LA · Curated travel guide
Plain of Jars, Vat Phou, Phou Bia and 7 more — what each one is, and why it is worth the detour.
Chosen from everything Wikidata knows about Laos and ranked by how many Wikipedia language editions describe them, which is about as close to "famous" as open data gets. One is on UNESCO's World Heritage list.
World Heritage
Megalithic archaeological landscape in Laos
An archaeological landscape of megaliths in Laos, where thousands of stone jars lie scattered across upland valleys and the lower foothills around the central plain of the Xiangkhoang Plateau.
Photo: Jakub Hałun, CC BY-SA 4.0
UNESCO World Heritage Site in Champasak, Laos
A ruined Khmer-Hindu temple complex in southern Laos. Since prehistoric times the site held a sanctuary around a spring, and a place of offering to a guardian spirit.
Photo: Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0
Buddhist stupa in Vientiane, Laos
A Buddhist stupa covered in gold in Vientiane, the capital of Laos. First founded, it is suggested, in the 3rd century AD, it has been rebuilt because of invasions of the area, including in the 1930s.
Photo: Jialiang Gao www.peace-on-earth.org, CC BY-SA 3.0
Pair of waterfalls on the Mekong River in Laos
Formed together by the Khone Falls and the Pha Pheng Falls, a waterfall on the Mekong River in Champasak Province, southern Laos, close to the Cambodian border. Measured from one side of its many channels to the other, it is 10,783 metres across, the widest waterfall on Earth.
Photo: Hiroo Yamagata, CC BY-SA 2.0
Elevated region in southern Laos
A raised region in southern Laos, mostly in Champasak Province, with its edges reaching into Attapeu, Sekong and Salavan Provinces.
Photo: Sebomann, Public domain
War memorial in Laos
Built between 1957 and 1968 in the downtown of Vientiane, Laos, a monument honouring those who fought for the country's independence from France.
Photo: Gerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0
Waterfall in Luang Prabang, Laos
Also called Kuang Xi Falls or the Tat Kuang Si Waterfalls, a waterfall of several tiers in Laos, about 29 kilometers (18 mi) south of Luang Prabang, 53 minutes' drive from the town's Night Market.
Photo: Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0
Bridge over Mekong River
A bridge over the Mekong joining Vientiane Prefecture, Laos, with Nong Khai city and province, Thailand. Vientiane, the Lao capital, is approximately 20 km (12 mi) from it.
Photo: Siren-Com, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sculpture park in Laos
Also called Xieng Khuan, a sculpture park in a meadow beside the Mekong, 25 km southeast of Vientiane, Laos. It is not a temple (wat), but because it holds many religious images it is sometimes called Wat Xieng Khuan.
Photo: Dezwitser, CC BY-SA 3.0
Officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), a country of Mainland Southeast Asia and the region's only landlocked one. China and Myanmar lie to its northwest, Vietnam to its east, Cambodia to its southeast and Thailand to its west and southwest. It has more than 7.5 million people; Vientiane is its capital and most populous city.
Officially The Lao People's Democratic Republic. Known locally as Lao People's Democratic Republic.
Based on the Wikipedia article, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0: the facts are Wikipedia's, the wording is this site's.
This guide lists 10: Plain of Jars, Vat Phou, Phou Bia and Pha That Luang and others. Plain of Jars is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
By machine, from open data, with no human ranking them and nobody able to pay for a place on the list. Everything Wikidata records in Laos that is a building, a landform, a protected area or a tourist attraction, has coordinates, a photograph and an English Wikipedia article, is ranked by how many Wikipedia language editions wrote about it. Provinces, cities, airports, stations and stretches of sea shared with the neighbours are filtered out.
1 of the 10 in this guide: Plain of Jars. That is not the full count for Laos, only the listed sites that made this guide.
Lao. The currency is LAK.
A travel eSIM is usually the cheapest way, and avoids a roaming bill. The plans suggested at the foot of this guide start at $2.36 for 1GB for 7 days. The eSIM is data-only and sits alongside your normal SIM, so calls, texts and WhatsApp keep working on your own number.
Lao Telecom. Your phone picks whichever has the best signal where you are, the same way a local phone does.
Maps, tickets and translation all want data, and roaming is the expensive way to get it. A Computatus eSIM eSIM connects to Lao Telecom once you land, and installs by QR code before you leave.
| Plan | Data | Valid | Price | Order |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1GB for 7 days Cheapest | 1 GB | 7 days | $2.36 | Get it → |
| 1GB per day | 1 GB | 1 day | $2.45 | Get it → |
| 1GB per day | 1 GB | 1 day | $2.99 | Get it → |
| 2GB per day | 2 GB | 1 day | $4.62 | Get it → |
| 2GB per day | 2 GB | 1 day | $5.67 | Get it → |
| 3GB for 15 days | 3 GB | 15 days | $6.32 | Get it → |
No app needed. Install by QR code before you fly, keep your own number for calls, and it connects the moment you land.
A commission on plans bought through these links is what pays for this guide. Nothing above depends on it: the places are chosen before any price is looked up.
