The Nakai Plateau is a high, rolling upland in central Laos, at about 500 metres, in the south of Khammouane province, close to the Vietnamese border, and it is dominated by a huge reservoir. The Nam Theun 2 dam, completed in 2010, flooded a large part of the plateau, creating a lake with drowned forests and islands, and sold most of its electricity to Thailand. The villages that once stood here were resettled on higher ground, and the landscape has changed greatly.
Around the lake lies the Nakai-Nam Theun National Protected Area, a vast stretch of the Annamite mountains with some of the richest wildlife in South-East Asia. The forests shelter gibbons, tigers in very small numbers, and a number of rare species found nowhere else, including the saola, a shy forest ox that was found by scientists only in 1992 and is so elusive that few have seen it alive. The park is difficult to visit, and access is controlled, but the views of the mountains from the road are impressive.
The ride here is the far side of the Thakhek Loop. Beyond Mahaxay, the road climbs through karst hills, passing waterfalls and villages of stilted wooden houses, and rises to the plateau, where the air is cooler and the views are wide. The surface is mostly paved, with some potholes and gravel stretches, and trucks heading to Vietnam are frequent, so be cautious on bends. Rain can turn the red earth shoulders to mud, and mist often covers the hills in the morning.
Nakai town has a few shops, restaurants and basic guesthouses, and it is the main place to find fuel in this part of the loop, though supplies are not guaranteed and you should arrive with plenty. Cash in kip is useful, and mobile signal is patchy. Food is simple, with noodle soup, grilled meat and sticky rice.
The reservoir is calm and still at dawn, with mist lifting off the water and fishing boats gliding between drowned tree stumps. It is a quiet and rather haunting end to the route.