Pak Ou Caves

Located about 25 km to the North of Luang Prabang, The Pak Ou Caves are one of Luang Prabang’s most popular historic and sacred attractions for visitors in general and the people of Laos in particular.

The highlights of Pak Ou are over 4000 Buddha statues which are set in a rocky cliff face overlooking the Mekong River and divided into two main caves. Both caves are places of Buddha worship with popular activities such as burning incense and offer prayers.

The first cave has a lower height called Tham Ting which is not too far from the river level. Tham Ting cave owns the majority of the Buddha statues which are arranged in many different positions. You will need a torch to can visit clearly because it’s quite dark if you go deeper. And the other is the upper, smaller and darker cave called Tham Thung which you can climb up stone steps about 10 minutes a steep 5-10-minute climb up. In fact, Tham Thung cave is untouched, so there are fewer people visiting it.

Pak Ou Caves is famous and popular for pilgrimages, especially in Laos New year (in April) when the Buddha Statue bathing ceremony is taken place, this site is very busy. As usual, the trip to Pak Ou caves is organized in the morning and the Caves is crowded. So the best time you should visit here is in the afternoon, you will have a more relaxing time and beautiful pictures.

There are 2 ways to get to the Pak Ou Caves, including a boat cruise on the Mekong River or tuk-tuk. Each type of vehicle will offer you a different interesting experience. On the way to Pak Ou Caves, you can cross many attractions such as the Whisky Village - Ban Xang Hai, Sangkong village where the place famous for its paper and silk production or the famous Kuang Si waterfall. It’s can be a great combination for you to enjoy the landscape and culture of a beautiful Laos country.