Camino Women in Australia and Khiri Travel in Laos have come together to develop a new community-based trekking route in remote northern Laos, and this programme stands out for being crafted for female hikers and driving tourism benefits into the hands of local villagers.
The four-day trek, known as Soum-son Trail, is part of a 13-day/12-night journey through northern Laos, which includes a slow boat ride on the Mekong river, a train ride, visits to Buddhist caves and an elephant park, walks in paddy fields, meetings with various ethnic group villagers, and experiencing the UNESCO World Heritage township of Luang Prabang.
To prepare for this programme, 26 women and men from three remote mountain hamlets joined three days of training in Luang Prabang last December. The villagers learnt about community-based tourism, safety standards, housekeeping service, waste management, food preparation, and customer service. There were hands-on practical sessions, and training was conducted by four community tourism experts from the Lao government. Training was funded by both Camino Women and Khiri Travel’s charitable arm, Khiri Reach.
The aim is for community tourism to enhance the locals’ quality of life.
Camino Women and Khiri Travel will kick off the programme on February 16 with a group of six women from Australia.
Following this, the trek will be conducted for five groups, with each having no more than 12 female participants, throughout this year. For the next high season between November 2025 and February 2026, the agencies plan on leading two groups per month.
Each trip will be supported by the same local guide from the villages and Khiri Travel’s own highly experienced Laotian community guide.
