With its lotus-filled reservoirs and carved stone pillars, Laos’ Vat Phou temple bears a striking resemblance to Cambodia’s Angkor Wat—except for the crowds. Whereas Angkor draws some six million tourists a year, Vat Phou remains rarely visited and transcendentally serene.
The two sites, built as religious centers during the Khmer era, from 802 to 1431 A.D., are located along the Ancient Angkor Road, one of several medieval tracks that radiated from the seat of the Khmer Empire in Siem Reap (where Angkor is). Both are recognized as UNESCO World Heritage sites.
Though most of its stone ruins date to the 11th and 13th centuries, a fifth-century Sanskrit inscription and foundational structures found on the site indicate that Vat Phou predates Angkor Wat by hundreds of years and may be Southeast Asia’s oldest site of worship.
How to visit Vat Phou temple
Four miles outside of the town of Champasak—a sleepy one-road hamlet of weathered French colonial mansions and wooden bungalows—Vat Phou straddles Lingaparvata (Linga Mountain), named for its phallus-like summit. It’s a shape associated with Shiva, the creator and destroyer of the Hindu cosmos.
The complex’s construction and history spans hundreds of years, although its origin story remains cloudy. Local lore holds that King Kammatha—a ruler in the first millennium A.D.—built the first sanctuary here after mythical ogres demanded he give them his daughter, Nong Sida. A small temple with an elaborately carved stone pavilion and a hidden library named after the princess sits less than a mile to the east.
Angkor Wat was constructed as a series of concentric stone enclosures leading to the mythical Mount Meru. But Vat Phou ascends along a linear one-mile causeway, with seven stone terraces leading to a small stone sanctuary near a natural spring.
As travelers enter the sprawling 96,000-acre site, they walk between two large rectangular water reservoirs opening into a broad esplanade with two Khmer-style stone buildings. Designed for worship and rituals, they have gabled roofs and carved lintels depicting scenes from the Mahabharata, a third-century Indian epic.
Moving further into the complex, you’ll pass a crumbling shrine dedicated to Shiva’s Mount Nandi, then climb stone steps with balustrades shaped like nagas (mythical river serpents) before arriving at the upper sanctuary. Carved with apsaras (dancing deities) and Hindu gods, the moss-covered shrine once held a large linga that was watered by a spring trickling out of the stony hillside. In the 13th century, after the Khmer Empire fell, the linga was replaced with a Buddha statue.
(Why Laos thinks its legendary serpent god deserves UNESCO status.)
Relics that predate Angkor are scattered throughout Vat Phou’s forested hillside site, including a carving of the Hindu trinity (Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva) and a curious boulder with an alligator-shaped indentation. Sixth-century Chinese travelogues mention the rock being used for human sacrifices honoring a mountain spirit.
The upper terrace faces east and yields staggering views of lush countryside crisscrossed by rice paddies and tiny villages all the way to the Mekong River, roughly three miles away.
Exploring beyond Vat Phou
Vat Phou can be seen in less than a day, but it’s worth sticking around the Champasak region to explore its French colonial vestiges, well-marked archaeological and nature trails, fledgling coffee highlands, and tranquil Mekong views.
(Follow this Nat Geo photographer’s journey along the Mekong River.)
Pakse—the cacophonous market town on the river near the Lao-Thai border—is the gateway to the region. Its narrow lanes reveal serene Buddhist temples, brisk food markets, and bars tucked in weathered colonial mansions.
Champasak town’s mellow Indochinese charm and riverside cafés invite travelers to slow down and reset. Recently launched nature and archaeological trails with well-positioned signs point walkers toward temples and waterfalls in search of the lost city Kurukshestra’s hidden ramparts and reservoirs.
A local ferry takes visitors to see Don Daeng, a Mekong River island dotted with small settlements and fruit orchards—but no paved roads. Across Don Daeng, on the Mekong’s eastern bank, Vat Tomo, a forest temple dedicated to Parvati, Shiva’s consort, remains swallowed by the forest.
An hour drive from Champasak, Xe Pian Nature Reserve’s wetlands and forested hills feel primordial. Mysterious megalithic pillars and an abandoned garrison on Phou Asa mountain might lead to chin-stroking reflection, while the forward-thinking Kingfisher Ecolodge—the only hotel in the area—offers bird-watching and wildlife excursions led by local guides.
North of Champasak, Bolaven Plateau’s rich volcanic soils feed a thriving coffee industry. Though much of the crop is planted by Indigenous mountain communities, newly established social enterprises like Slow Forest Coffee are pioneering agricultural models that pair sustainable bean cultivation with reforestation programs.
Rachna Sachasinh is based in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Follow her on Instagram.
