Phongsali

Phongali is the most northerly province of the country, and the one which seems least visited by tourists. The central part of the province is mostly reached by the road that leads on from the province into China – or by river traffic along the Nam Ou River. Very few people use the planes which arrive twice weekly at Boun-Neua airport.

The province is known for its tea plantations – among which are found some tea-trees that are four hundred years old. There are also villages belonging to some of Laos’s ethnic minority peoples, where some one-day trekking for tourists is on offer. There is also the Phou Den Din national park, but it’s unvisited by tourists, and unserved by made roads. The only access is by the riverboat which runs there upstream.