TadLo – Laos is a popular ‘resort’ on the edge of the Boloven Plateau, nestled alongside three rolling cascades. There are several places to stay in this idyllic retreat, good hiking, a river to frolic in (especially in the wet season) and elephant trekking. In the vicinity of TadLo there are also several villages, which can be visited in the company of a local villager. The guesthouses in TadLo can arrange guided treks to Ban Khian and Tad Soung.
Tad Lo Falls
TheXe Xet(or Houai Set) flows past TadLo, crashing over two sets of cascades nearby: Tad Hang, the lower series, is overlooked by the TadLo Lodge and SaiseGuesthouse,while TadLo, the upper, is a short hike away.
A new Community Guides office has been established with a number of trained guides offering treks around the TadLo area and to nearby Ngai villages. Elephant treks can also be arranged from here for a 90-minute trek through the jungle and river.
There are two Alak villages, Ban Khian and Tad Soung, close to TadLo. Tad Soung is approximately 10 km away from the main resort area and are the most panoramic falls in the vicinity. The Alak are an Austro-Indonesian ethno-linguistic group. Most fascinating is the Alak’s seeming obsession with death.
Bolaven Plateau Tad Lo
The head of each household carves coffins out of hollowed logs for himself and his whole family (even babies), then stacks them, ready for use, under their rice storage huts. This tradition serves as a reminder that life expectancy in these remote rural areas is around 40 and infant mortality of around 100 per 1000 live births; the number one killer is malaria.Katou villages such as Ban Houei Houne(on the Salavan-Pakse road) are famous for their weaving of a bright cloth used locally as a pha sinh(sarong).
