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Pha Tam Kam is the valley that holds Green Climbers Home, with crags wrapped around the two camps. This guide covers only the walls within a 5–20 minute walk: Tree Lounge, Swiss Oldies, Elephant, Hilton, Schnecke, Schöffl Block, The Roof, Music Hall, plus Botanical Gardens and Bayerischer Wald. Hangover, Partymeile, Open All Hours and Burnout, on the other side of the valley, are in the valley walls guide.
This guide helps you settle three things: which camp to book, which wall matches your grade, and which wall's shade saves your afternoon. The transport, visa and insurance details are in the Thakhek base guide.
What kind of crag this is
The whole valley is karst limestone towers, with routes from 12 to 40 metres. The walls around camp have several distinct characters:
- Slabs and vertical faces: Tree Lounge, Swiss Oldies, Elephant, Hilton. Holds range from small edges and pockets to big tufas, and the grades suit teams climbing 5a to 6c.
- Short, steep tufa walls: Schnecke, Schöffl Block, Music Hall. The routes are not long, but the movement is continuous and you have to read the tufa.
- A fully horizontal roof: The Roof. It is the best-known wall here, with 43 routes from 6b+ to 8a+ and perma-draws throughout, so there is no stripping.
French grades are the local standard; YDS conversions are approximate, and the original grade is the one that counts.
When to go
The Thakhek season runs from October to May, with December and January the driest and coolest. The walls face different directions, so shade is a planning tool in hot weather:
- Morning: Tree Lounge, Swiss Oldies and Schöffl Block have shade most of the day and are good early choices.
- Afternoon: Elephant comes into the shade after midday; The Roof is a cave and stays shaded most of the day, which makes it the comfortable afternoon option.
- Late afternoon: the routes beside the Roof and at Hilton catch the sun, so in summer wait until after 4 pm.
The Roof sheds light rain, but after heavy rain the rock above seeps, so do not treat the cave as all-weather. The camp closes for the monsoon from May to September, and crags can become inaccessible.
Getting there
Public transport
There is no public transport to Pha Tam Kam; you have to reach GCH first. The smoothest route from Taipei is Bangkok Don Mueang, Nakhon Phanom, then the international bus across the Third Friendship Bridge to Thakhek, followed by a 20-minute tuk-tuk to camp. Timetables, visas and insurance are in the Thakhek base guide. A tuk-tuk can also be hired from Thakhek town straight to the camp gate.
Driving
You do not drive into the valley. The crags are walked to from GCH, and the camp has parking for cars and motorbikes; park at camp and walk in.
What does matter is the road to camp: the bus from Vientiane takes 7 to 9 hours, and Route 13 mixes tarmac and dirt, turning muddy in the wet season.
Parking
The camp has parking for cars and motorbikes. Staff can arrange tuk-tuks or rentals. Some room types include transfers.
Rules before you go
Bolts and anchors. Routes here use 10 mm expansion bolts. Anchors are two bolts linked by a sling, with a fixed screwgate or maillon on one of them as the lower-off. GCH makes two points:
- Do not clip gear to the sling joining the two bolts. That sling is part of the anchor.
- When cleaning the anchor, thread the rope through the lower-off ring, not through the sling.
Fixed bolts cannot be inspected daily, so check hangers and nuts yourself. Carry a wrench and deal with loose hardware.
Two climbers have died at Elephant. On 30 January 2025, one tied the rope to a gear loop on the harness and the loop failed during the lower. On 14 February 2026, a climber fell to the ground while cleaning an anchor; the investigation could not fully reconstruct the rope setup. Neither was a rock or bolt failure, and both happened while cleaning — run the sequence through with your partner before you go up.
There is no ambulance. Serious injuries usually cross to Nakhon Phanom in Thailand, and the border closes at 22:00. Buy insurance that covers climbing and medical evacuation, and carry a basic first-aid kit.
There are only a few multipitches. GCH says four in the area; ClimbGrades says three. Chinese New Year is four pitches, 130 metres, 6b (UKC also lists 6a+). Confirm the current rope length, anchors and descent with the camp before trying it.
Routes by level
YDS conversions follow the Mountain Project international grade comparison chart and are approximate; "approx." marks grades the sources give without a/b/c (such as 4 or 5+), and the YDS column stays "—" where the chart has no entry for a half grade (5b+). The original grade is the one that counts.
Beginner: up to 6a (YDS 5.10a and below)
Tree Lounge is the best wall for a first outdoor lead: lower angle, closer bolts and shade most of the day. Swiss Oldies and Elephant also have plenty of 5s, but bolt spacing and rock quality there need more checking first.
| Route | Grade | YDS | Length | Sector | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fuchsbau | 5a | 5.7 | 20 m | Tree Lounge | ClimbGrades 2026 |
| Relax | 5b | 5.8 | 20 m | Tree Lounge | ClimbGrades 2026 |
| Mr Nyoi | 5b | 5.8 | — | Elephant | UKC 2020 classic beginner route |
| Little Elephant | 5b+ | — | 15 m | Elephant | ClimbGrades 2026 |
| Big Elephant | 5c | 5.9 | 22 m | Elephant | ClimbGrades 2026 |
| Dancing Butterflies | 5c | 5.9 | 18 m | Elephant | ClimbGrades 2026 |
| Egg on Top | 5c | 5.9 | 20 m | Tree Lounge | ClimbGrades 2026 |
| Laos – simply beautiful | 5c+ | approx. 5.9+ | 19 m | Tree Lounge | ClimbGrades 2026 |
| Graziöses Elefäntli | 5c+ | approx. 5.9+ | 20 m | Swiss Oldies | ClimbGrades 2026 |
| Fürs Müeti | 5c | 5.9 | 27 m | Swiss Oldies | ClimbGrades 2026 |
| White Rabbit | 6a | 5.10a | 18 m | Tree Lounge | ClimbGrades 2026 |
| Robin | 6a | 5.10a | 20 m | Swiss Oldies | ClimbGrades 2026 |
| Carneval | 6a | 5.10a | 24 m | Swiss Oldies | ClimbGrades 2026 |
| Sinterorgie | 6a | 5.10a | — | Elephant | UKC 2020 classic |
| Hörb | 6a | 5.10a | 23 m | Schnecke | ClimbGrades 2026 |
Intermediate: 6a+ to 6c+ (YDS 5.10b–5.11c)
This is the core of Pha Tam Kam. The tufa routes at Elephant and Hilton make the 6s about reading rock rather than smaller holds; Schöffl Block and Music Hall add short, steep, continuous movement.
| Route | Grade | YDS | Length | Sector | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grümpi | 6a+ | 5.10b | 10 m | Swiss Oldies | ClimbGrades 2026 |
| Das Geschwer | 6a+ | 5.10b | — | Elephant | UKC 2020 classic |
| Watch my Figure | 6a+ | 5.10b | 15 m | Schnecke | Next to camp, ClimbGrades 2026 |
| Illusion | 6a+ | 5.10b | 19 m | Tree Lounge | ClimbGrades 2026 |
| It's raining Man | 6b | 5.10c | 16 m | Elephant | ClimbGrades 2026 |
| Schnubbes | 6b | 5.10c | — | Schnecke | UKC 2020 classic |
| Stairway | 6b+ | 5.10d | 11 m | Music Hall | ClimbGrades 2026 |
| Red Ants | 6b+ | 5.10d | — | Hilton | UKC 2020 classic |
| Mon General | 6c | 5.11a/b | 25 m | Hilton | Big tufas, ClimbGrades 2026 |
| Pied's de Elephant | 6c | 5.11a/b | 20 m | Schöffl Block | ClimbGrades 2026 |
| To Bobby | 6c | 5.11a/b | 20 m | The Roof, right side | Roof entry, ClimbGrades 2026 |
| Der Borkenkäfer | 6c+ | 5.11c | 11 m | Bayerischer Wald | Bouldery, ClimbGrades 2026 |
Advanced: 7a to 7c+ (YDS 5.11d–5.13a)
The Roof is the headline: fully horizontal, fully equipped with perma-draws, and a mix of jugs, tufas and knee bars. UKC describes Jungle King and Big Smile as classics that escape the roof onto the headwall.
| Route | Grade | YDS | Length | Sector | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sound of Music | 7a | 5.11d | 20 m | Schöffl Block | Classic, ClimbGrades 2026 |
| Cheeky Fucker | 7a | 5.11d | 22 m | The Roof, right side | ClimbGrades 2026 |
| Schwing dei Ding | 7a+ | 5.12a | — | The Roof | theCrag icon |
| Jungle King | 7b | 5.12b | — | The Roof | Escapes the roof onto the headwall, theCrag icon |
| Small World | 7b+/c | 5.12c | — | The Roof | Sources give 7b+/c, theCrag icon |
| Phoenix | 7c | 5.12d | — | The Roof | theCrag icon |
| Dr. Isa | 7c | 5.12d | 20 m | Schöffl Block | Classic, ClimbGrades 2026 |
| Big Smile | 7c+/8a | 5.13a | — | The Roof | theCrag 7c+, UKC 8a |
Expert: 8a and up (YDS 5.13b and up)
Very few named routes here are publicly verifiable. theCrag grades Big Smile 7c+ while UKC grades it 8a, so it sits in the advanced table; only one route is listed here with an explicit 8a in the UKC photo captions.
| Route | Grade | YDS | Length | Sector | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Relapse | 8a | 5.13b | — | Near The Roof | UKC photo caption |
Ask the camp which 8s are actually climbable and in what condition. The perma-draws on The Roof are convenient, but wear and tightness still need checking.
Where to look things up
- theCrag: Pha Tam Kam: sector and route index, with nearby route icons.
- ClimbGrades: 2026 Thakhek guide: walk times, shade and 36 logged routes with lengths.
- UKC: Sport Climbing in Thakhek: sector character and classic routes.
- Mountain Project: Thakhek (Pha Tam Kam): cross-checks individual grades and locations.
- Guidebook: Grades and route counts here come mainly from online databases; the guidebook is the authority. Laos Rock Climbing Guidebook, Green Climbers Home, 2023 edition, in English, about US$12, sold on site. It covers Thakhek, Sala Hinboun, Vang Vieng, Pha Tang, Xaysomboun, Luang Prabang and Nong Khiaw, with history, route index, climbing rules, maps, accommodation, rest-day activities and detailed topos for Thakhek.