Luang Prabang

Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 (Town of Luang Prabang, site no. 479). Sits on a peninsula where the Nam Khan River meets the Mekong, in the mountains of northern Laos. Capital of the Lan Xang kingdom from 1353; Vientiane formally became the capital in 1560. UNESCO counts its temples, Wat Xieng Thong among them, as some of the most sophisticated Buddhist temples in Southeast Asia. The town has an international airport about 4 km from the centre and a railway station about 15 km out.

Luang Prabang stands on a narrow tongue of land between the Mekong and the Nam Khan, with forested ranges all around it. The old town is small enough to cross on foot. Monasteries with sweeping tiered roofs stand beside timber stilt houses and one- or two-storey brick villas from the French period, and many of those villas still have wooden balconies facing the main street and the river.

UNESCO inscribed the town on the World Heritage List in 1995. It did so because the Lao building tradition and the European colonial street plan grew together here without either one erasing the other. The protected area takes in dozens of the town's villages, each built around its own temple. The ponds and wetlands between the houses, used for fish farming and vegetable growing, are part of the protected landscape too.

Buddhist life is still part of everyday life here. Saffron-robed monks collect alms at dawn, novices learn restoration skills from senior monks, and festivals still take the sacred Phra Bang image out in procession. Visitors usually combine temple visits with the climb up Mount Phou Si in the centre of town, the evening market and day trips to nearby waterfalls and river caves.

When to go: Climate records for Luang Prabang show December and January as the driest months, so the cooler, drier part of the year is generally the most comfortable for walking around the old town and taking river trips. April is the hottest month, with average daily highs above 35 °C. August is the wettest month, so expect frequent heavy rain in the middle of the year.

Getting there: Luang Prabang International Airport is about 4 km from the town centre. It has domestic flights to Vientiane and international routes that have included Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Hanoi. Luang Prabang railway station is about 15 km from the centre, with trains to Vientiane, Vang Vieng and Boten near the Chinese border. Once you reach the old town, you can walk to almost everything.

Mon city-states were active along this stretch of the Mekong by the 8th century, and the early settlement was known as Muang Sua. Local legend says the Buddha smiled when he rested here on his travels and predicted that a rich and powerful city would one day grow on the site. For a short period at the end of the 12th century the area came under Khmer overlordship.

The town's rise began in 1353, when Fa Ngum founded the kingdom of Lan Xang, the 'Land of a Million Elephants', and made the town, then called Xieng Thong, his capital. Fa Ngum received the Phra Bang, a revered standing Buddha image associated with Cambodia, as a symbol of legitimate rule. The city later took its present name from it: Luang Prabang roughly means 'royal Buddha image'. Lan Xang grew wealthy from its position on regional trade routes, and the capital became the leading centre of Buddhism in the region.

In 1560 King Setthathirath formally moved the royal seat south to Vientiane, which had already overtaken the old capital as a commercial centre. Luang Prabang kept its religious importance. Wat Xieng Thong, the town's most elaborate monastery complex, dates from the 16th century. When Lan Xang broke apart in 1707, Luang Prabang became the capital of its own kingdom, one of the successor states that shared the former Lao lands.

After France established its protectorate in 1893, Luang Prabang again became the royal and religious capital, and the French recognised it as the residence of the Lao monarchy. Between 1904 and 1909 a new royal palace was built for the court; Sisavang Vong later reigned from it. During the Second World War and the First Indochina War, outside powers occupied or fought over the town, including Vichy France, Thailand and Japan. Vientiane became the administrative capital in 1946. The monarchy was abolished in 1975 and the palace was turned into a national museum. Twenty years later, in 1995, UNESCO added the town to the World Heritage List, and a safeguarding plan with legal force now controls building in the historic core.

1. UNESCO World Heritage Centre · Town of Luang Prabang ↗
2. Wikipedia · Luang Prabang ↗
3. Wikipedia · Lan Xang ↗
4. Wikipedia · Royal Palace, Luang Prabang ↗
5. Encounters Travel · Alms Giving in Luang Prabang, Laos ↗