). We did a 4 day trek and it was a real highlight of our trip across Asia.
The people here are the best!
We booked a three day Tekking tour with a day of rubber dinghy and it was the best of my five month trip to Asia so far.
The tour itself was awesome, but not only that, the guides were young, incredibly committed, funny and super nice. They showed us all sorts of things and always let us try everything we wanted.
The person who organized the whole thing / the boss is there was also incredible. He always came to us, answered all of our questions in detail and made everything possible for us. For example, after the tour, he brought us our luggage to the next accommodation, then picked us up, brought us there and drove us to the bus station the next morning. He also and even bought the bus tickets, which were even pre-stretched and all without wanting to make a profit themselves.
We made this tour to seven and therefore it cost $ 90, which I find almost too little for what you get. So in my opinion the price was perfectly fine.
All in all the best tour we could only book and highly recommended!
Clearly a 5 out of 5 !!!
By decree, Forest Retreat can't book any new tours through September 2018. But they were helpful to me in providing information when I visited them at the end of August.
Great experience!
We chose the 3 days trek in the jungle formula and we loved it.
Our guide Kong was adorable and very helpful. Everything is very well organized with a night in a local village (crossbow shooting activities in the afternoon and dance show in the evening), a night in a tent near a fisherman's hut by the river and a excellent and very varied food (some ingredients are even collected in the jungle during the trek)
The difficulty of the trek is easy.
I sincerely recommend this agency to anyone wishing to trek through the jungle in Louang Namtha!
We decided to take a trek with Forest Retreat because of the great reviews, and we were not disappointed! We chose a 1 day trek, night in the jungle, with kayaking the 2nd day. We trekked into the NPA, which not all guide companies do, and saw beautiful bamboo forests and large old-growth trees. Our guide explained about different trees and plants as we moved along and was friendly and kind. He was knowledgeable and made the trip a wonderful experience.
When the company tells you it is a challenge, believe them! While we had an incredible time, only experienced hikers and trekkers should partake in this particular trek because it is extremely demanding. However, this company has options if you are less experienced and you should definitely check those out!
The first day we trekked up a mountain to a gorgeous view point and our guide put out a delicious meal on banana leaves for us to partake in while we enjoyed the view. The hike was about 6 hours in all, but can be 7-8 depending on your ability. We ended at a Fisherman's Camp where two other guides were already preparing dinner for us. The guides had foraged in the jungle for parts of our dinner, which made it an interesting and delectable dining experience. They made fresh sticky rice and a variety of dishes to try. They also brought up sleeping bags, blankets, and mosquito nets so we didn't have to carry them. The camp had a sturdy thatched hut, with stretchers to sleep on. With the mosquito nets and the blankets it was a fairly comfortable night's sleep for the jungle!
In the morning, we packed up and prepared to kayak out. Again, the guides prepared a filling and tasty breakfast. They had dry bags for all our goods and water for the 2nd day. Kayaking was so much fun! After a difficult hike, it was a relaxing and peaceful day on the river. There were a few rapids to navigate, but we followed the guides and were able to move through smoothly. The rapids were not dangerous and it was more of a slight inconvenience to briefly get stuck on a rock. During our river trip we were able to swim and stop at two hill tribe villages. At the second village we had lunch and were able to meet some of the people living there.
All in all, we had an amazing time and a wonderful authentic jungle experience! We definitely recommend! (Also, the person who runs the operation is very helpful and friendly. He gave us advice on purchasing bus tickets and even helped us sew up a ripped bag!)
-Roaming Romaines
#roamingromaines on instagram for pictures of this and other adventures
forestretreatlaos.com