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…
Must-see attractions in Laos
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…
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…
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…
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…
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
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Luang Prabang
This vital office advises on how new developments must adhere to strict architectural guidelines in order to maintain the historical authenticity of the…
Northern Laos
The most distinctive of the old Lao-French buildings is home to the two-room Tribal Museum, which boasts costume displays downstairs and six cases of…
Luang Prabang
The modern Vietnamese–Lao temple of Wat Phabaht is fronted by a distinctive, if kitschy, array of spires. Behind is a shady Mekong-fronting terrace from…
Northern Laos
By far Namtha's most striking landmark, this large golden stupa sits on a steep ridge directly northwest of town. It gleams majestically when viewed from…
Southern Laos
Next to the boat pier, several weavers have their looms here and locally woven textiles and other crafts are on sale. Some people here can speak a little…
Northern Laos
The Luang Nam Tha Museum contains a collection of local anthropological artefacts, such as ethnic clothing, Khamu bronze drums and ceramics. There are…
Luang Prabang
The garden around the little Wat Choumkhong is particularly attractive when its poinsettia trees blush red. Built in 1843, the monastery takes its name…
Northern Laos
These atmospheric one-storey wooden houses make you feel, as you peer into their Chinese-decorated interiors, that you are no longer in Laos but already…
Northern Laos
Pretty little Phu That Stupa, a historic structure that was totally rebuilt after wartime destruction, is accessed via stairways from the main road…
Luang Prabang
The most prominent building of Wat Souvannakhili looks more like a colonial-era mansion than a monastery, but the small sǐm (ordination hall) is a classic…
Pakse
The riverside Wat Luang is one of Pakse's largest temples and is notable for its old monastic school built in 1935, which has recently had a roof…
Vientiane
Wat In Paeng is famed for the artistry displayed in the stucco relief of the sǐm (ordination hall), but sees fewer visitors than its neighbouring temples…
Vientiane
One of a cluster of temples on the main drag, known for its Bangkok-style sǐm (ordination hall) and heavy gates, which are flanked by two nyak (guardian…
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