Why this ride
A 458 km loop that starts and ends near Thakhèk, about 7 h 22 of riding. It goes by way of Nakai, Thalang and Kong Lor.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Thakhek Loop · 458 km from Thakhèk
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 458 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 22
- Journey
- Loop
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Road summary
A karst loop based around Thakhek, Laos, via Thalang. Key character: limestone karst; caves; reservoirs. Surface: paved and mixed.
Scenic road chapters
Thakhek Loop
Expect company on a summer weekend. Early is better than fast. For 31 km this is Thakhek Loop, a road with a name of its own and a reason for it.
Chapter facts
- Length
- 31 km
- Named road
- Thakhek Loop
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Thakhek
Thakhek is a sleepy Mekong river town in central Laos, and it is the traditional starting point of the Thakhek Loop, one of the great motorcycle routes in Southeast Asia. The town sits on the Lao bank of the river, facing the Thai city of Nakhon Phanom across the water, a ferry ride or a short hop over the Friendship Bridge. Old French colonial shophouses line the riverfront in faded yellows and greys, a reminder of the time when this was an administrative outpost of French Indochina. In the evening the promenade fills with locals jogging, playing takraw and eating grilled fish.
Read the complete Thakhek write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Thakhek is where the day begins. Next is Nakai.
2. Nakai
Nakai is a name that belongs to a plateau, a reservoir and a small town all at once. It lies in Khammouane province, in central Laos, where the Annamite mountains rise toward the Vietnamese border, and the high, forested country around it is among the wildest in Southeast Asia. In 2010, the Nam Theun 2 dam closed its gates, flooding part of the Nakai plateau and creating a large reservoir whose margin is still dotted with the stumps of drowned trees. The surrounding protected area shelters rare animals, including some, such as the saola, so elusive that it was only described by science in the 1990s.
Read the complete Nakai write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Nakai comes up 54 km in. Next is Thalang.
3. Thalang
Thalang is a crossing point on the Thakhek Loop, a place where a few houses, a handful of shops and a patch of rice field mark the spot where the road swings toward the great limestone country. It lies in Khammouane province, in central Laos, in the zone where the Hinboun river and its reservoir cut through towering karst, and the fields in front of the cliffs are green in the wet season and golden after harvest. The label may be modest, but the setting is anything but.
Read the complete Thalang write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
108 km in you reach Thalang. Next is Kong Lor.
4. Kong Lor
Kong Lor is a river that goes through a mountain. The Hinboun river, swollen by monsoon rains, flows into a vast cave entrance at the foot of a limestone ridge, and travels underground for about seven kilometres before emerging on the other side, in a green valley with rice paddies and buffalo. Visitors go through it in a long, narrow wooden boat, with a boatman at the stern and a guide with a headlamp at the bow, and the experience is a mixture of the ridiculous and the sublime: a tiny light in a gigantic dark space, with stalactites, echoing chambers and the soft slap of the water.
Read the complete Kong Lor write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Kong Lor, late in the day. Next is Thakhek.
5. Thakhek
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Thakhek write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Thakhek. That is the ride.