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…
Must-see attractions in Luang Prabang
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'…
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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…
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,…
Luang Prabang
When the coronation of a Luang Prabang king was pending, he spent three days in retreat at Wat Longkhun before ascending the throne. The central sǐm …
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,…
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,…
Luang Prabang
Though touted as one of Luang Prabang's oldest operating temples, it's actually an 1898 reconstruction built following the Black Flag raids. Peruse a…
Luang Prabang
Over the gilded and carved wooden facade, Wat Pa Phai has a classic Tai–Lao fresco depicting everyday scenes of late 19th-century Lao life.
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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…
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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…
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Luang Prabang
As relaxing as a trip to the spa, this botanical garden, opened in 2017 as the first in Laos, is a serene spot to read, take a stroll or perfect some yoga…
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Luang Prabang
In the old quarter, Wat Xieng Mouane's ceiling is painted with gold naga (river serpents) and the elaborate háang thíen (candle rail) has naga at either…
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Luang Prabang
Winding lanes to the west lead to Wat Manorom, set amid frangipani trees just outside what were once the city walls (now invisible). This is possibly the…
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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…
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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,…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Luang Prabang
This lumpy hemispherical stupa is commonly nicknamed That Makmo, which translates as 'Watermelon Stupa'. Originally constructed in 1514, it was pillaged…
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Luang Prabang
Rich ruby-red walls with intricate gold overlay give Wat Sensoukaram one of the most dazzling facades of all of Luang Prabang's temples. The name, temple…
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Luang Prabang
This mysterious footprint close to Phu Si is one of many scattered around Southeast Asia, and is said to be that of the Buddha after he reached…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Luang Prabang
The five-piece Royal Palace Car Collection includes two 1960s Lincoln Continentals, a rare wing-edged 1958 Edsel Citation and a dilapidated Citroën DS…
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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…
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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…
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Luang Prabang
A beautifully faded temple guarded by emerald nagas (river serpents) on its roof, supported by columns and with an illustrated ochre interior.
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Luang Prabang
Following a path past this large monastery leads to a shrine protecting a Buddha footprint.
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Luang Prabang
This monastery close to That Chomsi features a number of gold Buddhas nestled into rocky clefts and niches.
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Luang Prabang
Riverside Wat Xienleck has an Angkorian-style brick stupa that looks like it's about to fall over.
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