Must-see attractions in Southern Laos

  • Vat Phou or Wat Phu in Champasak, Southern Laos.

    Wat Phu Champasak

    Southern Laos

    Bucolic Wat Phu sits in graceful decrepitude, and while it lacks the arresting enormity of Angkor in Cambodia, given its few visitors and more dramatic…

  • Se Pian NPA

    Southern Laos

    Se Pian NPA is one of the most important protected areas in Laos. The 2400-sq-km park boasts small populations of Asiatic black bears, yellow-cheeked…

  • Wat Phou Salao

    Pakse

    The centrepiece of this hilltop temple across the Mekong from Pakse is the giant golden Buddha statue looking out over the city. The views from his perch…

  • Wat Chomphet

    Southern Laos

    This temple just past the stone carvers in Ban Don Khoh is well worth a visit, not only for its 30m-tall gold-painted Buddha but also some of the…

  • Talat Dao Heuang

    Pakse

    This vast market near the Lao–Japanese Bridge is one of the biggest in the country. It's at its most chaotic in the food zones, but just about anything a…

  • Wat Muang Kang

    Southern Laos

    About 5km south of town along the Mekong stands the oldest active temple in Champasak, and one of the most interesting in southern Laos. The soaring Thai…

  • Phu Xieng Thong NPA

    Southern Laos

    Spread over 1200 sq km in Champasak and Salavan Provinces, Phu Xieng Thong NPA is most accessible about 50km upriver from Pakse. The area has a sometimes…

  • Champasak Historical Heritage Museum

    Pakse

    Highlights here include ancient bronze drums, stone carvings unearthed up on the Bolaven Plateau, stelae with Tham script dating from the 15th to 18th…

  • Hong Nang Sida

    Southern Laos

    An easy 2km walk to the south of Wat Phu – follow the signs from near the main gate – stands Nang Sida temple, which probably dates from the middle of the…

  • Sacred Heart Cathedral

    Pakse

    This modest, tin-roofed building isn't much to look at from the outside, but the one-of-a-kind paintings inside are the reason to visit. They show Jesus…

  • Wat Phu Exhibition Hall

    Southern Laos

    The Exhibition Hall near the ticket office showcases dozens of lintels, naga (mythical water serpents), Buddhas and other stonework from Wat Phu and its…

  • Ban Saphai Handicraft Centre

    Southern Laos

    Next to the boat pier, several weavers have their looms here and locally woven textiles and other crafts are on sale. Some people here can speak a little…

  • Wat Luang

    Pakse

    The riverside Wat Luang is one of Pakse's largest temples and is notable for its old monastic school built in 1935, which has recently had a roof…

  • Uo Moung

    Southern Laos

    The Khmer temple ruin of Uo Moung, beside a small tributary of the Mekong, is believed to have been built late in the 9th century during the reign of the…

  • Muang Kao

    Southern Laos

    Where the road to Wat Phu turns away from the Mekong, the remains of the Champasak's ancient city ('Muang Kao') begin. Founded in the mid-5th century by…

  • Chao Boun Oum's House

    Southern Laos

    About 300m south of the fountain circle you'll find the large former home of Chao Boun Oum (the king's younger brother), built in 1952 in French colonial…

  • Chao Ratsadanai's Residence

    Southern Laos

    This faded 1926 French Colonial building was once the residence of Chao Ratsadanai, the king's father.

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