Phongsali

Phongsali sits at around fourteen hundred metres in the far north, closer to Yunnan than to anywhere in Laos, and it looks it: the old quarter is built of mud brick and wood in a Chinese style, the language on the street is often Yunnanese, and the climate is cold enough that the town is genuinely chilly for months of the year. Above it, Phu Fa is a short steep walk with a view across ranges running into China. The province holds a large number of ethnic groups and some of the oldest cultivated tea in the region.

What you actually see

• The old quarter - mud brick and timber houses in a Yunnanese pattern, along narrow lanes.
• Phu Fa - the hill above town, climbed by steps for a view over the ranges.
• The market - hill produce, tea and forest goods, busiest early.
• The tea - old tea gardens on the surrounding ridges, some of the trees several centuries old.

When to go

October to April is the dry season. November to February is cold, with morning fog filling the valleys and clearing by mid-morning, which is the town at its best. Summer is wet and the roads deteriorate quickly.

Honest expectations

Getting here is a long haul on rough roads whichever way you come, and that filters the visitors down to very few. Accommodation and food are basic, and heating is limited in a town that genuinely needs it. English is rarely spoken.

Nearby

The Komaen tea gardens are on the ridge above town, and the Nam Ou boat route runs south from Hat Sa.