Phongsaly

  Phongsaly, Laos’ northernmost province, pokes into China and northern Vietnam, and remains one of the least visited provinces in the country. Small pockets of little known ethnic groups live in remote mountain villages that were once part of neighbouring nations. There are several ways to get to and around the province, and accommodation can … Read more

The Green Tea Pavilion & Plantation Take a trip 18 km from Phongsaly Town to Ban Komaen’s Green Tea Pavilion and its 400-year-old tea plantation, which some say has the oldest tea trees in the world. You’ll learn how the trees’ far-reaching root systems extend deep into the mineral-rich soil, which gives Phongsaly Tea its … Read more

  Tuk tuks, sawng taews (Pickup trucks with benches), and boats are available in district centres, and offer an easy way to travel around the province. You can also rent bicycles for about $1-2 per day. Motorbikes are available for hire in Phongsaly, Luang Namtha, Luang Prabang, and Oudomxay. Tour operators offer transportation and itineraries … Read more

  Little is known of the history of Phongsaly, but historians believe the Phou Noi left Muang Sing and Burma and arrived in Phongsaly at the end of the 18th century. Groups of Hmong settled there at the end of the 19th century, having migrated from southern China.    In 1895, a Sino-French treaty transferred the Tai … Read more

  The Akha migrated from the Tibetan Plateau several hundred years ago, and live in the mountains of Phongsaly. They follow a cultural code called Akha Zang, the “Akha Way”, which defines traditions and laws, as well as how they farm, hunt, treat illnesses, and relate to each other and outsiders. Women wear black cotton … Read more