Elegant colonial style buildings along Luang Prabang's Mekong waterfront.
Sited on a narrow strip of land formed where the Khan River flows into the Mekong (see map), high up in the mountains of northern Laos, is the old royal capital of Luang Prabang - or Louang Phabang, depending on how you choose to translate the Lao. The small town was designated a UNESCO world heritage site in 1995, meaning that the historic old district will be maintained as it is, with no new buildings built taller than the existing two story structures.
The city's small size means that you can see all the main sights in a couple of days. But it's also the kind of place where you can linger - that makes you want to linger - for longer. See our overview for a map and quick run-down of the sights.
By far the easiest way to get to Luang Prabang is by air. Thailand's Bangkok Airways flys almost daily from Bangkok to Luang Prabang. For domestic air travel, Lao Aviation is the only carrier, and flies to Luang Prabang from both Vientiane, Phonsavan and other places. Lao Aviation had a somewhat spotty safety record in the past, but has taken steps to improve the situation and upgrade its fleet. See my review of Lao Airlines as well the guide to Luang Prabang Airport.
Without a doubt the most popular day trip out of Luang Prabang is the trip up the Mekong River to the caves at the mouth of the Ou river (hence the name 'Pak Ou' - 'mouth of the ou'). Although you can make most of the trip by road, boat is the best way to go even though it does take nearly an hour (or more if the river is low) to make the trip up river.
One of the stairways up the hill. At the base of the long peninsula on which the old town of Luang Prabang is sited is a small hill, just 100 meters (325 feet) high. The sides of the hill, as well as the top, is studded with many small temples and shrines. There are several routes up the hill, and a typical tour takes one stairway up and a different one down.
The old royal palace sits at one end of town, opposite Phou Si hill. The current palace building was built in 1904 on the foundations of a much older palace. This was after the Luang Prabang kingdom became a French protectorate, so the building features a blend of Lao and French styles. The building was taken over by the government after the 1975 revolution and opened to the public as a museum in 1995.
An idea of what awaits some people in hell. Next to Wat Visoun and the That Makmo is the somewhat smaller temple of Wat Aham. There's not much to see here, really. The sim is rather plain on the outside. Inside, you will find a rather curious motif that is repeated in several temples around the city.
The walls inside the sim are covered with 'instructional' scenes from Buddhist theology.
Few tourists and even fewer local residents seem to bother crossing the Mekong River to the Xiang Men district on the other side. The village of Xiang Men itself is a rather sleepy place, and there are several temples around the village to explore.
The small sim of Wat Long Khoun. One of the closest temples to the river is Wat Long Khoun. You can take a boat from the landing in front of Wat Xieng Thong directly across the river to the temple.
Next to the Royal Palace Museum along Sisavong Vang Road is the early nineteenth century temple of Wat Mai Suwannapumaram (just 'Wat Mai' to most people). The sim of this old temple escaped destruction by the Chinese Haw, who according to some sources found the sim too beautiful to destroy.
The sim of Wat Mai, with it's gilded porch. The most striking feature of the temple is the gilded relief panels covering the front facade.
Peeking over the wall at the sim of Wat Nong Sikhunmeuang. Running parallel to the main Sisavong Vang Road from the Royal Palace Museum up to the back of Wat Xieng Thong is a small lane which can be more pleasant to walk than the heavily touristed main road. Along this route are several interesting temples. One of the biggest and most ornate is Wat Nong Sikhunmeuang, located roughly behind the Villa Santi Hotel.
View of the sim and two stupas in Wat Pa Pai. Tucked away behind the main commercial district along Sisavong Vang Road is the small temple of Wat Pa Pai. The entrance is almost obscured by a huge overgrown bougainvillea planted at the gate. Its across from the rather unusually designed education office. Inside the compound are a small sim, two stupas and a few other buildings.
The small sim has a quite elegant front facade.
At the northeastern base of Phou Si hill is the very active temple of Wat Pra Buddhabaht - 'Temple of the Buddha Footprint'. We need to point out that it's very active because Lonely Planet describes it as being in ruins.
The sim of Wat Pra Buddhabaht The Buddha's footprint alluded to in the temple's name is located in a grotto about halfway up the hill. It is reached from the temple via a stairway which starts in front of the temple's imposing sim (ordination hall).
Along the main Sisavong Vang Road between the main commercial district and Wat Xieng Thong are a string of smaller temples. The largest and most ornate of these is Wat Saen.
The sim of Wat Saen 'Saen' means 100,000 in Lao. We found two different stories that tried to explain the name. One is that the name refers to the original endowment of 100,000 Kip donated to build the temple in 1718.
On the south side of Phou Si hill, outside of the main area of the old city, is the very old temple of Wat Visoun, also called Wat Wisunalat. The temple's most notable feature is the large squat stupa in its forecourt. The stupa is properly know as That Pathum (Lotus Stupa) but is more commonly known as That Makmo because its shape resembles a watermelon ('makmo' being Lao for watermelon).
Between the commercial strip of shops and restaurants at the center of Luang Prabang and the Mekong River are two small temples. The slightly larger of these is Wat Xieng Muan. Its a charming little temple that almost always has a few young novices around to chat with foreigners. A lot of people pass through the temple to get from Sisavong Vang Road to the guest houses and restaurants along the Mekong River.
At the 'tip' of town, where the Khan flows into the Mekong, is one of the city's oldest and most important temples, Wat Xieng Thong ('Golden Tree'). The temple's sim (ordination hall) was built in 1560. The temple was spared destruction by the Black Flag Haw invasion of the late nineteenth century and so is one of the few temples that has been in continuous use since its founding.
Luang Prabang sits on a narrow finger (or, more precisely, a thumb) of land formed by the confluence of the Khan River with the much larger Mekong. The old city, where most of the sights are, is just 300 meters (1,000 feet) wide and about one kilometer (0.6 miles) long. One road follows the rivers completely around the city. The town's main road, which goes by many names, but which we call Sisavong Vang Road in this guide, runs down the 'spine' of the finger.
Most of the accommodations available in Luang Prabang are small hotels and guest houses. Restrictions on building heights and design mean that there will never be any high rise hotels in the historic district. There are a few larger hotels on the outskirts of the city, but these are rather inconvenient for exploring the old town.
Whatever you do, be sure to plan ahead and reserve a room, especially if you want something nice.
$page->metadesc = ""; $page->metakeys = "Laos, luang prabang, sights, sites, overview, getting around, bicycle, motorbike, motorcycle"; $page->page_head(" Luang Prabang"); $page->menu(); ?> The old town is small enough that you can easily walk the city in a few hours. However, if you want to get to some of the outlying areas and across the Khan river, you can rent bicycles from several shops and guest houses around town. The cost is generally around 10,000 Kip (US$1) a day.
Luang Prabang has its own 'royal' version of Lao cuisine. Unfortunately, few of the many restaurants catering to tourists offer much of it. Which is not to say you can't get good eats around town. The city is quite full of places to eat, with everything on offer from European to Thai to Lao cuisines, and we can honestly say that we didn't have a bad, or even mediocre, meal there.
The exact founding date of the city is rather fuzzy. The area may have been settled as long as 2,000 years ago. What is known is that the city became the capital of a small Lao principality sometime in the thirteenth century. A hundred years later, in the mid-fourteenth century, it became a kingdom in its own right. 'Lan Xang Hom Khao' – the land of a million elephants and the white parasol – as it was called, was founded by Fa Ngum, whose family went on to rule Laos for six centuries.
There are no shortage of small shops and markets catering to the tourist trade in Luang Prabang. As a royal capital, the city was once home to many artisans, and there are numerous initiatives under way to keep as many old crafts alive as possible.
What to Buy Textiles Woven shawls now meant to hang as tapestries and quilt-like constructions are everywhere you look in Luang Prabang. Despite the volume, variety can be a bit lacking.
Luang Prabang's northerly location gives it more pronounced seasons that other Southeast Asian destinations, although the climate is still decidedly tropical. As in Thailand to the south, there is a cool and dry season from November to March, which is the best time to visit. The monsoon begins in April, and peaks in August.
Historical Weather Patterns for Vientiane Luang Prabang has a greater temperature range than more southerly cities.
Once you've had a look around Luang Prabang's old town, you're not done. There's more to see around the countryside, including some rather spectacular natural scenery. The city makes a natural, comfortable base for exploring the region via day trips. There are any number of touts along the Mekong offering to take you on river trips, as well as more touts along Sisavang Vong Road offering to take you to waterfalls and other attractions in the area.
There are a little more than 30 temples in the relatively small town of Luang Prabang. As if that's not a lot, the French counted more than 50 monasteries near the end of the nineteenth century. Most tours of the city will include Wat Xieng Thong, Wat Mai Suwannapumaram and at least a walk past the temples on Phu Si.
Wat Pha Pai, one of the 30 temples in Luang Prabang.
