The Waterfalls of Xieng Khouang

Considering that the province of Xieng Khouang is notorious for being a broad plateau, we found two impressive waterfalls during our short time there. The first, Tad Lang, seem to appear out of nowhere. We were on a flat plain, passing small villages and parked our car on a grass patch next to a small stream. Stepping out of the car, you could immediately hear the sound of water crashing over rocks and falling a significant distance. We only took a few steps along the stream before we reached a precipice. The stream fell down several small edges before finally disappearing into a deep valley between two mountains that seemed to appear out of nowhere.

The waterfall, Tad Kha, was a little more difficult to reach. We drove through a small Hmong village and then down a steep dirt road to a small knoll. Again we could hear the water falling immediately but it was a 30 minute walk zig-zagging down the mountain before we could actually see the water. The guides we were with did not seem too excited about climbing back up the steep path we had just descended so they suggested a different route: climbing the waterfall itself. We crossed the waterfall at small pools almost a dozen times and at a few points actually climbed up the waterfall itself. The shade and cool water were a nice break from the mid-day heat, even in chilly Xieng Khouang. Along the way we passed a Hmong villager who had been collecting grass for his animals to eat. Even weighed down with probably 40 pounds of grass and only wearing flip flops he climb the mountain effortlessly--gone as quickly as he had appeared.