Trumpet flowers and a waterfall are just a few of the delights found in this little piece of paradise near Luang Prabang, Laos.

The ancient capital city of Luang Prabang has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1995; the city and surrounding area boast so many attractive options, we weren’t sure how to start our first day. After an early outdoor breakfast and a short discussion on how best to spend our day, we opted to save our town walkabout for the next day.

An afternoon hike was the tall order of the day and we decided to do so at Tat Kouang Si, a gorgeous scenic area 32 km south of Luang Prabang. This beautiful public park boasts walking trails, shelters and picnic tables. Its biggest drawcard is the tiered waterfall, which flows down over limestone outcroppings and into idyllic natural aquamarine swimming pools. We hired a tuk-tuk to take us there and paid a modest $1.50 US admission fee.

We ventured along the left side of the pools, following the trail enveloped in cascading trumpet flowers in white and yellow. At some points, we had to cross over streams as we progressed slowly up the hillside. There were swimming pools at various stages of our climb. We decided to climb to the very top to see the mouth of the waterfall, which was a good 100 meters in height. Our afternoon swim was well-deserved at the end of our hike and we were more than happy to shed our things and jump directly into the cold, clear water. I highly recommend making this journey to anyone traveling to Luang Prabang. It’s heaven.

John sizes up the depth of the water before making the plunge.

A young local boy watches as John makes the biggest splash of the day.