Homestay

The local Provincial Tourist Office (in Oudomxay City, or Muang Xay) has been offering since November 2006 some very nice hiking including nightstays in khamu family houses (not guest houses, as in other more touristy hike places, which makes the experience very special and intimate). Although not as colourful as other ethnic groups of Laos, the khamu people are very nice and happy to have foreigners visiting their villages.

•    Ban Chom Ong is an outstandingly beautiful village of about 500 people of the ethnic group Khmu. It is starting point to the biggest cave in Northern Laos. Surrounded by paddy rice fields, locked by mountains, it is still largely untouched by modern influences. There is now electricity in the village. There is no mobile phone signal in the village, but as a compensation you'll get the chance to observe authentic village life as for example handicraft production. For their scarce visitors, the villagers have a basic bamboo guesthouse with an outside Lao style bathroom (squat toilet and bucket shower) that they will charge you 50,000 kip per night, and they will be happy to cook meals for you (10,000-20,000 kip per person). There is very little English spoken in the village, so prepare for communication problems or take a translator with you. The Tourism Office offers 1-day, 2-day and 3-day guided tours to village and cave, including transportation . On 1-day tour price for 1 person is 1,400,000 kip, for group of 8 persons 360,000 kip per person. If you decide to go on your own, you can rent a motorbike or a car to go on the (very difficult) 40 km road from Muang Xay to the village. The last 18 km are on a very rutted and extremely steap (hills up and down) dirt road. This can be very dangerous driving even for experienced riders. As of October 2016 only manual drive motorbikes were avaliable in Muang Xay (100,000 kip per day).

• Nam Heeng. If you're very adventurous, it is also possible to reach Ban Chom Ong going to a village called Ban Nam Heeng first. The village itself is not particularly interesting, but from it is a 16km walk to Chom Ong village, where the cave is located. So called "Packing" cars leave from a public transport station near the normal bus station, the cost kip to Nam Heeng is about 35,000 kip. The challenging hike from Nam Heeng to Chom Ong takes approximately 5 hours. It is advisable to ask the villagers for directions to Ban Chom Ong. 
•  Ban Phavie Village
  Ban Phavie is located about 12 Km from Meuang La town. A small Khamu village which consists of 36 families. The area is famous for trekking and The main peoples' economic activity is farming.
   They raise their income by planting rice and corn and Bean as well as collecting natural resources for selling. Ban Phavie was selected to be an eco tourism destination. The objective was to provide additional income and development to the village from services provided to Tourists. These services are accommodation, food and local guiding plus handicraft products.
  
  
  Ban Tanongpor  Village   
  Ban Tanongpor is another attractive Khamu village, located  in Meuang La district ( 17 Km from Xay town and 11 Km from Meuang La) and consists of 27 families. Farming is the main income source for all Tanongpor residents.
              Ban Tanongpor is also an eco tourism destination and famous for Khummu trekking style and village life experience.  Tourists can also join family’s activities in the evening time like chicken and pig feeding, rice cooking, rice milling and other possible stuff.