Ancient city Luang Prabang officially called "Nakhon Luang Prabang" or "Muang Luang", used to be a capital of former Laos kingdom. It was fundamental for the whole region. Together with King’s palace, there were built many Buddhist temples and most of them are still used nowadays. Luang Prabang is situated in the middle of mountains, full of great sceneries. Nevertheless it looks rather small and quite, Luang Prabang used to be very important political city. You should not miss it on your way to Laos.
In the city you can find about thirty temples built before French colonialism. The most famous of them is Wat Xieng Thong (Golden City Monastery), located at the north at Mekong River and Khan River junction. It was built during the rule of King Saisetthathirat in 1560 and represents classical Luang Prabang architecture. You can recognize it by specific roof endings, similar style temples can be often seen in Thailand. Some of the walls and temple door are decorated by golden painting and carving.
Another interesting temple is Wat Manolom, built in 1375. It’s the oldest temple in Luang Prabang. The architecture differences from Wat Xieng Thong are easy to recognize. Lotus Stupa next to the Wat Wisunalat is also worth of visit. Another interesting temple you should not miss is Wat Khili temple. It looks like renovated French colonial building.
Luang Prabang is located in the central Laos, about 300 km north of capital Vientiane.
