Best Traditional Laotian Luang Prabang UNESCO 1995, Vientiane, Vang Vieng, Plain of Jars UNESCO 2019, 4000 Islands and Laos Deep Heritage Tour Destinations
Browse more guides: Laos travel | Asia destinations TL;DR Laos rewards slow travel. The old royal capital Luang Prabang, listed by UNESCO in 1995, holds 33 working wats inside a riverside peninsula. Vientiane keeps the country's most important Buddhist monument, the gilded Pha That Luang of 1566. Vang Vieng turns karst limestone into a playground of caves, blue pools and dawn balloon flights. On the highland Plain of Jars, listed in 2019, more than 2,000 Iron Age stone vessels still sit in the grass at Phonsavan. Far south, the Mekong braids into the 4,000 Islands, where the river thunders over Khone Phapheng and Irrawaddy dolphins still surface near Don Khon. Plan a 8-10 day Laos trip. Why Laos belongs on the heritage shortlist Most travellers reach Laos after Thailand or Vietnam and expect a quieter cousin. The country delivers something different. Saffron robed monks still walk the Tak Bat alms round at 5:30 AM. Mekong sunsets last an hour. French colonial shop houses sit ...