Nam Et-Phou Louey National Park

Nam Et-Phou Louey covers a large block of evergreen and pine forest across the northern provinces, and it is the park that took wildlife tourism most seriously in Laos. The Nam Nern Night Safari runs a longtail boat upriver to a camp, then drifts back down after dark with spotlights, and the community-run model pays villages per animal seen, which reverses the usual incentive. Sambar, muntjac, civets and porcupines are the regulars. Tigers were the park's flagship for years, and the honest position now is that the last confirmed records were over a decade ago.

What you actually see

• The night drift - a spotlit boat coming back downriver after dark, when most of the sightings happen.
• The riverside camp - basic huts on a sandbank, cooked for by the village crew.
• The regulars - sambar, muntjac, civets, porcupines and, with luck, otter.
• The forest - evergreen valleys running up to pine ridges, with gibbons calling at dawn.

When to go

November to April, the dry season, when the river is navigable and the camps operate. The safari does not run in the wet months. Cool-season nights on the water are cold enough to want a fleece even here.

Honest expectations

This is wildlife watching, not a guaranteed sighting: some nights produce a lot and some produce two deer. Tigers are gone as far as anyone can confirm, and any operator promising them is not being straight with you. Accommodation is a mat in a shelter, the boats are hard seating, and getting to Vieng Thong is a long day from anywhere.

Nearby

Vieng Thong is the gateway town; Sam Neua and the Hintang standing stones are further east.