The Chomphet Hike is nice hike across the river from Luang Prabang, Laos. I used this wonderful map for the hike. My hike probably was about 8 km and I went in a circle around the whole hike on the map. The hike would be very difficult (next to impossible) to follow in several places if you didn’t have the map.

Vat Nong Sakeo on a pond.

Much of the hike is through rice fields. I like this ladder over the fence (to keep out goats and other animals I imagine. This part of the trail was a bit difficult for me to follow on the map, I wasn’t at all sure I took the right path but I got where I need to eventually.

I took ferry from old town Luang Prabang across the Mekong river to the start of the Chomphet hike.

The very start of the path is paved. I am pretty sure this was as part of a tourism effort and I am sure makes it much nicer for locals and tourists when it is rainy season.

After the paved portion you walk through lots of forest and fields with wonderful views of nature.

I went in this cave and after I left I figured out it was probably only open because a group was inside. When I left they were waiting for me (they didn’t wait any more than a minute or so but still they didn’t say anything to me). I think the gates are beautiful.

On the map it shows a section of the trail is marked with the golden cone markers. They are everywhere, it is very easy to follow.

Vat Khok Pab is under construction and overlooks the river. One amazing thing about the map is it has an area marked “noisy barking dogs” and indeed that is what I found. I was reassuring because I got lost on the map and basically just walked through and found the Vat which I thought was the one on the map but I wasn’t sure yet. A bit later it was obviously the right place, but still it was amusing to confirm where I was on a map because of barking dogs.

I was a bit concerned about following the way back through the rice fields and forest and so I decided to take the dirt road back. It was actually by far the best choice. The views along the road are great. I would definitely suggest doing a circle to see both areas.

Here are some goats along the dirt road.

Along the path there are several Wats. Along the paved path there is a steep hike up stairs to Wat Chomphet that has great view of the whole area.

Related: Mosaic Art at Wat Xieng Thong, Luang Prabang, Laos – Wonderful Hiking in Bako National Park, Kuching, Borneo, Malaysia – Pine Hill Trail, Fraser’s Hill, Malaysia – Magical Day Hiking at Glacier-Waterton International Peace Park