Wat Manolom

Lonely Planet review

Although its outer appearance isn't very impressive, Wat Manolom stands just outside the barely visible city walls and occupies possibly the oldest temple site in Luang Prabang. City annals say it was founded in 1375 on the site of a smaller temple established by King Fa Ngum.

The decaying sǐm held the Pha Bang from 1502 to 1513 and still contains a sitting bronze Buddha cast in 1372. This image is about 6m high and weighs an estimated two tonnes - some parts of the bronze are 15mm thick. An important city talisman, the image would probably be moved to another temple if anyone could figure out how!

The Buddha's arms reportedly came off during a battle between French and Thai armies in the late 19th century. After the battle the colonialists allegedly made off with most of the appendages, except for a portion of one forearm, now placed beside one of the feet. The Lao later reconstructed the missing arms with cement. Near the sǐm are the scant remains of an older temple, Wat Xieng Kang, allegedly constructed in 1363.