★ 4.8/5 — Best months: Nov – Feb (bluest) · Time needed: Half day · Entry: 60,000 kip · Entry: 30,000 kip
Who is it for?
Best for
- Swimmers — the middle-tier pools are the best natural bath in SEA
- Photographers: travertine turquoise needs no filter
- Families: shallow lower pools, picnic lawns, bear rescue centre
Skip if
- You arrive 11:00–15:00 on a weekend — it's a pool party
- Rainy-season torrents (Jul–Sep) turn turquoise to café-au-lait
01Overview
Spring water saturated with dissolved limestone tumbles 60 metres through the jungle, depositing travertine terraces that hold pool after pool of improbable turquoise. Yes, it looks like the photos. Go early and it feels like a secret anyway.
02Don't miss
- Swim the mid-tier pools — changing huts by the second bridge
- The 15-min trail to the top of the main fall (slippery, worth it)
- Free the Bears rescue centre at the entrance — arrive at feeding time
03Photo album — place, food, people
04Getting there & around
05What to eat
Stalls at the entrance, with sticky rice and jeow bong
The vendor by the park gate over-delivers
06Pack for this one
07Where to stay
08A sample day
- 08:30
Songthaew from LP, walk past the bear centre
- 09:30
Swim middle tier before crowds, climb to the top pool
- 12:00
Picnic lawn lunch, back in town by 14:00
09What it costs
| · | Last checked 2026-06 |
|---|---|
| Entry | 30,000 kip |
| Shared songthaew return | 60–80,000 kip |
| Sarong/towel rental at gate | 10,000 kip |
| Grilled-chicken lunch stall | 40,000 kip |
10Questions we actually get
Can you swim everywhere?
No — the big fall's plunge pool and marked sacred pools are off-limits; the middle tiers are the swim.
Is the climb to the top worth it?
15 sweaty minutes for the edge-of-the-falls view and an empty upper pool — yes.
Dry vs wet season colour?
Nov–May is the postcard turquoise; after heavy rain it runs brown for days.
Founder of Mekong Atlas. Writes transit-first guides to Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia — routes, fares and border rules, each dated on the page and rechecked when they change.