In the old quarter, Wat Xieng Mouane's ceiling is painted with gold naga (river serpents) and the elaborate háang thíen (candle rail) has naga at either end. With backing from Unesco and Greece, the monks' quarters were restored as a classroom for training young novices and monks in the artistic skills needed to maintain and preserve Luang Prabang's temples, including woodcarving, painting and Buddha-casting, all of which came to a virtual halt after 1975.
Wat Xieng Mouane
Luang Prabang
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.47 MILES
Luang Prabang's best-known monastery is centred on a 1560 sǐm (ordination hall). Its roofs sweep low to the ground and there's a stunning 'tree of life'…
0.22 MILES
Dominating the old city centre and a favourite with sunset junkies, the 100m-tall Phu Si (prepare your legs for a steep 329-step ascent) is crowned by a…
13.7 MILES
Thirty kilometres southwest of Luang Prabang, Tat Kuang Si is a many-tiered waterfall tumbling over limestone formations into a series of cool, swimmable…
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0.82 MILES
The sobering UXO Laos Information Centre helps you get a grip on the devastation Laos suffered in the Second Indochina War and how nearly 40 years later…
0.25 MILES
Wat Mai is one of the city's most sumptuous monasteries, its wooden sǐm (ordination hall) sporting a five-tiered roof in archetypal Luang Prabang style,…
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11.83 MILES
Set up by some Australian pioneers with no prior experience in farming, the Buffalo Dairy is now producing a range of delicious cheese and dairy products…
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6.42 MILES
The wide, multilevel cascade pools of this menthol-hued waterfall 15km southeast of Luang Prabang are a memorable sight from August to November. Unlike…
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7.44 MILES
Thirty-two kilometres west of the city, this slice of natural paradise reclaimed from a rubbish dump uses the forest and a stunning cascade as its…
Nearby Luang Prabang attractions
0.04 MILES
Footpaths lead back from the commercial main drag into a little oasis of palm-shaded calm around Heuan Chan, an authentic traditional longhouse on tree…
0.05 MILES
The garden around the little Wat Choumkhong is particularly attractive when its poinsettia trees blush red. Built in 1843, the monastery takes its name…
0.07 MILES
Over the gilded and carved wooden facade, Wat Pa Phai has a classic Tai–Lao fresco depicting everyday scenes of late 19th-century Lao life.
4. Royal Palace Car Collection
0.11 MILES
The five-piece Royal Palace Car Collection includes two 1960s Lincoln Continentals, a rare wing-edged 1958 Edsel Citation and a dilapidated Citroën DS…
5. Wat Siphoutthabat Thippharam
0.11 MILES
Following a path past this large monastery leads to a shrine protecting a Buddha footprint.
0.14 MILES
The sacred Pha Bang image, from which the city takes its name, is stored in this highly ornate pavilion that wasn't completed until 2011. The 83cm-tall,…
0.15 MILES
This mysterious footprint close to Phu Si is one of many scattered around Southeast Asia, and is said to be that of the Buddha after he reached…
0.15 MILES
Evoking traditional Lao and French beaux-arts styles, the former Royal Palace was built in 1904 and was home to King Sisavang Vong (r 1904–59), whose…