Hidden Trails of Northern Laos

We cover 327 kilometres over six riding stages across the rugged river valleys and karst highlands of Northern Laos. The terrain is predominantly off-road, linking unpaved doubletrack, dirt village trails, and quiet paved backroads with punchy climbs and technical descents.

After an opening ride around Luang Prabang, the route heads north into the interior with demanding climbs and rough ridgeline descents into the Nam Ou basin. A mid-tour riverboat transfer breaks up the physical effort before tackling our biggest mountain stage: a 70-kilometre unpaved traverse from Muang Khua to Nong Khiaw. The final days combine rolling valley riding and historic wartime cave visits with a technical 45-kilometre unpaved stage to Lathan, concluding with a scenic boat cruise down the Mekong back into Luang Prabang.

The trip is fully supported, and your guide’s expert knowledge of the area and terrain means that you always know what is coming up in terms of distance and difficulty. This makes a tremendous difference, as does the constant supply of water and refreshments along the way.

Suitability: This tour is designed for fit, experienced mountain bikers comfortable on demanding, unpaved terrain. Daily stages feature sustained backcountry climbs, rough doubletrack, loose dirt descents, and narrow singletrack that require solid bike-handling skills and good endurance. Because several trail sections pass through remote mountain valleys with no road access, our support vehicle cannot follow riders continuously on trail. Riders must be self-sufficient between checkpoint rendezvous points and capable of handling consecutive technical riding days.

Biking Conditions: Riders can expect roughly 70% of the route to cover unpaved terrain — dirt doubletrack, gravel, and rough village trails, alongside select technical singletrack. The remaining 30% consists of weathered, bumpy provincial asphalt. The off-road riding is varied and engaging, though loose rock, ruts, and steep descents require attentive bike handling. Paved road traffic is light, but expect to share lanes with scooters and trucks near settlements. Dry conditions bring trail dust (a buff is recommended), while rain makes dirt sections slick. Because valley heat and humidity can be intense, riders should carry a hydration pack for extended stretches between vehicle rendezvous points.

Accommodations: The tour begins and ends at a comfortable boutique hotel in Luang Prabang. Out on the trail through the northern provinces, we stay in a mix of locally run provincial guesthouses and riverside bungalows. These are simple, clean lodgings equipped with private beds, air conditioning, and en-suite bathrooms. While comfortable and scenic, please be aware that properties in remote mountain towns reflect rural infrastructure and may show signs of wear and tear, with occasional variability in water pressure or Wi-Fi connectivity. Room sizes may vary, and beds can be firmer than you are used to. Staff in remote stops rarely speak English, though your tour leader handles all check-ins and logistics throughout. For larger groups, we may need to use more than one accommodation and, in case of limited availability, switch to an alternative property from the one listed in the itinerary.

Bikes

Because some people can't imagine going on a trip without their own beloved bicycle, we do not provide them as part of this tour. However, you can hire bikes locally for the price listed in the tour pricing section.

If you bring your own bike, please make sure it is a mountain bike in good mechanical order. A good hardtail mountain bike (with 100–120 mm front suspension) or a short-travel full-suspension cross-country / trail bike (100–120 mm) are both suitable setups

We also have E-Bikes available for hire, but they are limited in number & size - please send an email to us to check on availability.

Bike Repairs

Basic spares and tools are carried by the guide and on the support vehicle, though we cannot guarantee having spares for every conceivable problem. Carrying a basic tool kit, a spare tube and a pump while riding is recommended.

Safety

Wearing a helmet is required on all our biking adventures and is non negotiable. If you do not wear a helmet you will not be allowed to cycle. Your tour leader is trained in first aid and emergency rescue, but to a large degree you must be responsible for your own safety while riding. It is therefore compulsory that you take out travel insurance that will cover you for a mountain biking tour.

Guides

You will be led by a local English-speaking guide and if the group is 9 people or more we will add another guide to the tour. All our guides are well informed in the history, culture and religions of the area where you are biking and are skilled at passing that knowledge on to you. Your guide is also medically trained and an experienced cyclist, able to handle most minor repairs en route.

If this is the tour for you here's what you need to do to confirm your place:

FLEXIBLE BOOKING CONDITIONS

CONFIRMING YOUR BOOKING

Just complete our online booking form or send your booking details offline (email or post), and we will confirm your participation. No deposit is needed to confirm your place on a SpiceRoads tour.

You are advised to read our Booking Conditions in full before you make your payment and should you require further clarifications of any of the conditions below, please email us or call our office.

TRIP STATUS

There is a minimum number of participants (usually 2) required to enable the trip to go ahead. Once the minimum number is reached, the trip status will change from 'Available' to 'Guaranteed to Depart'. Once a trip is guaranteed to depart you are free to book your flights and make other travel arrangements. If the trip status is ‘Limited’ will mean we have only a small number of spaces available for booking. If you are unsure about the trip status, please email us or call our office.

BOOKING ONLINE

From the tour page, click the 'Book Now' link. All departures for this tour will appear, just select the date you'd like to travel. For the next steps, you'll need to know the names of the people travelling. If you wish you can also provide extra details such as passport numbers, height (for bike hire), or you can add that later by logging into Manage My Trip (we'll set up an account for you automatically if you don't already have one). Our system will contact you from time to time to fill in the missing information, as it will be required before departure. However, if the trip that you are booking offers a child discount, you will have to fill out the date of birth of each rider (so we can calculate the appropriate discount).

If you are having any problems please send us an email, or give us a call (+66 026 3295) and one of our travel specialists will assist you with your booking.

BOOKING OFFLINE

Just call us or send an email indicating which trip you want to join and we will happily send you a list of questions and process your booking for you.

DEPOSITS AND PAYMENTS

We do not require a deposit or full payment to book a place for you on a tour.

The balance of the tour’s cost (final invoice) will need to be paid 60 days before the departure date with fees for any bicycle rental(s), single supplement(s) and extra hotel nights.

In the case where a booking is made when there are less than 60 days until the tour departure date, the tour’s cost should be paid in full within 72 hours of receiving an invoice from SpiceRoads. Payment can be made by credit card using our online payment gateway or by bank transfer. When making payment online you will need to confirm that you have read these booking conditions during the "checkout" process, which equates to agreeing to the terms of services and stipulations as indicated in this document.

In all cases, tour fees need to be paid “in full” before participation in a tour. No person(s) will be allowed to join a tour without fully settling their invoice and receiving a confirmation number from SpiceRoads.

The exception can be made for last-minute miscellaneous fees that can be paid locally (visas, additional local hotel bookings, etc.) can be settled on the day of arrival.

FULL FLEXIBILITY FOR TOUR CANCELATIONS

If the tour is cancelled or postponed by SpiceRoads because we didn't make the trip numbers and the tour can’t run, we will make a full cash refund (by bank transfer or on your credit card).

If the tour is cancelled for any other reason, including due to Covid related travel restrictions, we will give you a full credit (with no deductions for admin or any other small-print item) to use on any SpiceRoads tour with no time limit. (Exceptions being flights, special permits and other non-refundable items and these will be advised when booking the trip).

Before paying for your tour, you can cancel your booking with no charge and up until 40 days before departure, you can change your booking to another travel date or move your booking onto another SpiceRoads tour with no charges.

If you need to cancel after you have made full payment, please see our cancellation policy.

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