Located about halfway between Vientiane and Luang Prabang is Vang Vieng, a small town on the Nam Song river surrounded by karst limestone mountains.
Until recently, Vang Vieng was known as a major party scene for young backpackers. The small town attracted over 100,000 young people yearly, who enjoyed partying and tubing down the river.
The town was lined with countless bars, disco’s, hotels and internet café’s. As a result of drinking and the easy availability of opium and hallucinative mushrooms, tubing accidents were frequent. Several deaths and countless injuries occurred every month.
New rules for tubing
The accident rates and concerns about the easy availability of alcohol and opium to local youngsters that did not fit with the conservative traditional way of life have made the authorities step in. In 2012 many of the bars closed down and new rules have been put in place. Tubing is now only allowed wearing life jackets and without alcohol.
Thanks to its attractive setting, quiet and rural surroundings, the Nam Song river, the karst mountains and the many caves, Vang Vieng is now starting to attract a different kind of visitors. All kinds of outdoor activities are available to nature lovers like trekking tours, climbing, rafting, exploring caves and bicycle tours along local villages and rice paddies in the magnificent karst landscape.
Vang Vieng landscape