Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang, which means "Royal Buddha Image” is a city locates in north-central Laos, about 425 km north of Vientiane, at the confluence of the Nam Khan river and Mekong River. The city is known as the old capital of the Lan Xant Kingdom (the first Lao kingdom). Now, it is the capital of Luang Prabang Province and inhabited by approximately 50,000 residents.

The city is named after Pha Bang, a revered Buddha image, which was brought to the city by King Visoun during the golden age of Lan Xang in the early 1500s. Until the communist takeover in 1975, it was the royal capital and seat of government of the Kingdom of Laos. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

On a peninsula between the Nam Khan and Mekong rivers, there is the main part of the city, including four main roads. The city is famous for its numerous Buddhist temples and monasteries. Every morning, you can see hundreds of monks from the monasteries walk through the streets collecting alms.

Luang Prabang attracts visitors by both its natural and historical sites. The top natural sites include the Kuang Si Falls and Pak Ou Caves. Tourists can also visit the elephant farms in Luang Prabang, where the elephants are connected with people without needing sticks or whips. At the end of the main street of Luang Prabang is a night market where you can find stalls selling shirts, bracelets, and other souvenirs. Haw Kham Royal Palace Museum and the Wat Xieng Thong temple are two of the most prominent historical sites. Along with Lao architecture is a significant part of the old town's appeal featured by its French provincial-style houses. In Luang Prabang, you can find a mixture of traditional Lao wooden houses and European architecture - reminders of when Laos was part of the French Indochina. Gilded-roofed temples, decorated with mosaics and murals of the life of Buddha, sit under the gaze of wrap-around teak balconies and two-hundred-year-old shuttered windows. All of this is set against a background of verdant greenery and rugged mountains.

With its atmospheric and charming personalities, Luang Prabang has now become a candidate in the list of most tourists who have been or dream of visiting Venice (the top of all atmospheric cities with charming personalities), Salzburg, Dubrovnik, Ubod, Hoi An, Cuzco, San Miguel Allende, Guanajuato, Puebla, Morelia, Oaxaca, Napier or Santa Barbara in California.

In the northeast of Luang Prabang, there is an airport, with scheduled flights from/to Bangkok, Hanoi, Chiang Mai, Pakse, Siam Reap, Kuala Lumpur, and Vientiane. A lot of tourists start their trips to Luang Prabang from the North of Vietnam, since Luang Prabang is well connected to northern Vietnam by road.

If you are planning a trip to Luang Prabang, from November to March is the best time to set it up, when the weather is dry, and the average temperature is comfortable.