Luang Prabang
Traditionally the cremation site for Lao royalty, legend has it that Wat That Luang was originally established by Ashokan missionaries in the 3rd century…
Must-see attractions in Laos
Northern Laos
Wat Namkeo Luang is one of the most visually striking monastic buildings in Muang Sing. It features an entry porch with red-tongued golden naga (river…
Northern Laos
Tham Piu, where villagers sought protection from American bombers during the Indochina war, saw hundreds die on 24 November 1968 when a US fighter plane…
Plain of Jars
Site 2 of the Plain of Jars is a pair of hillocks divided by a shallow gully that forms the access lane. This rises 700m from the ticket desk in what…
Laos
Around 4.5km from Ban Phanom, a steep signed track descends in around 300m to the whitewashed tomb of Henri Mouhot. Mouhot was a French explorer best…
Northern Laos
Around 6km southeast of Muang Sing, That Xieng Tung sits on a grassy plateau dotted with sacred trees, 1km up a rough access track that branches south off…
Luang Prabang
First founded in 1592, Wat Xieng Maen gained a hallowed air in 1867 by housing the Pha Bang, the sacred gold Buddha statue that gives the city its name,…
Northern Laos
The Singkham Cave, where the famous Pra Singkham Buddha statue once rested, is 3.7km west of Ban Samakisai. In Samakisai ask 'Khor kajeh tham noy?' ('May…
Bolaven Plateau Region
This modest but interesting U-shaped waterfall is 2km from the highway, within the Uthayan Bajiang Nature Resort about 35km from Pakse. Hawkers sell…
Central Laos
The Nam Kading (Kading River) near Paksan is undoubtedly the best way into the wilderness that is Nam Kading NPA, where confirmed animal rarities include…
Luang Prabang
When ascending Phu Si from the northern side, stop at Wat Pa Huak, one of the oldest wooden wat in the city. The gilded, carved front doors are usually…
Northern Laos
The most characterful of Hongsa's several monasteries is Wat Simungkhun. Its hang song pa (initiation pavilion) is fashioned in attractive naive style…
Central Laos
On the banks of the Se Pon, Sepon Kao was bombed almost into the Stone Age during the war. Although a handful of villagers have since moved back, they…
Savannakhet
Wat Rattanalangsi was built in 1951 and houses a monks' primary school. The sĭm (ordination hall) is unique in that it has glass windows (most windows in…
Nong Khiaw
Around 2km east along Rte 1C, Tham Pha Thok is a series of caves in a limestone cliff where villagers and Pathet Lao eluded bombing during the Second…
Northern Laos
The Hmong double-village of Ban Tha Jok/Na Kam Peng has recycled old war junk into practical objects, hence the nickname 'Bomb Village', with cluster-bomb…
Northern Laos
This museum gives you a chance to deepen your understanding of the ethnic peoples of Phongsali Province. It contains a wealth of cultural information on…
Northern Laos
PMC is a small exhibition room and shop introducing local fibres such as jungle vine, and selling handmade paper products, bags and local essences. If you…
Luang Prabang
Ask at the Wat Longkhun ticket desk for the key required to visit Tham Sakkalin, a humid, slippery 100m-long limestone cave. It's a three-minute walk…
Sekong Provincial Historical Museum
Bolaven Plateau Region
The first floor has just a few old stones, UXO and photos from the war years. But the tribal displays of textiles and household tools (don't miss the…
Luang Prabang
Ban Xieng Maen's long, narrow, brick-edged 'street' slowly degrades into a rough track, eventually becoming little more than a rocky footpath. At about…
Laos
En route to Ban Na it's worth stopping briefly at Wat Pha Baht Phonsan, which sits on a rocky outcrop at Tha Pha Bat, beside Rte 13 about 1.5km south of…
Bolaven Plateau Region
Tat Lo, about 500m upriver from Tat Hang, is a little bigger than its neighbour, but probably won't knock your socks off. To get here, walk past Saise…
Ban Hin Siew Tai Palm Sugar Trees
Si Phan Don
Although sugar palms can be seen across the island, Ban Hin Siew Tai is southern Laos' sugar capital. Many farmers here climb the trees twice a day to…
Bolaven Plateau Region
This large, elegant building holds a small collection of rural and tribal artefacts, tools such as a rice husker, models of various kinds of tribal houses…
Si Phan Don
At the northern end of Muang Khong is Wat Jom Thong, the oldest temple on the island, dating from the Chao Anou period (1805–28). The wihăhn (temple hall)…
Northern Laos
This market stocks exotic fruits you won't typically see elsewhere in Laos, such as Chinese pear. Other local delicacies include nok ąen dąwng (swallows…
Central Laos
An imposing Vietnamese-built monument to Lao-Vietnamese cooperation during the Indochina wars stands in Muang Phin, 155km east of Savannakhet and 34km…
Northern Laos
Udomxai's foremost monastery is Banjeng Temple, which is modest but very attractively set on a riverside knoll. The most notable feature here is an…
Vientiane
Once a royal temple built specifically to house the famed Emerald Buddha, Haw Pha Kaeo is today a rather dusty, lacklustre national museum of religious…
Luang Prabang
Dated 1737 but rebuilt a century ago, Wat Pakkhan has a simple, appealingly archaic look with angled support struts holding up the lower of its two…
Northern Laos
This is a fair-trade silk farm that offers interesting free visits including a complete introduction to the silk-weaving process from cocoon to colourful…
Pakse
This modest, tin-roofed building isn't much to look at from the outside, but the one-of-a-kind paintings inside are the reason to visit. They show Jesus…
Luang Prabang
This lumpy hemispherical stupa is commonly nicknamed That Makmo, which translates as 'Watermelon Stupa'. Originally constructed in 1514, it was pillaged…
Savannakhet
A major dig in the 1930s near a village 145km east of the city unearthed 110-million-year-old dinosaur fossils. The underwhelming Dinosaur Museum is the…
Luang Prabang
An easy 3km walk or bicycle ride northeast of town is Wat Pa Phon Phao, a forest meditation wat famous for the teachings of the late abbot Ajahn Saisamut…
Southern Laos
The Exhibition Hall near the ticket office showcases dozens of lintels, naga (mythical water serpents), Buddhas and other stonework from Wat Phu and its…
Vientiane
It's not possible to go inside the Presidential Palace, as unsurprisingly it is reserved for the president and government officials. It is, however, a…
Luang Prabang
One of the most visited sacred sites in Luang Prabang is located at the top of Phu Si. Built in 1804, by night the the 24m gilded stupa gleams like a…
Luang Prabang
Wat Pha Mahathat is named for a venerable Lanna-style stupa erected in 1548. The 1910 sǐm (ordination hall) in front has carved wooden windows and portico…
