UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Laos
Laos has 3 sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List (3 cultural), the first inscribed in 1995 (Luang Prabang). The map below plots every one of them alongside the rest of the List, and each site is written up in full further down the page.
- World Heritage Sites
- 3
- Cultural
- 3
- Natural and Mixed
- 0
- First Inscribed
- 1995
Map of World Heritage Sites in Laos
CulturalNaturalMixedIn DangerLarge dots are in Laos. Click a dot to read about the site.
Luang Prabang
Laos · 19.8900° N, 102.1347° E · 8 km² · 1 km from Louangphrabang
Luang Prabang (Lao: ຫລວງພະບາງ), historically known as Xieng Thong, and alternatively spelled Luang Phabang or Louangphabang, is the capital of Luang Prabang Province in north-central Laos. Its name, meaning “Royal Buddha Image,” derives from the Phra Bang, a statue symbolizing Lao sovereignty. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995, the city is recognized for blending Lao architecture, European colonial buildings, and over 30 Buddhist temples. The protected area encompasses 33 of its 58 villages, where daily rituals like the morning alms-giving ceremony persist.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Luang Prabang (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Why Luang Prabang Is Listed
- (ii)
- An important interchange of human values.
- (iv)
- An outstanding example of a type of building or landscape.
- (v)
- An outstanding example of traditional human settlement or land use.
More about Luang Prabang
UNESCO's Description
Luang Prabang is an outstanding example of the fusion of traditional architecture and Lao urban structures with those built by the European colonial authorities in the 19th and 20th centuries. Its unique, remarkably well-preserved townscape illustrates a key stage in the blending of these two distinct cultural traditions.
From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).
History
By the 6th century in the Chao Phraya River Valley, Mon peoples had coalesced to create the Dvaravati kingdoms. In the north, Haripunjaya (Lamphun) emerged as a rival power to the Dvaravati. By the 8th century, the Mon had pushed north to create city-states in Fa Daet (later Kalasin, northeastern Thailand); Sri Gotapura (Sikhottabong) near what later is Tha Khek, Laos; Muang Sua (Luang Prabang); and Chantaburi (Vientiane). In the 8th century CE, Sri Gotapura (Sikhottabong) controlled trade throughout the middle Mekong region. The city states introduced Therevada Buddhism from Sri Lankan missionaries throughout the region.
Xieng Dong Xieng Thong experienced a period of Khmer suzerainty under Jayavarman VII from 1185 to 1191.
Tourism
Among the natural tourism sites are the Kuang Si Falls, Tat Sae Waterfalls, and Pak Ou Caves. Elephant riding is offered at some sites. Phou Si, in the center of the town, has views of the town and river systems. At the end of the main street of Luang Prabang is a night market where stalls sell shirts, bracelets, and other souvenirs. The Haw Kham Royal Palace Museum and the Wat Xieng Thong temple are among the historical sites. The town, particularly the main street, is dotted with smaller wats such as Wat Hosian Voravihane. Every morning at sunrise, monks walk in a procession through the streets, accepting alms offered by local residents. In mountain biking, people bike around the town or to the waterfalls for the day.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Luang Prabang (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Champasak cultural landscape
Laos · 14.8333° N, 105.8000° E · 390 km² · 32 km from Pakxe
The Champasak cultural landscape, including the Vat Phou Temple complex, is a remarkably well-preserved planned landscape more than 1,000 years old. It was shaped to express the Hindu vision of the relationship between nature and humanity, using an axis from mountain top to river bank to lay out a geometric pattern of temples, shrines and waterworks extending over some 10 km. Two planned cities on the banks of the Mekong River are also part of the site, as well as Phou Kao mountain. The whole represents a development ranging from the 5th to 15th centuries, mainly associated with the Khmer Empire.
Description from the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).
Why Champasak cultural landscape Is Listed
- (iii)
- A unique testimony to a cultural tradition or civilisation.
- (iv)
- An outstanding example of a type of building or landscape.
- (vi)
- A direct association with events, ideas or beliefs of universal significance.
Plain of Jars
Laos · 19.4311° N, 103.1525° E · 2 km² · 117 km from Louangphrabang
The Plain of Jars (Lao: ທົ່ງໄຫຫີນ Thong Hai Hin, [tʰōŋ hǎj hǐn]) is a megalithic archaeological landscape in Laos. It consists of thousands of stone jars scattered around the upland valleys and the lower foothills of the central plain of the Xiangkhoang Plateau. The jars are arranged in clusters ranging in number from one to several hundred.
The Xiangkhoang Plateau is at the northern end of the Annamese Cordillera, the principal mountain range of Indochina. French researcher Madeleine Colani concluded in 1930 that the jars were associated with burial practices. Excavation by Lao and Japanese archaeologists in the intervening years has supported this interpretation with the discovery of human remains, burial goods and ceramics around the jars. Researchers (using optically stimulated luminescence) determined that the jars were put in place as early as 1240 to 660 BC. The jars at Site 1 (using detrital zircon geochronology) were determined to have been transported to their current location from a presumed quarry eight kilometers away. The Plain of Jars is one of the most important prehistoric sites in Southeast Asia.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Plain of Jars (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Why Plain of Jars Is Listed
- (iii)
- A unique testimony to a cultural tradition or civilisation.
More about Plain of Jars
UNESCO's Description
The Plain of Jars, located on a plateau in central Laos, gets its name from more than 2,100 tubular-shaped megalithic stone jars used for funerary practices in the Iron Age. This serial property of 15 components contains large carved stone jars, stone discs, secondary burials, tombstones, quarries and funerary objects dating from 500 BCE to 500 CE. The jars and associated elements are the most prominent evidence of the Iron Age civilization that made and used them until it disappeared, around 500 CE.
From the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (CC BY-SA IGO 3.0).
Legends and local history
The most prominent local legend associated with the Plain of Jars involves a race of giants who once inhabited the Xiangkhoang Plateau in Laos. Their king, known as Khun Cheung (also referred to as Khun Jeuam or Khun Jeuang), is said to have fought a long and ultimately victorious battle against an enemy, often identified as the evil king Chao Angka. To celebrate his victory, Khun Cheung supposedly created the enormous jars to brew and store vast amounts of 'rice wine', known locally as lau hai (lau means "alcohol" and hai means "jar"). The largest jars were reserved for the most important giants, with the biggest jar of all intended for the king himself.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Plain of Jars (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Visiting Plain of Jars
The Plain of Jars is a UNESCO world heritage site in Central Laos. It consists of thousands of stone jars scattered around the valleys and foothills of the Xiangkhoang Plateau.
Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Plain of Jars (CC BY-SA 4.0).
World Heritage in Laos: Quick Answers
- How many UNESCO World Heritage Sites are in Laos?
- Laos has 3 World Heritage Sites: 3 cultural.
- What was the first World Heritage Site in Laos?
- Luang Prabang, inscribed in 1995. The most recent is Plain of Jars, inscribed in 2019.
- Are any World Heritage Sites in Laos in danger?
- None of the World Heritage Sites in Laos is on UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger.