Blue Waters Of Kouang Xi Falls
On a beautiful day, the blue waters of Kouang Xi Falls drop from a lofty 60 metres and gently cascades down three tiers, allowing visitors to bathe in the cool, refreshing embrace. With the right skills, you could capture some amazing long exposure shots on camera.
Kouang Xi Waterfalls
45 minutes by songthaew (taxi truck)
30+km from Luang Prabang city
Songthaews will wait for at least six passengers before heading out to the falls. There’s no particular time that they will leave – so it is possible to go there from Luang Prabang city between 8am-1pm.
Songthaew 50,000 Kip
Waterfalls entry fee 20,000 Kip
Why is the water blue?
On the day I visited the falls, I was presented with the spectacular ferocity of the rushing waters after several days of heavy rainfall. Silt and clay are churned in the usually blue water, proving nature’s unforgiving and often indiscriminate fury.
I had a laugh when I saw this sign: “Why is the water blue?”
Of course, swimming was out of the question! Not even the most daredevil travellers would brave the rushing waters, let alone not knowing if a misplaced step would lead to misfortune.
At the base of the falls, the sheer force of downward rushing water atomised the brown liquid, sending fine mists into swirling clouds of precipitating rain.
Most of the park benches and tables closer to where the shoreline would have been were now submerged. I carefully waded out into the mirky water to take this picture, but quickly waded back in to safety.
Here’s a picture of a nice tree I found.
There’s also a sun and moon bear sanctuary in this National Protected Area. Though they are caged, they are safer there than in the wild where they would likely be poached for their bile sacs used in alternative medicine.
Feature image source: <a href=”http://tour-asia.net/en/special/hidden-treasure-exploring-tour-047E3CD1w.html”>tour-asia.net</a>
Leave a comment