New handicraft center

A new handicraft center sits near to the Phongsavanh Bank and sells a variety of products including woven fabrics, sins (traditional Lao skirts), shoulder bags, baskets, bamboo and rattan goods and more.

Ban Houay Houn

Katou weavers in Ban Houay Houn, about 10 km southwest of Laongarm Town on Route 20 and exactly half way between Salavan Town and Pakse), use the mat mee method employing laptop looms held taut by the feet to transform tie-dyed cotton threads into intricate fabric designs. If no one is working the looms during your visit, kindly ask a villager to find someone to show you. The village also has a small shop to buy the finished products such as handbags.

Tad Hang & Tad Lo Water falls

Imagine waking up, stepping outside your room, walking a few steps, and finding yourself facing a 30-meter-wide, tree-lined waterfall crashing over a 10-meter, tiered-rock wall into a series of rapids before settling into a calmly flowing river. This vision turns into reality when staying in Tad Lo.

A handful of guesthouses and resorts on the Xe Set River just below Tad Hang offer exactly that, and for those staying in the Ban Senvang tourist enclave, a bridge spanning the Xe Set River offers a direct view of the falls and rapids that follow. And knowing that the more dramatic Tad Lo Waterfall is around 500 meters upriver beckons visitors to hike closer to Tad Hang and beyond.

Location : Located 32 km from Salavan Town, travel on the road no.20 to Salavanh - Pakse district, Champasak province, using the time about 1 : 30.

Souphanouvong Bridge

Designed by Prince Souphanouvong – Laos’ first president – and built in 1942, the Khua Ban Darn Bridge spanned the Xe Don River to connect Salavan Town to Toumlan Town. The bridge was destroyed by American bombers in 1968 in an attempt to cut off an offshoot supply route of the Ho Chi Minh Trail during the Indochina War. Visitors can examine the bridge’s remains, which protrude from the Xe Don River’s northern bank.

Location: Located 25 km from Salavan Town, travel on the road to Vapi/Toumlan Districts to the Ban Nakhuang turn off. Turn right and continue along route 23 to Ban Darn Nyai Village. From here, a barge crosses the Xe Don River close to the bridge’s remains.

Salavanh Market

Saravanh market lied in Nalex village, infont of Lao telecommunication, Post office and Financial department, it is far from bus station 2 km, you can go there by tuktuk, 5000 kip per person, this market has become commercial centre of Salavanh province, there are many goods from Thailand, China, Vietnam and Laos, as well as clothes, textiles and handicraft, and then villager from rural take some vegetable they grow to sale here and many kind of food you can test them.

Coconut Road

Coconut lovers and the curious must stop at Ban Naxai, a simple village that evolved into a coconut capital with stand after stand selling this massive hard-shell fruit. Word spread of the village’s bounty, placing “Coconut Road” on Lao travelers’ itineraries as a pause for a refreshing drink, and to buy a bunch to take home. Today, vendors from Xekong Province and Pakse Town purchase this treat by the truckload.

The dry season presents the largest choice of coconuts, which come in two types: the brown variety is grown in a specific area outside the village with a small number of trees, thus slightly more expensive than the KIP 5,000 green coconuts.

The younger brown coconuts are somewhat sour, while riper ones taste sweet, and are said to bring fevers down. The larger green coconuts also taste sweet, and many consider it a hangover cure. But hangover or not, Coconut Road is a must stop to ponder the endless piles, and purchase a few to drink, while coconut connoisseurs can compare the tastes.

Location : Ban Naxai is located on Route 20 about 25 km southwest of Salavan Town.