3 World Heritage Sites to visit in Laos
Town of Luang Prabang, the first of three World Heritage Sites in Laos, was listed in 1995 for its 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 other sites are Vat Phou and Associated Ancient Settlements within the Champasak Cultural Landscape listed in 2001 and Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang – Plain of Jars listed in 2019.
- Town of Luang Prabang
- Vat Phou and Associated Ancient Settlements within the Champasak Cultural Landscape
- Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang – Plain of Jars
Town 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.
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.
Its unique, remarkably well-preserved townscape illustrates a key stage in the blending of these two distinct cultural traditions.
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.
Vat Phou and Associated Ancient Settlements within the Champasak Cultural Landscape
The Champasak cultural landscape, including the Vat Phou Temple complex, is a remarkably well-preserved planned landscape more than 1,000 years old.
It was shaped to express the Hindu vision of the relationship between nature and humanity, using an axis from mountain top to river bank, to lay out a geometric pattern of temples, shrines and waterworks extending over some 10 km.
Two planned cities on the banks of the Mekong River are also part of the site, as well as Phou Kao mountain. The whole represents a development, ranging from the 5th to 15th centuries, mainly associated with the Khmer Empire.
Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang – Plain of Jars
The Plain of Jars, located on a plateau in central Laos, gets its name from more than 2,100 tubular-shaped megalithic stone jars used for funerary practices in the Iron Age.
This serial property of 15 components contains large carved stone jars, stone discs, secondary burials, tombstones, quarries and funerary objects dating from 500 BCE to 500 CE.
The jars and associated elements are the most prominent evidence of the Iron Age civilization that made and used them until it disappeared, around 500 CE.
