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Central Laos, Laos
Photo: Christopher Voitus, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Vieng Xai (also Vieng Xay, Vieng Sai) is a district and town in Hua Phan province, visited for its famous caves. The former Pathet Lao (PL) revolutionary headquarters sit in a striking valley of fertile hills and limestone cliffs riddled with caves, several of which were used to shelter PL soldiers and civilians from clandestine US bombing during the so-called "Secret War" from 1964 until 1973.
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Discover the “hidden city”. There are tours to the caves in English every day at 09:00 and 13:00 (60,000 kip). You can also take a tour at other times during Visitor Centre open hours for an extra 50,000 kip per group. During the low season, there may only be a handful of visitors, so you may even acquire a personal tour and move from cave to cave with the tour guide on his scooter. The Visitor's Centre also has tourist information for the town and region. To reach the Visitor's Centre from the bus station, head south (away from the direction of where you came, if you came from Sam Neua) and turn left at the fork and monument. The centre will be on your right after a few minutes' walk.
The cute wooden bungalows have mosquito net, hot water bath and a fan.
A two storey hotel. All rooms have private hot water bath, a fan and a double bed with a mosquito net. Simple, but the setting is nice and the owners are very friendly.
All 6 rooms have a fan, double bed with a mosquito net, and private hot water bath.
A large timber guest house that sits on stilts over a small lake. All rooms have a mosquito net. There is also (a bit pricey) restaurant and beer. WiFi.
By scooter
You may be able to rent a scooter in Sam Neua to reach Vieng Xai. There is, however, just a single place, Dan Nao Restaurant, renting scooters, and they only have one or two bikes.
By taxi
Taxis from Sam Neua charge 250-300K kip for a return trip with waiting time. You can get back to Sam Neua for 150,000 kip one way.
You can hire a mountain bike from the caves visitor centre, 15,000 kip per tour or 30,000 kip per day.
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Dien Bien Phu · Regional · DIN
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