The Nam Nern Night Safari, an ecotour based in Laos’ Nam Et-Phou Louey National Protected Area in Houaphan Province, won the prestigious World Responsible Tourism People’s Choice Award at the World Travel Market 2014 in London. This is the second award that the project has won in two years.

The Night Safari is an innovative community-based ecotour developed by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in cooperation with the Government of Lao PDR and 14 partner communities. Long tail river boats take guests upstream in the afternoon, and after a riverside dinner, the boats float silently downstream through the dark, without engines, to spot wildlife including sambar deer, tiger tracks, Asian golden cat, sun bear, python, wild pig, and macaques to name but a few!

This is perhaps the only place in the country where tourists can see these species in the wild. Visitors stay overnight in an ecolodge built and managed by the ethnic community and learn about wildlife conservation, medicinal plants, and the history of the local area.

The tour provides direct incentives for wildlife conservation by linking the revenue earned by the 14 partner communities with the numbers of wildlife seen and recorded by tourists during each tour.

EXO Travel Laos has been a keen supporter of this project since the beginning, and is delighted by its success! To experience this incredible and unique adventure, you can refer to our 22-day program “Laos: A journey within” or contact our Product Manager in Laos: [email protected]