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Phong Huong Adventure Overnight: the 9.5 kilometre sweet gum forest walk, about four hours

Khe Sanh, Vietnam

Phong Huong Adventure Overnight

Length
2D1N
How hard is it
Moderate
Group size
20
Minimum age
6+

Only here: The only trip pairing the red forest walk with a waterfall abseil, in two days.

The forest walk and the lake camp together, finishing with a 30 metre abseil down Ta Puong waterfall and a jump into the pool.

What you actually do

  • The 9.5 kilometre sweet gum forest walk, about four hours
  • A night camped on the island site in Rao Quan lake
  • A 30 metre rope descent of Ta Puong waterfall
  • A 3 metre free jump into the pool at the bottom
  • Sunset paddleboarding and a barbecue dinner
  • Lunch served by local families at Ta Puong village

Is this the right tour for you?

Worth reading before you book. Age limits and group rules rule people out more often than fitness does.

Book it if

  • You want walking, camping and rope work in one short trip
  • You are travelling the Ho Chi Minh Road and have two days
  • You want to try abseiling somewhere less committing than a cave
  • You are visiting when the forest has turned

Look elsewhere if

  • You cannot easily reach Khe Sanh, since no transfers are offered from elsewhere
  • You want a rest. Day one is a four hour walk
  • Heights are a problem: the day ends on a rope and a jump

Day by day, all 2 of them

  1. The forest walk, then the lake

    An eleven o'clock pickup and lunch first, then the briefing and kit before driving to kilometre 17 of the western Ho Chi Minh Road. The 9.5 kilometre walk through the sweet gum forest takes around four hours on ground the operator rates as straightforward, with the lake and the turbine fields in view for much of it. At the far end a motorboat runs the group out to the island camp, in time to swim, paddleboard and watch the sunset before a dinner of local dishes.

  2. Ta Puong waterfall

    Breakfast and coffee on the water, with the option of paddling out for the sunrise or fishing from a chair. The boat then returns everyone to the vehicles for a half hour drive to Ta Puong village, where you walk up along the stream to the waterfall and eat sticky rice and grilled meat cooked by local families. The safety team fits harnesses, helmets and gloves, takes the group up through the water to the top, and rigs the 30 metre descent. Near the bottom, about three metres above the pool, you let go and drop into the water.

What the price covers

  • Guide, trained safety assistants and porters
  • All abseiling equipment, harness, helmet, gloves and life jacket
  • Tents with mattresses, pillows, blankets and a fan
  • All meals and drinks
  • PVI travel insurance
  • Pickup and drop-off within Khe Sanh town

Not included: tips, personal spending, any pickup outside khe sanh town.

When to go

The sweet gum forest colours from October to January. Dry season January to August suits the water activities.

Questions worth asking first

How does this differ from the Phong Huong Excursion?

The Excursion at 1,950,000 VND is the lake camp on its own, with no hiking. This one adds the 9.5 km forest walk on day one and the Ta Puong waterfall abseil on day two, for 1,400,000 VND more. Same camp, considerably more day.

Is the 3 metre jump compulsory?

No. It comes at the end of the rope descent, about three metres above the pool, and you can stay on the rope to the water instead. Most people jump once they have seen someone else do it.

Do I need abseiling experience for the waterfall?

None. The safety team rigs the system, fits your harness and controls the descent, and 30 metres is short by the standards of these trips. It is a good first abseil.

How do I get to Khe Sanh?

Yourself. Free pickup covers Khe Sanh town only and the operator says explicitly that you must make your own way there. From Hue that is around three hours by road.

How the price compares

Every tour here, cheapest first. Bars use a compressed scale so the shorter trips stay readable next to the expeditions.

Approximate figures, per person; the operator bills in VND. Cheapest is 800,000 VND (about $30), dearest is 79,500,000 VND (about $3,060).

If you want something bigger

Phong Huong Excursion, Khe Sanh

Jungle Boss

Phong Huong Excursion

2D1N

The most relaxed trip in the catalogue: a boat to an island camp on Rao Quan lake, a barbecue, a campfire, and nothing more strenuous than a paddleboard.

The only trip with no hiking whatsoever: a boat to an island camp and nothing more strenuous than a paddleboard.

Gentle
1,950,000 VND
about $75 · age 6+
Bach Ma Discovery, Hue

Jungle Boss

Bach Ma Discovery

1D

A day trip from Hue that puts you on a 130 metre suspension bridge across a waterfall, up 301 steel rungs beside it, and then on a zipline back over the top.

The only way to cross the waterfall bridge, climb the via ferrata and ride the zipline in a single day from Hue.

Moderate
4,500,000 VND
about $175 · age 9+
Elephant Cave and Ma Da Valley Jungle Trek, Phong Nha

Jungle Boss

Elephant Cave and Ma Da Valley Jungle Trek

1D

The best single day in Phong Nha if you only have one: a war-history cave, a swim in an emerald lake, and 600 metres of river cave to finish.

The only day tour with pickup from Dong Hoi included, so it works without staying in Phong Nha.

Gentle
1,950,000 VND
about $75 · age 9+

Photographs by Jungle Boss.

Plan the rest

All guided toursVietnam visa rulesBest time to visit Khe SanhThings to do in Khe SanhAll 3 tours in Khe Sanh