Laos Heritage & Culture Tours

Laos, the charming landlocked country in Southeast Asia, is home to untouched landscapes, serene temples and rich cultural heritage. As a devout Buddhist country, stupas and temples are the significant buildings available in just about every city in Laos, featuring the national symbol of That Luang - an important stupa for Buddhist pilgrimage, the Haw Phra Kaew formerly housed the Emerald Buddha, Wat Sisaket built in 1818 in a contemporary style of Buddhist architecture of the 19th century, and Wat Xieng Thong a fine example of the classic Luang Prabang architectural style built in 1560.

Vat Phou, located in the Champasak province in southern Laos, is a truly unique location to experience traditional Lao culture. Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001, this ancient Khmer temple complex lies at the base of Phou Kao Mountain with views of the Mekong River. Featuring intricate structures built between the 5th and 15th centuries, Vat Phou is one of the oldest places of worship in Southeast Asia which is still active with Buddhist religious ceremonies taking place at the main sanctuary. If you visit Vat Phou on the full moon of the 3rd annual lunar month (usually in February of solar calendar), you will see locals celebrating Makha Bucha day, a Buddhist festival ranging from offerings and monk-blessing ceremonies to games, traditional dance and music performances.

Witness the early morning alms-giving ceremony to monks in Luang Prabang, the former royal capital and religious centre of Laos, is a unique experience of a timeless tradition that dates back to the 14th century, in which the locals kneeling when giving out sticky rice or fruit to the monks and receiving good karma points back. Being the capital of the Lan Xang kingdom between the 14th and 16th centuries, as well as the royal and religious seat of the French protectorate between 1893 and 1946, Luang Prabang is an outstanding example of the fusion of traditional architecture and urban structures built by French colonials in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Explore the mysterious Plain of Jars in northern Laos with thousands of massive stone jars scattered among the low foothills and upland valleys of the Xiangkhoang Plateau. It has been estimated that they date back to the Southeast Asian iron age between 500 BC and AD 200 whose purpose is theoretically considered to be used in elaborate burial rituals as funerary urns, with the lid of each jar depicting who was inside. Walk amidst these colossal stone structures to see the fantastic mixture without any fixed arrangement. Many jars are completely protruded on the ground while the others can be partially sunk on the ground. The shapes are also different, including the knot, the straight mouth, the square… same as their various sizes up to 3m high in weight up to several tons. The Plain of Jars is actually shrouded in mystery what makes this one of the most intriguing cultural attractions in Laos.