Visit Laos Year Campaign-Phongsaly Province

Farthest north in Laos is Phongsaly, which shares borders with Yunnan (China) and Dien Bien (Vietnam). Most of Phongsaly Province lies at a high altitude , resulting in a climate that is pleasant and refreshing. The capital, Phongsaly Town, is the highest city in Laos PDR at 1,400 meters above sea level. The population includes 28 different ethnic groups, of which the majority are Khmu, Phounoy, different Akha, Tai Lue and Hor; each with their own culture, traditions, costumes, and language. The forests contain an abundance of animal, bird, insect and plant life, and there are certainly many undiscovered species, new to science. Several trekking tours have been established by the Provincial Tourism Office Phongsaly (Mrs. Keosavanh Leeyou 020 22572373). Unlike many other cities in Laos, Phongsaly Town was not destroyed in the American war. It features a remaining old quarter with Yunnanese wooden architecture, now rare to find in Yunnan itself. Most of the people living here belong to the Hor ethnic group, speaking Chinese. In the “Museum of Ethnic Groups in Phongsaly Province” you can admire the various local textiles, artifacts and handicrafts. The town itself is surrounded by rolling hills and is built into the side of Phou Fa Mountain (1,625 meters). The 45 minute hike up to its stupa on top offers spectacular views of the town from above and the mountains in the far distance. Although a bit off the main tourist circuit, visitors can spend plenty of time in Phongsaly Province trekking to remote villages around the province, Boun Neua, Muang Khua at the Nam Ou River and in Boun Tai District’s “Nam Lan Conservation Area”. The province offers a delicious variety of Lao and Yunnanese cuisine that consists of wild forest ingredients such as fragrant herbs, bamboo and rattan shoots. After dinner try a shot of the local Lao Lao, smooth, strong and tinted green! During the final stage of the distillation process this rice whisky is running over fresh picked raspberry leaves absorbing the green color. The Chinese-style green tea of Phongsaly receives worldwide recognition for its high quality and superb taste. Tea leaves are picked by the Phounoy minority women from tea trees up to 400 years old tea, standing 6 meters high with a stem up to 30 centimetres in diameter. These precious tea leaves are compressed in bamboo cylinders and sold in cigar-shaped tubes. In this wild tea grove fertilizers and chemicals have never been used. Drinking a daily cup keeps the body in good health, reduces fat and preserves a clear mind. Link: https://www.tourismlaos.org/northern-provinces/phongsali-province/