Laos

What to see

Vientiane

The relaxed and quiet riverside capital is home to a Victory Monument that looks like the Arc de Triomphe as well as some significant Buddhist monuments. The That Luang stupa, which has stunning angular gold spires, is the holiest site in the country, while Xieng Khuan, Buddha’s Park, hides several Buddhist and Hindu sculptures as well as a giant reclining Buddha.

Luang Prabang

A former royal capital that’s now a Unesco World Heritage site, this historic northern city is packed with French colonial architecture and splendid traditional wats, temples. Head here to visit the night market, sail on the Mekong and explore the remote villages in the region.

Bolaven Plateau

High plateau with cooler temperatures that’s home to a number of tribal groups, some spectacular waterfalls and coffee plantations producing excellent beans.

Vang Vieng

Stunning karst scenery and masses of adventure activities on offer for the travellers who flock here.

Pak Ou Caves

Set into a limestone cliff several hours up the Mekong from Luang Prabang, these caves are crammed with Buddhist images.

Phu Khao Khuay Npa

Attractive forested reserve with waterfalls, wild elephants and charming places to stay.

Top experiences / sites of particular interest

Plain of Jars

Strange site scattered with hundreds of stone jars thought to be 2000 years old, but of unknown origin and purpose. Theories for the use of the jars include the storage of rice wine or food, or as funerary urns. Trek the Phakeo Trail to explore the plain and take in breathtaking ridge-top scenery.

Wat Phu Champasak

Ancient temple with World Heritage status in a peaceful setting on the slopes of Phu Pasak.

Si Phan Don

This laidback, sleepy river archipelago made up of some 4000 islets at the end of the Mekong has plenty of rapids and Khone Phapheng, South East Asia’s largest waterfall by volume. It is also home to the rare Irrawaddy dolphin.

Vieng Xai

Historic caverns in karst limestone cliffs that sheltered the Pathet Lao ‘government’ during the Second Indochina War as US bombers pounded the country for nine years.

Hill tribes

Take a trek to visit the large number of ethnic tribal groups dotted throughout the country, visit the traditional villages and gain an insight into their lives.

When to go

Weather & Seasons: Laos has a hot, tropical climate year-round. Generally dry from November to April, it rains from May to October. The Mekong River region is humid but the higher, more mountainous areas around Xieng Khuang are cooler. To avoid the worst humidity go between November and February.

Important Dates and Festivals: Festivals are lively and often go on for days. Visakha Bu-saa in May commemorates Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death. New Lunar Year celebrations, Pi Mai, occur in April and are liveliest in Luang Prabang. Vientiane hosts Bun Nam in October, when water fights break out all over the city and there are boat races on the Mekong.

Getting there / around

Flights: There is an internationalairport outside Vientiane (VTE).A small selection of internal flights service the domestic market.

Road: Roads are unreliable although buses connect most of the destinations. Hire a car with a driver rather than attempt it yourself.

Boat: A lot of traffic takes to the waterways though, with ferries operating on most of the rivers. Most commonly used is the slow boat from Luang Prabang to the Thai border.

Other: To get around town hail a tuk tuk or cycle rickshaw .

Potential itineraries

Short Trips: To cover the northern and the southern halves of the country, you’ll need around two weeks for each. To explore the north, head from Vientiane to Vang Vieng then on to Luang Prabang on a route that winds high into the mountains, before catching a slow boat on the Mekong via Pak Beng to the Huay Xai on the Thai border. To uncover the secrets of the south, start in Vientiane then follow Route 13 as it wends its way south via Tha Khaek, Savannakhet, Pakse and Champasak to finish at Si Phan Don, stopping to take detours from the route as often as time allows to explore the sites either side of it.

Longer Trips: To travel in the remoter northwest, you’ll need two to three weeks in order to get around, discover little-visited mountain villages and reach the beautiful scenery at the border crossings with Vietnam.

Guides

Overall Country Guides: There are country guidebooks for Laos available from Lonely Planet, Rough Guides and Footprint whilst Insight offers a guidebook to Laos & Cambodia and Frommer’s publishes Cambodia and Laos.

Maps

Country Maps: There is a good country map of Laos by Reise Know-How. Alternatives include Periplus’s map of Laos and the Insight map of Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos.

Read More

The classic account A Dragon Apparent tells of Norman Lewis’s travels through Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam in 1952 and paints a vivid picture of French Indochina.

Alison Wright was badly hurt in an accident when her bus collided with a logging truck in Laos. Learning to Breathe is the account of the accident and her recovery as she sets out to achieve a series of goals around the world.

John Le Carré’s Cold War thriller The Honourable Schoolboy is set in surreal wartime Vientiane and captures the capital at this time.

Colin Cotterill writes a series of crime novels set in Laos, featuring the resourceful Dr Siri Paiboun. The Coroner’s Lunch, Thirty Three Teeth and The Merry Misogynist have been likened to McCall Smith’s series the Number One Ladies Detective Agency and contain Holmesian sleuthing, political satire and gentle humour, all set in post-war Vientiane.

Sight & Sound

Music: Listen out for the khaen, a wind instrument that’s made of a double row of bamboo-like reeds fitted into a hardwood soundbox and made airtight with beeswax, that’s popular in local folk and pop music.

Film: Try to see Good Morning, Luang Prabang – the first ever privately funded Lao film.

Language

Laotian

Currency

Lao kip (Kip) although the US dollar and Thai baht are also widely used.

Visas

UK and US citizens require visas before entering the country.

Health issues

Hep A, hep B, rabies, typhoid and yellow fever inoculations are recommended. Malaria is also present in parts of the country.

Safety, FO travel advice

Broadly safe, although there are instances of banditry in more rural areas. There is also a quantity of unexploded ordnance littering the countryside courtesy of the fact that Laos became the most heavily bombed country in the history of warfare in the course of the Vietnam War.

Useful Telephone Numbers

Laos country representatives can be found

There are no representatives in the UK.

in the US at:

There are no tourist boards in either country.

For more information visit: www.laoembassy.com, www.ecotourismlaos.com, www.tourismlaos.org or www.visit-laos.com.