2012 • 12 • 9

“This is it?” I asked myself in disbelief as I stood on the bank of the stream whose water was flowing across a series of travertine terraces. A crack of disappointment slowly and silently crawled across my chest.

Although I did not say anything out loud, my being underwhelmed must have been so clear that Charlotte, a solitary French traveler whom I met along the way, tapped my shoulder. “I’m sure this is not the main waterfall yet, silly,” she said while pointing at a trail that goes deeper into the park.

And she was right.

Tat Kuang Si: The 3-Tiered Waterfall

Located almost 30 kilometers south of the city center, the three-tiered Tat Kuang Si (or Kuang Si Falls, Kuang Xi Falls) is one of the top tourist destinations in Luang Prabang, Laos. The naturally terraced mini-pools that I spotted first were not the falls yet. Silly me, indeed. Apparently, at the base of the main waterfall are several mini-falls that drop from low levels and then flow through a train of small pools that look like a grand limestone staircase ushering visitors to the waterfall itself. The main waterfall has a 60-meter descent that is disrupted by the nooks and bumps of the cliffside, creating a stellar splashy cascade.

Exploring Tat Kuang Si Park

After getting my ticket, I followed the well-trodden trail into the woods. Two minutes into the trek, I reached the Tat Kuang Si Bear Rescue Center. Established by Free the Bears Fund, an organization founded in 1995, the center has become a home to a number of bears saved from illegal trade and bile farming. It is just one of the many bear sanctuaries built and set up in India, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos.

A viewdeck lies parallel the fence for visitors to have a good spot to observe these lovely creatures. At that moment, however, I chose to just take a couple of photos and keep walking. At the center I could already hear the loud rumbling sound of the cliff jumping-happy water. When I had my first glimpse of the stream, I thought I was looking at the falls already when in fact it was just one of the many sets of terraces at the base of a much bigger waterfall. A dozen tourists were taking a dip at the turquoise stream and enjoying the water flowing gracefully from the top terrace down to the sloping river.

I didn’t spot that the trail continued further upward until Charlotte pointed it out and we began trekking again. On the second level was another gorgeous set of falls, taller but still less grandiose than I expected because, once again, the inner stupid in me thought that it was THE waterfall. I assumed that it was based on the sheer number of people at the place. Dozens of tourists were swimming in this part of the stream. Many of them were playing Tarzan, monkey swinging by a rope and then jumping into the crystal clear pool below.