Vientiane, Laos' national capital, mixes French-colonial architecture with Buddhist temples such as the golden, 16th-century Pha That Luang. Along broad boulevards and tree-lined streets are many notable shrines including Wat Si Saket, which features thousands of Buddha images, and Wat Si Muang, built atop a Hindu shrine.
Laos: Luang Prabang – “Royal Buddha Image”
First settled more than 1200 years ago at the confluence of the Nam Khan and Mekong Rivers in the heart of Northern Laos, Luang Prabang city has served as the capital of kingdoms both ancient and modern.
At 8:30 prompt we were collected by our guide for the day, The and our driver La. It was going to be a long day visiting some of the main sights of Luang Prabang.
Luang Prabang, literally meaning “Royal Buddha Image”, is a city in north central Laos, consisting of 58 adjacent villages, of which 33 comprise the UNESCO Town Of Luang Prabang World Heritage Site. It was listed in 1995 for unique and “remarkably” well preserved architectural, religious, and cultural heritage, a blend of the rural and urban developments over several centuries, including the French colonial influences during the 19th and 20th centuries.
The centre of the city consists of four main roads and is located on a peninsula at the confluence of the Nam Khan and Mekong River. Luang Prabang is well known for its numerous Buddhist temples and monasteries. Every morning, hundreds of monks from the various monasteries walk through the streets collecting alms. One of the city’s major landmarks is Mount Phou Si; a large steep hill which despite the constrained scale of the city, is 150 metres (490 ft) high; a steep staircase leads to Wat Chom Si shrine and an overlook of the city and the rivers.
The city was formerly the capital of a kingdom of the same name. It had also been known by the ancient name of Xieng Thong. It was the royal capital and seat of government of the Kingdom of Laos, until the Pathet Lao takeover in 1975.
Wat Souvannakhiri
Our first stop was a small temple called Wat Souvannakhiri temple, aka Simply Wat Khili. It is a beautiful white temple complex on the main street with sakkaline road temples. But it is both externally and in content very different from the rest on this street. First of all, its architecture looks more like a colonial style than the traditional temple style of Luang Prabang. And secondly, inside one of the buildings there is a free photo exhibition of the history of meditation. The photos capture the unique moments of meditation of famous Buddhist monks. It is a small exhibition, with some captivating and provoking images. It didn’t take too long the make our way around, but it was an excellent start to the day. After leaving the photography exhibit, we wandered around the temple grounds and took a look inside the ordination halls, which was small but very beautiful.
Wat Xiang Thong
We hopped back into the van and were driven to the most important temple in Luang Prabang, and probably Laos, Wat Xiang Thong, which is in northern tip of the peninsula of the city, where the two rivers meet. The first building we went to look at was the Carriage House, which was built in 1962 to house and preserve the funeral carriage of King Sisavang Vong (1885-1959), King of Luang Prabang, 1904-46, and King of Laos, 1946-59. It also contains other religious and ceremonial relics. The 12m (nearly 40ft) gilded wooden carriage sits in the doorway of this building. The hearse was used carry the remains of King Sisavang Vong to the field near Wat That Luang for his cremation in April 1961. Highly ornate, it is dominated by seven nagas with gaping jaws and prominent fangs at its prow and an elaborate red canopy supported by gilded and ornate columns at its centre. There are three ornate gilded sandlewood funerary urns that contained the remains of the king’s father (in front) and mother (in the rear); Sisavang Vong’s remains are given the central place of honour under the canopy. The remains were placed upright in a foetal position. The ashes of the king, queen and royal brother are at Wat That Luang.
The other main building on the complex is Wat Xieng Thong, the ‘temple of the golden city’. When we visited it undergoing some renovations to fix the roof, which was suffering from termite damage. This didn’t make it any less beautiful. Wat Xieng Thong was built in the 16th century (between 1559 and 1560) by King Setthathirath who ruled the country from 1548 to 1571. He built the Wat to commemorate the legendary King Chanthaphanith. Wat Xieng Thong was under the patronage of the royal family until 1975, when the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (LPDR) was established. Lao Kings used this site for their coronation of and the centre of numerous annual festivals honouring the Buddha and various folk spirits.
Wat Xieng Thong’s Sim is composed of nine cascading roofs and is richly decorated. The interior of the Sim was stunning, the walls were covered in gold on black stencils which tell the story of King Chanthaphanith and Jataka stories from Buddhist cosmology. One of the most spectacular features of the Sim is a mosaic in brightly coloured glass that depicts a legendary flame tree.
On one side of the sim, there are small halls and stupas that contain Buddha images of the period. There is a reclining Buddha sanctuary, which contains an especially rare reclining Buddha that dates back to the construction of the temple. In 1931, the image was taken to France and displayed at the Paris Exhibition. It was kept in Vientiane until 1964, when it was returned to Luang Prabang.
Royal Palace National Museum Complex
From Wat Xieng Thong we took the van back into the centre of the city, to the National Museum complex. Inside the walls of the museum, which was the former palace of the King, are three main buildings; the Royal residence, a meeting hall where the Royal Ballet performs and Haw Pha Bang.
The first building we visited was Haw Pha Bang. The Haw Pha Bang (Ho Pha Bang), Royal or Palace Chapel, is located at the northeastern corner of the grounds of the Royal Palace Museum. Although it is a new structure, it is built in the traditional style and is tied directly to the history and traditions of this World Heritage City. The Haw Pha Bang has been designed as the permanent home/shrine for the Pha (or Pra) Bang, Luang Prabang’s namesake and most sacred image. The image, brought to Luang Prabang in 1359, earlier had places of honour in various city wats (including Wisunalat and Mai).
Before entering the Royal Palace, we had to drop our bags, for security reasons, in a locker room. No photography is allowed inside the Royal Palace – so our cameras and phones had to stay in the lockers with our bags.
The Royal Palace in Luang Prabang, Laos, was built in 1904 during the French colonial era for King Sisavang Vong and his family. The site for the palace was chosen so that official visitors to Luang Prabang could disembark from their river voyages directly below the palace and be received there. When King Sisavang Vong passed away in 1959, his son inherited the throne and became King Sisavang Wathana. He modernized the place to fit the shifting artistic expression of his period. He added new rooms and expanded the throne room.
In 1975 the communist Pathet Laos party came to power ending the Laos monarchy. The Royal family was forced to leave the Palace and moved to a private residence near a local temple. The palace was then converted into a National Museum and opened to the public in 1995.
The palace is very modest compared to most we have visited around the world.
At the front of the palace are the royal reception rooms which now form the main galleries. They are filled with busts and paintings of the Lao monarchy, gilded and lacquered Ramayana screens, a collection of gifts from foreign states and friendship flags from China and Vietnam as well as replicas of sculpture from the National Museum in New Delhi. I was particularly interested to see the gifts from the United States, including a model lunar lander and a piece of moon rock in set in glass.
The main throne room’s walls were painted bright red and decorated with glass mosaics forming huge murals, which were like those we’d seen at Wat Xieng Thong. Around the throne room, there are displays of ceremonial swords, Buddha statues and other artifacts of the Royal family including throne of the King and Queen, the King’s elephant chair.
Behind the throne room, there is the royals’ residential area which includes bedrooms of King and Queen, a dining room, a library, and a music room displaying Lao classical instruments and masks. These rooms have been maintained as they were when the Royal family departed in 1975.They were very plainly decorated with largely white walls, with a few paintings and sparsely furnished.
Besides, there is a building that houses the royal car collection. It’s a small collection, mostly American cars from the 1950s to 1970s. There was one old Citroen that they liked to drive because it was a stick-shift.
Wat Mai Suwannaphumaham
We left the National Museum and crossed the road to visit Wat Mai Suwannaphumaham or Wat Mai (The New Monastery). The original wat was founded around the end of the 18th century and restored in 1821 during the reign of King Manthatourat when it was given the name of The New Monastery.
The monastery has special significance for several reasons. It served as a temple for the royal family and long has been the residence of the Pra Sangkharat, the highest Laotian Buddhist dignitary. Luckily, the Wat as not damaged when the city was raided by the Chinese in 1887.
During Pimai, the mid-April Laotian New Year, the Prabang is ceremoniously brought from the museum to a temporary pavilion in front of the sim; for three days there is ceremonial washing of the image and opportunity for the faithful to pay homage.
The monastery’s Sim has a five-tiered roof, and the has an exquisite, gilded bas relief on the front façade and other decorations. The inside of the Sim is painted red with gold stencilling on the columns, beams and walls. At the back there are many Buddha images, including one large one.
Mount Phousi
By now it was approaching midday and the mercury was rising. So, it was now that we were offered the chance to climb the 100m to the top of Mount Phousi (also known as Phu Si), which provides the best views of the ancient city of Luang Prabang and the surrounding areas.
The only way to the top of the mountain is via two stairways on either side of the hill (each with over 300 stairs). A lot of people go up here to watch the sun go down over the Mekong River, but we were heading up during the heat of the midday sun. It was a bit of a slog, but well worth it.
At the top of the mountain there is a small temple, but the main reason for coming is the 360 degree views of the area. Unfortunately, this time of year the visibility is not great as the smoke from the farmers burning in preparation for planting for the rainy season. But it was still lovely.
Luckily, coming down the 300 steps was not as bad as the going up.
Wat Visoun/Wat Wisunalat
Before heading to lunch we still had one more temple to visit.
Wat Visoun or Wat Wisunalat is the oldest Buddhist temple in Luang Prabang. It was originally built in 1513, during the reign of King Visoun who ruled the country from 1501 to 1520. The beautiful temple was razed in the 1887 by the Chinese Black Flag Army, who left with most of the priceless Buddha images by breaking the stupa. These images are made from jade, gold, and precious gems. The temple was rebuilt between 1896 and 1898, during the reign of King Sakkarin Kamsuk.
The temple has another historical claim to fame: the famous and powerful Phra Bang Buddha was housed at Wat Visoun from 1513 until 1707 before it was relocated to the Royal Palace Museum.
When the temple was rebuilt, the Sim was given a European-style roof that is not commonly seen in Laos. The other main building in the temple grounds is That Mak Mo, a stone-built stupa. It is the only structure in the temple that survived the ransacking of the Black Flag Army. The stupa is supposed to resemble a lotus flower, but locals often call it the ‘watermelon stupa’ because of its rounded dome.
Done with all the temples it was now time for lunch. We were driven to very nice restaurant overlooking the conjunction of the Mekong and Nam Khan rivers. As we sat, we looked down on a group of men demolishing a very precarious bamboo foot bridge across the Nam Khan river. This was one of the main thoroughfares to cross the river. Apparently, the bridge needed to come down because the banks of the river were eroding, threatening structures on the banks, so they needed to build some reinforcing elements. Some of the men worked on boats, while others hung from parts of the bridge. It looked like dangerous work. As watched a man on the next table asked us where we from. He and his wife were Indian but were living in Bangkok. They were missionaries and ran an organisation of churches around the world and had lived for many years in the United States. Their children still live in various parts of the States. His wife was less chatty, but he seemed to want to engage and talk about his work.
In summary
- The main sites of interest are located in a compact area so it is easy enough to get around on foot
- It takes about four to five hours to explore with a guide.
- You will likely be going into temples, so dress modestly. Women should cover their shoulders and legs to below the knee.
- Luang Prabang was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994.
Planning your visit to Luang Prabang
Plane
Luang Prabang International Airport (LPQ) is located 4 km from the center of Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang International Airport serves domestic and international flights. Several international and domestic airlines operate scheduled flights to/from Luang Prabang Airport, including Lao Airlines, Bangkok Airways, Thai Airways, China Eastern Airlines, and Vietnam Airlines.
Bus
- Within Laos: The bus from Vientiane to Luang Prabang takes about 10 hours and has a few morning departures from Vientiane’s Northern Bus Station. From Luang Prabang’s Naluang (Southern) Bus Station, travelers can take a shared tuk-tuk ride to the town centre.
- A faster alternative to a public bus is a minibus. You can buy a ticket from most travel agents and some guesthouses. The journey on a minibus is faster but they can also be pretty cramped. A minibus from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang takes 5 hours. From Vientiane, it takes about 7 hours.
- International bus: There are international buses from Hanoi, Vinh (Vietnam), Loei (Thailand), Kunming (China) to Luang Prabang.
Boat
One of the nicest and most popular ways to get to Luang Prabang is to cross the border at Chiang Khong in Thailand to Huay Xai and take a boat up or down the Mekong through spectacular and scenic countryside. If you take the slow boat, it will take 2 days. See our blog post on taking the slow boat.
Train
The 414km-long Boten-Vientiane railway was completed and put into operation in December 2021. There’re 5 scheduled trains available on each way, including 4 speed trains (CXX) and 1 ordinary train (KXX). Speed trains run at 160km/hour and ordinary train at 120km/hour. The speed trains reduce the ride journey between Vientiane and Luang Prabang from 10 hours to 2 hours. Another important station is Vang Vieng in between. It’s now very convenient to travel among Vientiane, Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang and Boten.
The train always sells out so you need to get your tickets in advance. When we travelled it was quite an ordeal to get tickets, but that may have changed, so check with your hotel.
Also, worth noting is that the train station is quite a way out of town (12km). So, you will need transport (and time) to get there!
The best time to visit Luang Prabang
The best time to visit Luang Prabang
Given the climatological patterns, the best time to visit Luang Prabang would be from November to February. During these months, the city experiences relatively cooler temperatures, ranging from 26.3°C (79.3°F) to 30.8°C (87.4°F) in the day and 14.2°C (57.6°F) to 18°C (64.4°F) at night. Rainfall is also at a minimum, with only two to three rainy days per month. The city enjoys an average of six to seven hours of sunshine, making it an ideal setting for outdoor activities.
The worst time to visit Luang Prabang
The least suitable period to visit Luang Prabang would be between June and September. These months experience the highest rainfall reaching up to 289mm (11.38″), with as much as 16 to 19 rainy days in a month. Despite the longer daylight hours, the actual sunlight hours reduce to around 4 to 4.6 hours per day due to cloud coverage. Add high humidity, with average values above 85%, and the appeal for outdoor activities diminishes greatly.
Where to stay in Luang Prabang
1. Luxury – Satri House Hotel
Located in Luang Prabang, the colonial-style Satri House was the previous residence of Prince Souphanouvon. The hotel offers 2 outdoor pools, free Wi-Fi and a spa.
The modern rooms at Satri House feature beautiful interiors and a cable TV. Standard amenities include a minibar and fridge.
Guests can lounge by the 2 pools and enjoy views of the beautiful landscaped gardens. The hotel’s spa features massage services and sauna facilities.
2. Mid-Range – Luang Prabang Museum Inn
Located in Luang Prabang and with Mount Phousy reachable within 1.2 km, Luang Prabang Museum Inn & Travel provides concierge services, allergy-free rooms, free bikes, free WiFi and a shared lounge. This 3-star hotel offers room service and a 24-hour front desk. Guests can enjoy American and Asian dishes at the restaurant or have a cocktail at the snack bar.
The hotel will provide guests with air-conditioned rooms with a desk, a kettle, a fridge, a minibar, a safety deposit box, a flat-screen TV, a terrace and a private bathroom with a bidet. At Luang Prabang Museum Inn & Travel each room has bed linen and towels.
3. Budget – The Jam
Set in Luang Prabang, 1.2 km from Mount Phousy, The Jam offers accommodation with an outdoor swimming pool, free private parking, a garden and a shared lounge. Among the various facilities are a restaurant, a bar, as well as barbecue facilities. The accommodation features a 24-hour front desk, airport transfers, room service and free WiFi throughout the property.
Every room has a private bathroom with a bidet, while certain rooms here will provide you with a terrace and others also provide guests with pool views.
You can play billiards at the hostel, and bike hire and car hire are available.
More to Explore
