For the Love of Elephants! : Xayaboury Elephant Festival, Laos

By: Nicole Long- Laos Country Director

Last month I had the pleasure of traveling to the Lao Province of Xayaboury, known as the Land of the Elephants, for the 6^th annual Xayaboury Elephant Festival. JW’s booking manager, Phaeng, and I headed out early Friday morning at 5am with our top JW driver, Mr. Piseet, for our 3.5 hour drive southwest of Luang Prabang.

Festivities were planned to begin that Friday and we had heard horror stories about having to wait for a ferry to cross the river to get to the town of Xayaboury.  I heard of people having to wait up to 8 hours to cross since it is currently the only way to cross the river. This appears to be the last year a ferry will be needed since a bridge is in the process of being built a ways from the crossing point.

The plan was to get their early, find guesthouse accommodation and then join the festivities. We were taking a chance leaving so early and it panned out!  We only had to wait 5 minutes for the ferry! We got to town around 8:30am and found the guesthouse we made a reservation for but, unfortunately, there was only one room. I had my room covered, but now it was time to find one more room for Phaeng and Mr. Piseet. We drove all over town!  Everything was already booked up! After about 3 hours of looking we found modest accommodation for them on the outside of town. Lesson learned –book months in advance!

We then joined in the festivities that were held over the 3 day weekend which included a morning procession, elephant shows and baths, a baci blessing ceremony, elephant beauty contest, fireworks show and a fair where local artisans from all over the province sell handicrafts and agricultural products.

The elephant festival, in its sixth year, was designed to celebrate the animals’ importance to the country and the culture. Elephants have been part of their history and heritage for centuries. Laos, originally named the Lane Xang Kingdom (land of a million elephants), has seen an enormous decline in the elephant population over the years. Not only is the festival designed to celebrate the revered animal but also to help promote their conservation and generate a stronger elephant population. There are 2,000 wild and domestic elephants estimated still remaining in Laos and Xayaboury is known to house the majority of them.   The festival is an opportunity to mate these elephants since sometimes it is difficult to domesticate the male elephants into the population at elephant camps.

In addition to the Elephant Festival, Xayaboury offers much more to see and do. If you take just an hour drive outside the city you are surrounded by towering limestone cliffs and countryside life. After enjoying some of the festivities, we drove out towards the Phou Xang Mountains and the Jouay Kaeng Medical Plants Preserve and spa. There we relaxed by the tranquil Nam Hounna River and the natural hot springs.  If you so desire, they also offer steam baths, massage and light trekking through the reserve and caves. FYI, “rock climbing” to the cave should be how it is properly sold-one of the scariest things I have ever done!

We also went to see the Elephant Sanctuary and Nam Tien National Park and reservoir.  We didn’t know what to expect and at times thought about heading back to town since we seemed to driving out to the middle of nowhere but, once we finally reached them, we knew why they were so hidden.  The reservoir, surrounded by lush forest, seemed endless and the distant mountain tops proved to add to the peaceful ambience of the national park.  It was so quiet and the air was crisp and refreshing. To get there you had to drive about 1.5-2 hours to get to the elephant camp that is located on a piece of the reservoir.  Here they had a restaurant, mini museum, elephant riding and bungalows overlooking the reservoir and surrounding landscape. The elephants were not there since they were at the festival but, when they are there, the elephants are allowed to roam in the area freely. I sat on the view pavilion near the bungalows and imagined how much more amazing the spot would be with elephants present. It felt like Laos’ version of an African safari.

Afterwards we drove around the area until we came across a local restaurant located on a part of the reservoir. The restaurant is situated on top of a hill overlooking the beautiful landscape. They had little bungalows all along the side of the hill so you could have a view of the local fisherman catching fish for the restaurant. We had fresh fish in sweet and spicy sauce, papaya salad, fish Tum Yum soup, shrimp (river shrimp) fried rice and washed it all down with cold BeerLao.  The lunch was delicious and the view spectacular.  I was so delighted to come across this hidden gem in the Xayaboury countryside!

It was a wonderful experience overall. It was great to see so many elephants in one place and learn about some of the Lao customs associated with them.  It was fun to explore the town and the local spots with Phaeng and Piseet. I always find it is much more fun to venture out than to just stick to the places that cater to tourists.  Having the Lao guys around made it so much easier to find out where to go and what to see and it really added to the experience. It was hot, dusty and crowds of locals were everywhere on the festival and fair grounds; so, sometimes it wasn’t the most spectacular conditions, but then being close to so many of these revered gentle giants made it all the better.

If you love elephants then you should come to this festival.   There are quaint guesthouses available in town during the festival and either prior to or after the festival you can enjoy a night or two at the Elephant Sanctuary.  It only takes a few hours to get there from Luang Prabang (as long as you don’t get stuck) and helps to raise awareness and support for this national symbol. If you’re interested, let us know!