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60 Hotels in Laos
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Main Sights in Laos
In Vientiane
Buddha Park
Everyone loves statues and there isn’t a stranger collection (bar Moscow) than Buddha Park. It is a sculpture park located 25 km southeast from Vientiane in a meadow by the Mekong River. It may be referred to as Wat Xieng Khuan, although the park is not a temple. The name Xieng Khuan means Spirit City. The park contains over 200 Hindu and Buddhist statues. It was built in 1958 by Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat. Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat was a priest-shaman who integrated Hinduism and Buddhism and later fled from Laos to Thailand after the revolution in 1975. There, he built another sculpture park, Sala Keoku in Nong Khai. The statues are made of cement and are ornate, and sometimes bizarre, in design. The statues appear to be centuries old and there are numerous sculptures of Buddha and characters of Hindu lore. There are also sculptures of humans, gods, animals, and demons. One notable sculpture resembles a giant pumpkin. It has three stories representing three levels - Hell, Earth and Heaven. Visitors can enter through an opening which is a mouth of a 10 ft tall demon head and climb staircases from hell to heaven. Each story contains sculptures depicting the level. At the top, there is a vantage point where the entire park is visible.
The Lao National Museum
For your cultural lesson about Laos and its history, your first stop should be the Lao National Museum. Founded as the national museum highlighting the revolution of the 1970s, it is located in a French colonial building. The United States donated in 2007 a grant to help develop the museum. This museum, which was originally built in 1925 as the French governor’s residence, presents the history of Laos, highlighting the Laotian people’s struggle to free the country from foreign occupiers and imperialist forces. It is located on Samsenthai road, opposite the Cultural Hall.
Patuxay
Come see what is dubbed as the Champs-Elysees of the East, the stunning Patuxai (literally Victory Gate or Gate of Triumph) is a monument in the centre of Vientiane built in 1962. It is dedicated to those who fought in the struggle for independence from France. Although bearing a general resemblance to the Arc de Triomphe, in Paris, it is typically Laotian, decorated with many known kinnari figures. It was built using American funds. The US had given Laos money to build a new airport, however the Laotian government of the day used the money to build the monument instead. As a consequence it is sometimes referred to as the "vertical runway".
Pha That Luang
One of the finest Buddhist Stupas in the world, the Pha That Luang Pha was built in the 16th century under King Setthathirat. It was built on the ruins of an earlier 13th century Khmer temple, which the Lao believe was in turn built on a 3rd century Indian temple, by Buddhist missionaries from the Mauryan Empire, who were sent by the Emperor Ashoka. Relics of the Buddha are said to be contained here. The stupa was destroyed by the Thai invasion in 1828, which was heavily damaged and left abandoned. A French explorer and architect came across the abandoned temple and made detailed sketches of it. It was not until 1900, when the French restored to its original design, that it was restructured. The architecture of the building includes many references to Lao culture and identity, and so has become a symbol of Lao nationalism.
Wat Si Saket
Wat Si Saket is a Buddhist wat. It is situated on Lane Xang Road, on the corner with Setthathirat Road, to the northwest of Haw Phra Kaew. It was built in 1818 on the orders of King Anouvong, and may be the oldest temple still standing in Vientiane. It was built in the Siamese of Buddhist architecture, with a surrounding terrace and an ornate five-tiered roof, rather than in the Lao style, keeping it safe from the armies of Siam which sacked Vientiane in 1827. Although the temple was spared as its design was a Bangkok style, the French restored the temple in 1924 and then again in 1930.
In Luang Prabang
Haw Kham (Royal Palace)
The Royal Palace is one of the last relics of the former Lao monarchy system. It was built in 1904 during the French colonial era for King Sisavang Vong and his family. After the revolution, the palace was converted into a national museum. The architecture of the building has a mixed of traditional Lao motifs and French Beaux Arts styles, and has been laid out in a double-cruciform shape with the entrance on one side of the lower crossbar. Above the entrance is a three-headed elephant sheltered by the sacred white parasol, the symbol of the Lao monarchy. The steps to the entrance are made of Italian marble. There are a variety of royal religious objects on display in the large entrance hall. The grounds incorporate several buildings as well as the palace including the Kitchen/storage, the Royal Barge Shelter, Conference Hall, Haw Pha Bang and the staff headquarters.
Wat Xieng Thong
One of the most stunning examples of original Buddhist Wat architecture, the Wat Xieng Thong is located on the northern tip of the peninsula of Luang Phrabang. Built in 1560 under the rule of King Setthathirath, it was under royal patronage during the Kingdom of Laos. Like the royal palace, the wat was placed near the Mekong. In 1888, the Tripitaka library was added and then the drum tower in 1961. This temple, along with Wat Suwannaphumaham, was spared by enemy damage during the sacking of the city in 1887. This was because the Black Flag Haw leader, Deo Van Tri, had studied here as a monk in his early life, and used it as his headquarters during the sacking of Luang Phrabang. It again features remnants of past royal regimes with urns for members of the royal family enclosed.
Pak Ou Caves
Reachable by crossing the river, Pak Ou consists of two caves – the Tham Ting (lower) and the Tham Theung (upper). A magnificent group of caves, reminiscent of the likes of the Maoi Statues, it takes around two hours upstream to reach it and has proved a growing attraction for adventurous tourists. The caves are particularly notable for their impressive Lao Buddha sculptures assembled by local people and pilgrims. Tham Ting contains approximately 2500 Buddhas, whilst the upper region houses around 1500.
In Pakse
The Champasak Provincial Museum
A local museum in Pakse, the Champasak Provincial Museum is a fantastic regional history of the province, collecting various documents and artefacts telling the story of Champasak. The museum also holds historical photos of cultural events, foreign meetings and pictures of Kaysone Phomvihane, Nouhak Phoumsavan and Khamtay Siphandone, all from the south. There are displays of musical instruments, in the Tham script dating from the 15th to 18th centuries, a water jar from the 11th or 12th century and pottery from around the province and also a model of Wat Phu. On the higher level, it displays different ethnic clothing, along with textile and jewellery collections.
Vat Phou
Well here’s something you don’t find every day – a ruined Khmer Hindu Temple. It is located at the base of mount Phu Kao, some 6 km from the Mekong River in the Champasak province. There was a temple on the site as early as the 5th century, but the surviving structures date from the 11th to 13th centuries. The temple has a unique structure, in which the elements lead to a shrine where alinga was bathed in water from a mountain spring. The site later became a centre of Theravada Buddhist worship, which it remains today.
In Xieng Khouang
Plain of Jars
Now it may seem rather odd pointing out a collection of jars, but this particular collection is shrouded in local legend and mystique. The jars are scattered throughout the Xiang Khouang plain in the Lao Highlands. Archaeologists believe that the jars were used around 1500-2000 years as perhaps funeral urns or food storage. Lao legend claim there was a race of giants that inhabited the area (I should perhaps point out here that the jars are quite large) and an ancient king called Khun Cheung supposedly created the jars to brew and store large amounts of lao lao rice wine to celebrate a great victory. There are 400 jar sites, which have also been found in India, thus bringing weight to the claim that it was simply an old trade route. If you are going to visit Mr. Cheung’s jars, be aware that it is known as the most dangerous archaeological site in the world, due to the amount of unexploded bombs and landmines left over from the Vietnam War. There are only a handful of safe sites and you should stick to these, even if you’re a giant.
