Must-Buy Souvenirs

Handmade paper pressed from mulberry (saa) tree bark using centuries-old techniques from nearby Ban Xang Khong village, folded into a warm-glowing lantern shade — also sold as notebooks, cards and gift wrap.

A small hand-embroidered panel in the geometric appliqué and cross-stitch style of Hmong needlework, traditionally used on baby carriers and festival clothing — sold as wall hangings, cushion covers or bag panels by hill-tribe vendors.

A naturally-dyed silk scarf hand-woven on a traditional loom by Ock Pop Tok's in-house artisans — a fair-trade social enterprise founded in 2000 that has become Laos's best-known name in contemporary and traditional textile weaving.

Arabica beans grown on Lao highland farms (often the Bolaven Plateau in the south), roasted and packed by Luang Prabang's Saffron Coffee — a social enterprise that pays growers a premium and traces every bag back to source farms.

A chunky, hand-hammered bracelet in a traditional hill-tribe pattern, sold by weight rather than fixed price by Hmong vendors who have worked silver as portable family wealth for generations — expect and enjoy the haggling.