In Laos, there’s just one official entry on FastestKnownTime.com: the Khao Nang Mountain Viewpoint. It’s not a commonly run route, but it is a fun adventure not far from Vientiane with a fantastic cliff-top viewpoint and 1000m of elevation gain.
The Route: A Three-Pointed Star
The course climbs the southeastern side of the plateau in Phou Khao Khouay National Protected Area, shaped like a three-pointed star:
- The Old Access Road – Steep, rutted and washed out.
- The Jungle Spur – Narrow singletrack, overgrown and slow going, pure Laos jungle.
- Pine forest bushwacking – the jungel trak spits you out into open pine forest, and the trail is dispersed. You have to find your way through open country to the ridgeline track
- The Pine Forest Ridge – Opens into runnable ridgeline, beautiful contrast to the thick forest. but some sections are overgrown
- Kao Nang Viewpoint – the pay off at the top, views over the nam ngum plains
- The Reservoir Spur – Over the saddle onto the plateau, quick tag of the Nam Mang 3 Reservoir before turning back.
- The Reservoir – Cows and Buffaloes graze on the grassy banks and on a clear day the higher peaks are visible on the otherside of the lake
- The Main Descent – starts out smooth, after some dodgy bridges, gets progressively rougher and rocker and. joins back on with the original ascent path.
It’s a mix of terrain, capped with sweeping views of the reservoir and ridges from the top.
My Run
In January 2024, I ran the route with a friend. We covered 28.7 km with 1,098 meters of climbing in about 5 hours 15 minutes. We weren’t chasing an FKT, just exploring the route for the first time
At one point, instead of the standard descent, we cut down to a lakeside trail to see where it linked into the northern mountains. It wasn’t the official route, but it was worth the detour.
Not everything went smoothly — I took a big tumble on the rocky car track descent. Even the “road” sections demand focus.
The FKT Benchmark
I ran it before it was registered as and FKT route. My friend Florian later used our GPS tracks to map the route and set the official time: around 4 hours.
It’s a good time but not unbeatable. I know of faster runs on Strava that just haven’t been submitted for the FKT. For anyone who wants their name on the FKT site, this is a great place to start.
Tips if You Go
- Bring the GPS track. The jungle spur in particular can be overgrown and confusing.
- Be confident in the forest. This is wild country, not a marked race course. You should be able to pick out the overgrown trail and navigate from the jungle spur to the ridge line track because it spits you out into the open pine forest short of the ridge line and then there is some trail blazing to hit the ridgeline track
- Expect mixed terrain. Singletrack, ridgeline, pine forest, rocky road and mud if the wet season — it’s all there.
- Bring everything you need – the small shops at the bottom are only open seasonally when the river is flowing, so don’t expect to get food and cold drinks at the end of your run.
Big FKT Potential for Laos
For now, Khao Nang stands alone as the only FKT in Laos. But the potential is huge. The country is full of viewpoint hikes and wild trails that would be perfect for the FKT format.
One day I want to do All the viewpoints in Vang Vieng in a single day and register it as an FKT.
Final Thoughts
The Khao Nang Mountain Viewpoint FKT is more adventure than it is a time trial. It puts Laos on the FKT map and opens the door for more routes in the future.
Whether you’re chasing the record or just chasing views, this is one of the best mountain runs close to Vientiane and reasonably accessible where you can get 1000m of elevation.