Luang Prabang
Luang Prabang's best-known monastery is centred on a 1560 sǐm (ordination hall). Its roofs sweep low to the ground and there's a stunning 'tree of life'…
Must-see attractions in Laos
Northern Laos
Joining a truly fascinating 18-point tour is the only way to see Vieng Xai's seven most important war-shelter cave complexes, set in beautiful gardens…
Southern Laos
Bucolic Wat Phu sits in graceful decrepitude, and while it lacks the arresting enormity of Angkor in Cambodia, given its few visitors and more dramatic…
Luang Prabang
Dominating the old city centre and a favourite with sunset junkies, the 100m-tall Phu Si (prepare your legs for a steep 329-step ascent) is crowned by a…
Laos
Thirty kilometres southwest of Luang Prabang, Tat Kuang Si is a many-tiered waterfall tumbling over limestone formations into a series of cool, swimmable…
Vientiane
Laos has the dubious distinction of being the most bombed country on earth, and although the American War in neighbouring Vietnam ended more than 40 years…
Vientiane
Svelte and golden Pha That Luang, located about 4km northeast of the city centre, is the most important national monument in Laos – a symbol of Buddhist…
Si Phan Don
More a glorified set of rapids than a waterfall, but oh, how glorious it is. The largest and by far the most awesome waterfall anywhere along the Mekong,…
Vientiane
Located 25km southeast of central Vientiane, eccentric Xieng Khuan, aka Buddha Park, thrills with other-worldly Buddhist and Hindu sculptures, and was…
Vientiane
The former home of Kaysone Phomvihane, the first leader of an independent Laos, has been made into this quirky but worthwhile museum.
Vientiane
Built between 1819 and 1824 by Chao Anou, the last monarch of the Kingdom of Vientiane, Wat Si Saket is believed to be the city's oldest surviving wat…
Don Det & Don Khon
Now billing itself as the Don Khone Somphamit Waterfalls Park, vast Tat Somphamit (also called Li Phi) is a gorgeous set of raging rapids. Recent…
Bolaven Plateau Region
There are seven significant waterfalls (none of them named Tayicseua) and several smaller ones at this remote but easily accessible private nature reserve…
Northern Laos
The 2224-sq-km Nam Ha NPA is one of Laos' most accessible natural preserves and home to clouded leopards and possibly a few remaining tigers. Both around…
Bolaven Plateau Region
Tat Fan is one of the most spectacular waterfalls in Laos. Twin streams plunge out of dense forest and tumble down more than 120m to form the Huay Bang…
Luang Prabang
The sobering UXO Laos Information Centre helps you get a grip on the devastation Laos suffered in the Second Indochina War and how nearly 40 years later…
Vientiane
Opened in 1995 to celebrate the late president's 75th birthday, the Kaysone Phomvihane Museum serves as a tribute to Indochina's most pragmatic communist…
Northern Laos
Decades after America's Secret War on Laos, unexploded bombs and mines remain a devastating problem throughout this region. Visit the thought-provoking…
Bolaven Plateau Region
Tat Soung is a 50m drop over the edge of the Bolaven Plateau, and though the dam has affected these falls more than the others – slowing them to a trickle…
Vientiane
The most frequently used grounds in Vientiane are those of Wat Si Muang, the site of the lák méuang (city pillar), which is considered the home of the…
Hin Namno NPA & Around
The most impressive, and yet least visited, cave in Khammuan is the amazing Tham Lot Se Bang Fai. Located in Hin Namno NPA, the cave results from the Se…
Luang Prabang
Wat Mai is one of the city's most sumptuous monasteries, its wooden sǐm (ordination hall) sporting a five-tiered roof in archetypal Luang Prabang style,…
Bolaven Plateau Region
One of the most beautiful waterfalls in Laos, Tat Sae Pha, about 40km from Attapeu, is way off the beaten track and pretty well impossible to access in…
Laos
Set up by some Australian pioneers with no prior experience in farming, the Buffalo Dairy is now producing a range of delicious cheese and dairy products…
Laos
The wide, multilevel cascade pools of this menthol-hued waterfall 15km southeast of Luang Prabang are a memorable sight from August to November. Unlike…
Central Laos
As you approach Ban Khoun Kham along Rte 8 from Rte 13, there is a sala (open-sided shelter) viewpoint between Km 32 and Km 33. Do not, whatever you do,…
Luang Prabang
Thirty-two kilometres west of the city, this slice of natural paradise reclaimed from a rubbish dump uses the forest and a stunning cascade as its…
Luang Prabang
Footpaths lead back from the commercial main drag into a little oasis of palm-shaded calm around Heuan Chan, an authentic traditional longhouse on tree…
Vang Vieng
Tham Nam is the highlight of the cluster of caves north of Vang Vieng. The cave is about 500m long and a tributary of the Nam Song flows out of its low…
Laos
Where the Nam Ou (Ou River) and Mekong River meet at Ban Pak Ou, two famous caves in the limestone cliff are crammed with myriad Buddha images. In the…
Luang Prabang
Evoking traditional Lao and French beaux-arts styles, the former Royal Palace was built in 1904 and was home to King Sisavang Vong (r 1904–59), whose…
Luang Prabang
Visiting this professionally presented three-room museum is a must to learn about northern Laos' various hill-tribe cultures, especially if you're…
Ock Pop Tok Living Crafts Centre
Luang Prabang
Set serenely close to the Mekong, this beautiful, traditionally styled workshop, where weavers, spinners and batik makers produce top-quality fabrics,…
Northern Laos
Almost as mysterious as Xieng Khuang's more famous jars, this unique, unfenced collection of standing stones is thought to be at least 1500 years old…
Luang Prabang
The sacred Pha Bang image, from which the city takes its name, is stored in this highly ornate pavilion that wasn't completed until 2011. The 83cm-tall,…
Vientiane
Vientiane's Arc de Triomphe replica is a slightly incongruous sight, dominating the commercial district around Rue Lan Xang. Officially called 'Victory…
Vang Vieng
The most famous of the caves around Vang Vieng, Tham Jang was used as a bunker to defend against marauding jęen hór (Yunnanese Chinese) in the early 19th…
Southern Laos
Se Pian NPA is one of the most important protected areas in Laos. The 2400-sq-km park boasts small populations of Asiatic black bears, yellow-cheeked…
War Museum & Ho Chi Minh Trail Site
Central Laos
Twenty kilometres east of Sepon, Ban Dong (Dong Village) was on one of the major thoroughfares of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and was the site of the only Lao…
Savannakhet
Dong Natad is a sacred, semi-evergreen forest within a provincial protected area 15km east of Savannakhet. It's home to two villages that have been…
