Situated 25kms north of Luang Prabang lie the Pak Ou Caves, also known as the Cave of a Thousand Buddhas. It is believed that the Lao people first entered the river valley in the middle of the eighth century after moving southward from southern China. It was not until considerably later that Buddhism first spread into the area from the west.

By the 16th Century Buddhism had been adopted by the royal families of Lao and the cave received patronage from that time until 1975. There are more than 4,000 sculptures of Buddha in these caves, placed there by worshipers from between the 18th and 20th centuries.

The lower cave has approximately 2,500 sculptures. We have no imagery of the upper cave as it is in complete darkness and we felt it would be disrespectful to use a camera with high powered flash.

Wat Mai Suwannaphumaham is the largest and most richly decorated of the temples in Luang Prabang, built in the 18th Century.

Mount Phou Si is a 100m high hill in the centre of the old town of Luang Prabang. It lies in the heart of the old town peninsula and is bordered on one side by the Mekong River and on the other side by the Nam Khan River.