Temple Hopping in Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang is the heart of Lao Buddhism, so it's no surprise that the city, despite its small population, has more than its proportionate number of unique historical temples.

Over 30 of these temples, in fact, are UNESCO-recognized World Heritage Sites!

While I don't know the name and history of every one of these temples, I thought I would write one big mega-post sharing my photos of the cool historical temples in Luang Prabang, and a bit about them, if I know it.

The first is Vat Phra Mahathat, the Temple of the Great Stupa. This huge stone chedi, which is the temple's namesake, holds a relic of the Buddha, and was spared the destruction of Luang Prabang in the 18th century.

The sack of Luang Prabang was carried out by a band of ethnically-Chinese marauders called the Black Flag Army. This event was one of the factors that ultimately led to Laos turning to the French for help, which eventually led to Laotian incorporation into French Indochina.

One of the temples that was razed, and subsequently re-built with French help, was Vat Visoun. The main temple hall is built in a squat, square, whitewashed, western style and topped with a Lao-style roof.

Vat Visoun is affectionately known as the "Watermelon Temple" by locals and tourists, due to the uniquely round chedi on the temple grounds.

The inside of the temple is also something of a museum, housing hundreds of old and historical Buddha images.

In Southeast Asian art, the post of a Buddha statue has a special and specific meaning. A Buddha with one hand raised, for example, is a signal to stop fighting. Luang Prabang, though, has a very unique style of Buddha post that is found only in the city: the Buddha stands with his arms straight out at his sides.

This standing Buddha image is found only in Luang Prabang Kingdom art, and signifies the Buddha calling for rain. In a landlocked and mountainous nation like Laos, rain is vital for the growth of the rice crops, and therefore for the survival of the population. It's no wonder that this style of statue is so popular in Luang Prabang!

Another temple is Vat Aham. This temple dates back to the 18th century, like most in Luang Prabang, but its origins are much older. Long before it was a Buddhist temple, it was the site to a temple to the ancient guardian spirits of Luang Prabang. The spirits are said to reside in the two stone chedis that still stand on the temple grounds.

A devout Laotian king ordered the shrine be re-built as a Buddhist temple, but the guardian spirits are still an important part of Luang Prabang culture. During the Laotian New Year (Pi Mai), which takes place in April every year, a parade honoring the guardian spirits marches through the city.

We also visited Vat Sensoukharam, the Temple of One Hundred Thousand Treasures. This temple was renovated in 1957, on the 2500th birthday of the Buddha, and the beginning of the 25th Buddhist Era. Its name refers to the 100,000 stones that were taken from the Mekong River to build the original temple building.

Again, we can see a tall golden Buddha statue in the typical Luang Prabang pose standing in a shrine just outside of the temple hall.

Buddhism is everywhere you look in Luang Prabang. The Communist regime in Laos, like in Vietnam, was never able to attempt to quash religion. In fact, Laos is such a deeply religious country that Communism never could have taken hold if it had been as anti-religion as in the USSR or other Communist nations.

Everywhere you turn there's another monk walking in the sun beneath his saffron umbrella, another glittering golden temple, another small local spirit house. There's a reason that Luang Prabang is considered to be Laos' holy city.

After a while, all of the temples begin running together. While they may all be unique and different, there are only so many temples that a tourist can visit before they all sort of become one.

I tried to visit all 33 or so of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the city, but I quickly lost track of how many I had seen and which ones I missed. It doesn't matter though. Most of Luang Prabang's draw that makes it so enchanting to visitors isn't the specific sites that you can see, but rather its atmosphere.

I stayed there for a month and saw nearly everything there was to see within the first few days... and it wasn't nearly long enough! Luang Prabang really did captivate me. It's a city that I hope to return to, and sooner rather than later.