8 Hot Springs in Laos For Your. Next Vacation
Laos is known for its beautiful, untouched waterfalls and meandering rivers through green mountains. What many don’t know is that it is also a place where mineral bathing tourists can find unique and relaxing hot springs.
This southeast Asian country is home to the oldest human fossil ever discovered and is a place steeped in history and tradition, including ones surrounding thermal bathing.
Where are the Laotian hot springs?
All nine of the natural hot springs in Laos are in the North, the ‘bulb’ of the country, instead of the tail that arcs down toward Cambodia. This Northern area of the country is also where the capital, Vientiane, is located.
ASA Hot Spring Resort & Spa
Asa Hot Springs resort currently consists of a warm swimming pool and a riverside restaurant and coffee shop, while a spa facility and accommodation are planned for sometime in the future. This place makes for a very welcome stop for a relaxing bathe, especially during the cooler months.
It offers visitors indoor bathing options as well as fresh air bathing in the outdoors. The resort grounds have a bar and restaurant on-site, and the Plain of Jars is within walking distance from the hotel. Like many places in Laos, the resort prides itself on offering locally grown, rich, and delicious coffee.
Kasi Hot Spring Resort
Kasi hot spring in Vieng Khamis a large but shallow hot spring open for bathing. At the resort, there are rooms available for rent as well as sites where campers can set up tents. A waterfall splashes under a wooden bridge on the green, tropical campus. There’s a restaurant in the resort as well as a bar, where the country’s main export, BeerLao, is served. With a request, the drinks can be brought to the poolside.
Highly recommended accommodation for bikers who travel from Luangprabang or XiengKhouang province to Kasi, Vangvieng district in Vientiane province.
If you want more comfortable accommodations you can travel across the border into Thailand. Anantara Pura Resort Bueng Khong Long offers brightly lit and clean rooms with free WiFi, a hot tub, and an outdoor seating area.
Blue Springs & Patong Cave (Closed)
Nasay Village is home to a place where the outdoor hot spring is quite hot, averaging a temperature of 56 degrees Celcius (133°F). A nearby lagoon serves as a cooling-off spot to relieve bathers if the steamy water gets to be too much. Previous soakers have noted its non-touristy nature and super clean water, as well as thrilling zipline and swing.
The water in the Blue Springs is fed by the surrounding karst mountains and bubbles up from the bedrock after being filtered through multiple layers. it overflows in a large pond and the continuous overflow creates a creek to the back garden.
Visitors can use the accommodation, rest, swim in the pond, use the zip line or the Tarzan jump and relax in one of the huts or on the terrace enjoying a fresh meal. The surrounding nature is stunning; laid-back villages, paddy fields and gorgeous karst mountains.
One former guest on Tripadvisor left this review- “So not touristy at all, but beautiful and nice. It is super clean water and there is a cool zip line and swing.”
Muang Hiam Hot Springs
The National Park Headquarters and Visitor Center are located in Muang Hiam town in Houaphan Province, situated between Luang Prabang, Sam Neua, and Phonsavanh. The national park headquarters is the meeting point for all the national park tours.
Muang Hiam is famous for its hot springs and calm rural atmosphere, and various restaurants and accommodation options are available in town. The Nam Khan River in Muang Hiam is the same river that shapes the Luang Prabang UNESCO peninsula before flowing into the Mekong River.
Muang Hiam town is famous for its hot springs, located just 10-min walk from the main road (passing the national park’s office on the left).
Located in a peaceful forest park, these are one of the hottest natural springs in the country; in fact you can boil an egg in it, so be careful!
Great place to enjoy bathing, relax at the bamboo huts or enjoy a meal at the restaurant. Possibility to camp if you have your own tent. Please remember to wear appropriate clothing.
Hodgson’s frogmouth
Some of the highlight species in this area to see include Orange-headed Thrush (Geokichla citrina), Orange-headed Trogon (Harpactes oreskios), Hogdson’s frogmouth (Batrachostomus hodgsoni), Manchurian Bush Warbler (Horornis canturians), White-rumped Shama (Copsychus malabaricus), Black Bulbul (Hypsipetes leucocephalus), Claudia’s Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus claudiae).
Big Hot Springs
The Big Hot Springs, or Nam Hom, are located 69 km east of Phonsavan and 19 km from Muang Kham town.
This hot spring is a natural creation, where the water temperature is about 40 degrees Celsius. Large trees surround the site and local people believe that the jungle is sacred.
The resort, Tu Le is known for its beautiful scenery, ladder, nationwide well-known for sticky rice of the Thai ethnic group. But the most attractive point in this mountainous land is the traditional, innocent, unique activities: “group bathing” at the hot spring.
In the winter, when the temperature in Tu Le is just below 10 degrees, the temperature under the hot spring stays at 38-40 degrees. In Tu Le, there are two hot spring baths right next to the cool stream and on the bank is a golden ripe field.
A very hot bath and another warm bath. The long or short shower is optional for each person.
The resort is now equipped with a number of tourist amenities, including restaurants, a guesthouse, a ferry wheel, a small swimming pool and nature trails among pine-lined walks.
A visit to the Big Hot Springs can be combined with an excursion to the Plain of Jars Site 23, a quarry with finished and partially carved jars sculpted from conglomerate rock. Site 23 is located 2 km from the resort, on a moderate hike up the mountain.
Ban Xang
Ban Xang Hai is a quaint village located in the serene countryside of Laos, renowned for its unique cultural offerings and breathtaking views. This traditional settlement is particularly famous for its production of Lao rice whiskey, known as 'Lao-Lao'.
A little hot springs is located in Xang village, 3 km east of Muang Kham. It feeds into a stream just a few hundred meters off Route 7.
This delightful hot springs is set in beautiful surroundings and also offer traditional Lao massages, a Lao style spa, as well as having a restaurant so that you can truly relax and replenish yourself here.
Note the limestone jar near the ticket office. In the village Tai Dam women sell their woven textiles; cross the river on a small bamboo bridge to visit the Phuan village and observe the women create the beautiful textiles. There is another hot spring nearby Nathong Village. Pass the village and follow the river for about 800 meters.
Visitors can witness the intricate process of whiskey-making, from the harvesting of rice to the distillation process, providing a fascinating insight into local customs and traditions.
For a luxury stay try out the Coecco Xieng Khouang Hotel in Phonsavan. The hotel features a 24-hour front desk, free on-site private parking, and free WiFi throughout the property.
If you prefer a more laid back experience where you can get to know other travelers, the Kongkeo Guest house in Muang Phônsavan may be a better fit. You might share a room with others or have a good conversation around the fire pit.
Muang La
Muang La, a rural village in the North, is everything we love about this country. It's a good 5-hour drive from Luang Prabang, one of the most remote spots you can imagine.
The spring is at the riverbank and stone “tubs” have been built so people can soak in the almost unbearably hot water while admiring the gorgeous scenery.
The spring is busy in the evening when everyone arrives armed with their splash bucket for an end of day bath. Women sit on the floating bamboo rafts, vigorously bucket water over themselves, rub herbs on their skin while catching up on gossip. Some bring a stone to use like a pumice.
Take a final soak in the hot water before jumping into the refreshingly cold river. Locals usually follow their bath with laundry and hair washing in the river.
The springs are located directly at the base of Muang La Resort, on the river beside the hotel’s wooden suspension bridge. Take the stairway beside the resort wall and follow the narrow path to the banks.
When bathing, women should wrap themselves in a sarong or go fully clothed. Men should leave their shorts on. Note that during rainy season, river levels can rise and submerge the pathway and the hot springs become inaccessible.
Try to stay at the Muang La Resort. Ten rooms are housed in wooden, traditionally built villas inside Muang La Lodge's tropical garden. Colonial French and traditional Lao styles inspire the beautifully furnished rooms. The colorful fabrics are locally produced, and many paintings and sculptures are the works of Lao artists.
The infinity pool overlooking the lush green surroundings is a great place to rest after a long hike exploring the rural villages. You will need to walk through an elegant suspension bridge that connects with the resort to access the pool island.
The highlight of your stay will be the candle-lit Traditional sauna ceremony with fragrant herbs and the elevated hot tubs that are filled with the thermal spring's water.
You can also stay nearby at the Namkat Yorla Pa Resort a 5-star experience with spa facilities, a swimming pool with a view, fitness center, sun terrace, and lush gardens. You can sit by the river, eat on a suspension bridge over the river, enjoy fresh food from the garden or relax in the hot tub.
Bo Nam Hiem
The legendary province of Huaphan is where the chilly northern climes meet the lukewarm air of the magnificent hot springs of Hiem. It is here that we can witness the largest and most majestic hot springs in Laos.
While Huaphan is known for its rugged terrain, with dense mountainous forests and historical significance as the strategic base of the revolutionary Pathet Lao, few know of the mysterious hot springs of Hiem, which would give any Japanese Onsen a run for its money.
The hot springs of Hiem hold the title of being the hottest springs in the country, with a water temperature reaching as high as 100 degrees Celsius. The temperature of the spring is so heated in that a common activity for eco-tourists is egg boiling (or simmering). In addition to indulging in a natural Jacuzzi session (and a protein boost), visitors of the hot spring can enjoy the various delicious cuisines of Huaphan and enjoy cozy, forest picnics!
The hot springs of Hiem are open from 7am to 7pm.
Are you traveling in other parts of Asia? Take a look at more hot springs in Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Nepal, Thailand, Malaysia, China, Indonesia, India, Japan, Philippines, and Vietnam.
