Nam Ngum Reservoir

The Nam Ngum dam was finished in 1971 and flooded a wide basin of hill country, leaving the summits standing out of the water as a scatter of wooded islands. The lake now supplies much of the country's electricity and a good deal of its freshwater fish, and the shoreline settlements run on both. Boats can be hired at the landings for an afternoon on the water, usually with a stop at a floating restaurant where the fish comes out of the lake in front of you.

What you actually see

• The islands - the tops of drowned hills, wooded and scattered across open water.
• The fishing - net boats and cages, and the catch sold at the landings.
• The floating restaurants - moored platforms serving lake fish, the standard way to spend the middle of the day.
• The dam - the wall itself at the southern end, with the hills behind it.

When to go

November to March is dry and clear, with the calmest water. The lake is highest at the end of the wet season around October and lowest in April, when shorelines widen and stumps appear. Weekends bring boats out from Vientiane.

Honest expectations

This is a working reservoir rather than a scenic lake, and parts of the shore are industrial. Boat prices are negotiated and vary a lot depending on the landing. There is little to do on the islands themselves beyond looking at them from the water.

Nearby

Vang Vieng is north up the same road; Vientiane is two hours south.