City: Laos
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Top 10 Historic Sites in Laos, Laos
Coordinates: 18°N 105°E / 18°N 105°E / 18; 105
Restaurants in Laos
1. Wat Kang
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 6 reviews
Reviewed By dgggg10 - Trinity Beach, Australia
A beautiful spot in Salavan. Very colourful paintings inside the temple depicting age old stories. An original wooden building probably used as a meeting place or temples in the beginning. A must see.
2. The Plain of Jars
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 638 reviews
Sousath Phetrasy is the man who helped open the plain of jars to tourist and the trip run by his son, Mr. Nouds Phetrasy is the most informative in town. Extremely knowledgeable about the region, He run daily tours to the plain of jars sites, include site 1, site 2, site 3, site 8, site 12, site 21, site 23, site 25, site 28, site 42, site 52, and he also organize trek to jungle, villages for Camping, for the war obsessives He run trip to Vieng Xai Phathed Lao leader cave and war site as: Lima site 36, LS 85, and LS 20 A Long Tieng the clandestine in the Saisomboun Jungle created by the C.I.A during the secret war 1965.
Reviewed By jodmarshall - Canning, Australia
Visited site 1 & 2 with tour guide. Both sites offered completely different experiences. Site 2 was so green and mainly on the top of a hill, site 1 was more barren and spread out on flat and hillside. We visited around lunch time and surprisingly we had site 2 all to ourselves, at site 1 maybe only 15 visitors. Great photo opportunity and definatley among the best things we did in Laos worth the long drive from Luang Prabang to get there
3. Hintang Houamuang
4. Great Sacred Stupa (Pha That Luang)
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 1,596 reviews
A 24-carat, 45-meter high Buddhist shrine.
Reviewed By OrderintheHouse
As part of an 18 day Asian adventure to celebrate our 40th anniversary, my wife and I enjoyed a short 5 day Wendy Wu “Laos in Focus” private tour in January 2020, organised through Asia DMC Laos, incorporating a three night stay in Luang Prabang and one night in Vientiane. Our all too short stay in Vientiane included a “whirl wind” tour of the main city attractions including the delightful Wat That Luang Tai Temple culminating with a view of the next door iconic gold covered Pha That Luang, commonly known as the Great Stupa. Out of interest, the Encyclopaedia Britannica defines a “Stupa” as a Buddhist commemorative monument usually housing sacred relics associated with the Buddha or other saintly persons. What an impressive sight the gold covered Great Stupa is. It is a stunning building that dominates the landscape. It is an imposing Buddhist stupa with a height from ground to pinnacle of 147.6 feet or 44 metres. It has a unique, pyramid-like shape and is surrounded at the base by 30 smaller spire-shaped stupas. The entire stupa is divided into three tiers, each narrower than the last, each conveying a reflection of part of the Buddhist doctrine. The first level measures 67 metres by 68 metres; the second is 47 metres along each side; and the third level is 29 metres along each side. The pinnacle of the Stupa is covered in pure gold leaf. Building of the Stupa began in 1566, under the direction of the Laotian king Setthathirat when he decided to move the capital from the city of Luang Prabang to Vientiane. At the front of the Stupa is an interesting statue of King Setthathirat seated on a large stone plinth holding a weapon of warfare and enclosed in a special fenced off area. In 1828, Pha That Luang was almost completely destroyed by the invading Kingdom of Siam and abandoned after that. It was the French in 1930 who decided to rebuild the Stupa along King Setthathirat’s original plans. It was apparently nearly destroyed in 1940 during the independence movements of Southeast Asia, however after World War II further reconstruction followed, leaving us with the splendid structure we see today. We would have really appreciated the opportunity to go inside the grounds and get a closer look at this architectural masterpiece. However, time was not on our side given that our city tour had been delayed by a couple of hours. Never mind, it was better to see the Great Stupa even from a distance than not at all. The visit to Pha That Luang was preceded by an equally impressive visit to the temple next door - Wat That Luang Tai (reviewed separately under Vat That Khao) with its highlights of an incredibly beautiful Pavilion building housing intricate, colourful murals or frescoes on the life of Buddha and of course the imposing gold covered reclining Buddha. Together with the Great Stupa the two attractions made for a Vientiane travellers’ dynamic temple duo – definitely not to be missed. Also, you get some very good initial views of the Great Stupa from within the grounds of Wat That Luang Tai. To us, the sight of Pha That Luang, the Great Stupa, is up there with some of the best unique architectural achievements we have had the privilege to see and visit including, to name three, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, the Opera House in Sydney, Australia and the Taj Mahal in Agra, India. How fortunate then that we were able to see this most splendid gold covered structure. It has left a lasting imprint on us. The world is indeed a beautiful place to enjoy when we can admire a unique architectural masterpiece like this.
5. Xieng Khouang Phonsavan Official Tourist Information Center
6. Wat Manorom
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 53 reviews
Reviewed By Ragu88 - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
This temple is quite big and one of the major Buddhist temple in Luang Prabang and it does sit monastery within the temple. Go during evening prayer and it's really peaceful and felt very calm. There are few drawings and story crafted at the wall of the temple. Very beautiful and Majestic!
7. Wat Muang Kang Temple
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 17 reviews
Reviewed By davidbR9592WJ - Louisville, United States
The pagoda is blended with architecturral style and the only holy place to worship and rest a mind when I arrived this pagoda it was a serenity and with the sound of bird and the temple is stretched to the Mekong River in Champasak Lao. Good place to visit when in Champasak because this place will read you the story of temple perhaps in the 19th century.
8. Don Khone Island
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 116 reviews
Reviewed By CharlotteC767
Great t bike around or just sit and watch the river flow by. Plenty of good restaurants and hotels or lodging for all budgets. A nice boat ride as well from the mainland and a good place to chill for two nights or even a week.
9. Wat Tat Luang
10. Old French Railway Bridge
Overall Ratings
3.5 based on 119 reviews
Reviewed By andid236 - Neuberg an der Muerz, Austria
The sunsets here are stunning. Grab a beer or a fresh coconut from one of the near restaurants and watch the sun disappearing between the jungle-islands of the mekong river. You won't be here allone, but the atmosphere is calm and relaxed.
