Climbing in Laos

Useful Tips for Climbing and Travelling in South East Asia

TheCragJournal12 Comments

South East Asia is a fantastic region to visit as a travelling climber. The rock is amazing quality, there are areas to suit everyones taste, there is a never-ending amount of culture to learn about & experience and the food is delicious! We decided to write this article to help give climbers an idea of what to expect and how to make the most of their trip. The planning stage of a trip to South East Asia can be quite time consuming. Hopefully the many hours we spent planning before our trip, as well as our experiences on the trip, will yield some useful information and tips for other climbers.

Climber deep water soloing, hanging from only their arms on a steep overhanging roof section of limestone high above the turquoise blue sea.
Fantastic deep water soloing at Koh Poda, Thailand

Below is a map of all the different crags we visited during our 6 months in South East Asia. If you would like to read more about specific areas, please visit our individual posts on Malaysia, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia and The Philippines.

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Climbing in Laos: A Journey through South East Asia

TheCragJournal6 Comments

Laos is one of the least visited countries in South East Asia, receiving around one tenth of the visitors Thailand does and significantly less than the majority of other countries in the region. The reason for this seems mostly down to the fact many travellers believe there is ‘nothing to do’ in Laos, which is of course false. There are still plenty of tourists visiting Laos, but it is much easier to escape the crowds and finding authentic local places is very straightforward.

Climber making the clip on the steep limestone cave roof with featured pockets.
Making a strenuous clip on the amazing ‘Jungle King’, 7b

The even better news is that Laos has some of the best climbing in the whole of South East Asia, in terms of quality and quantity. Climbing in Laos only got started in the last few decades, so the areas still feel relatively new and unspoilt. Around 70% of Laos is mountainous and a similar percentage is forested. There are endless stunning mountains, crags and rivers in Laos and the landscape really lends itself to climbing. 

We started our journey in Laos by crossing the border with Thailand near Huay Xai and made our way southwards through Laos before crossing into Cambodia near Nakasong. The crags will be described in the order we visited them and by coincidence this correlates to their quality, saving the best till last!

Wide and slow moving river with forested mogotes in the background on the right side of the river and jungle on the left. In the foreground on the river edge there are bamboo huts
A stunning view on the way to Pha Tang
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