Timonator

3.50 Germany - 03-Aug-24 -

One more review to give a post-Covid view on how things are working today.

The temple lies about 15 km down the road from small town Champasak. I stayed in Champasak after coming from Ayutthaya. I took the night train to Ubon Ratchathani (About 9 hours, slim but comfortable beds with privacy curtain, about 20 USD, arriving at 06:15 a.m.) and then the Bus from Ubon to Pakse at 09:30 a.m. from the bus terminal in Ubon. You have to cross the city to reach the bus terminal from train terminal e.g. by Grab, Tuk Tuk or taxi. The bus waits at the border to Laos keeping the big luaggage inside where I got my 60 day Visa for 40 USD (I was expecting to only get 30 days). The bus reached Pakse bus station at shortly after 12. Basically it depends a bit on the amount of not Thai and Lao people in the bus as only 1 person was working on the Visa on arrivals and the more people are in need of the Visa, the longer it takes. In Pakse I switched to the Songthaew but it was neither easy nor comforable. As indicated by Els it leaves from the market called: "ตลาดดาวเรือง" in Google Maps. More precisely it leaves from close to the big 16W street leading back to Thailand. It´s an important information as I walked around through many alleys of the crowded and labrynthine market until I found it and also local people were only partly giving helpful information. I paid 50.000 Kip (currently around 2€) for being transported on a Songthaew full of goods with my luggage to Champasak. Starting time was also unclear until we started as communication in English or even with the help of the smartphone was very difficult but finally it was at 2 p.m.. The drive takes about 1 hour and I was able to get off at my guest house. I stayed at Dok Champa Guesthouse and now in low season one room cost only 100.000 Kip (4€). It´s big however is lacking renovation and cleaning. But still a very good deal with beautiful Mekong terrace in the restaurant. I was renting a bicycle and it took me about an hour to reach Vat Pho. They charged 25k Kip for leaving my bicycle on the parking area (a bit of a scam it feels) and another 55k Kip for the entrance. The Electrocarts still exist and seem to be much to fancy for the area than the rest of the infrastructure (same like the new toilet complex at the entrance, where they cook lemons in a pot for the good smell inside). 

The museum was interesting as some different aspects around Vat Phou are presented and also a small exhibition on Khmer culture, connected WHS, and some sandstone remains that were taken from the temple. The supervisor watching loud TikToks was quite annoying though.

The cart drove me to the end of the two paralell ponds from where I walked to the lower temple area and afterwards up the ancient stairs to the temple at the top. It is a nice Indiana Jones kind of feeling to explore the territory especially as it was low season at the beginning of July (despite many French groups visiting with package tours). I find the many details in the nicely restored buildings very interesting to explore. Also the fact that the former Hinduistic/ Khmer site is now buddhistic I find interesting e.g. the Shiva figure wearing the Buddha orange textile. There are some shops selling snacks on site. Also the sad practice of capturing birds so that "believers" can let them free again for money can be found here as in many other places in Lao. Additionally some restauration work was ongoing at one of the two bottom buildings but it still can be easily visited. I spend around 3 hours in the temple and the museum. There are many restaurants outside the area for eating after the visit. The weather was nice for visiting a cycling. About 30°C and cloudy, however still a bit sweaty of course. Due to the clouds the mountain was only partly visible at the top was often behind the clouds. I have never seen the Phallus like top of the mountain that made the Khmer build their temple here in honour of Shiva.

For me it was the first Khmer site ever after Sukhothai and I have enjoyed the visit in this rather remote area.

My next stop was the 4000 islands, a touristy but very beautiful area in the south of Laos in the Mekong river. There a options with all transfers from Champasak to e.g. Don Det for 250k Kip and they worked very well.

Read more from Timonator here.

Randi Thomsen

3.50 Norway - 07-Nov-20 -

Visit Januar 2020

Yet another Angkor Site, but has it’s own charm. Nice setting in the slopes of the holy mountain.

From the ticket office, there is an electric bus to the site. We got there in the morning, not many tourists and not too hot. The middle section was nice to explore. The main temple requires a few stairs to climb. The main temple has some very nice reliefs. We also went looking for the elephant stone, crocodile stone and the holy spring.

The small museum is also worth a visit though not outstanding.

We opted to stay in a small guesthouse on the riverside of Mekong in Champasak. It is a charming small village. It used to be the seat for the royal family. The river was surprisingly clean. We went swimming in the river on an evening trip to the island Don.

It was great just roaming around in the countryside on a motorbike enjoying the scenery and the friendliness of the lao people.

### Randi & Svein Elias

Guy00

3.50 UK - 07-Jul-19 -

Interesting stop-off between Parke and Don Det if you're travelling north/south through southern Laos. Stretching 1400m up a hillside it is an interesting collection of old temples and had a air conditioned visitor centre and large carpark. The walk up the hill to the top of the site is worth it for some statues and view back over the whole site.

Nan

2.50 Germany - 07-Nov-18 -

Thanks to Lao Air and their weird flight schedules, I managed to visit Vat Phou during an overlay on my way to Siem Reap (Angkor). I arrived in the evening and stayed in a hotel on the outskirts of Pakse along the Mekong River. From there I went by cab the next morning to the site.

The temple is built along the slopes of a mountain, quite scenic when you approach it. First you pass a long baray. At the end of the baray you arrive at the big temple ruins which boast nice stone works. Climbing plenty of stairs will take you first to the mid and then to the upper level where the holy spring is. As pointed out by Els some steps are downright dangerous as they are way to steep and narrow. You get some great views of the site as you climb.

Around 9 a.m. I had reached the upper level with the spring. In the meantime the temperature had already become unbearable, so instead of roaming around I decided to descend. After a very brief stop in the on site museum (no AC, worse than outside) I headed back to my ride.

There are several other components scattered around the main temple complex, e.g. ruins of an ancient town. Seeing the site is title “Associated Ancient Settlements” my hunch is that these are also part of the inscribed area. The little I read seemed fairly interesting to explore. But the weather and me having to get back to the airport took that option off the table.

Getting There

The central hub for the area is Pakse which boasts an international airport. Specifically, you can fly to Siem Reap. You could even manage to visit Vat Phou as a single night excursion from Siem Reap, assuming you have a multiple entry visa for Cambodia.

There are also daily flights to Vientiane and direct flights to Luang Prabang. I managed to book a flight from Phonsavan (Plain of Jars) to Siem Reap with overnight stops in Vientiane and Pakse for 180€.

Pakse is also well connected by bus. However, it's stuck in the South Eastern corner of Laos, so getting anywhere in Laos by bus will take some time.

From Pakse you can join a tour or take a public bus to Champasak (2h).

In my case, being short on time (flight for Siem Reap left at 13:00h the same day) I opted for a car with driver. The road to Champasak is in good condition; they even have modern toll booths along the way. Travel time one way is less than one hour. I was picked up at 7:00h and we arrived before the official opening hour at 8:00h. You can even enter earlier, but then the ticket price goes up 10% (55.000 vs 50.000 Kips).

I booked the car via my hotel for 60 USD. A travel agency in town offered the ride for 75 USD. My hunch is that you should be able to get a driver for 50 USD including all costs, but I didn't want to take chances.

While You Are There

Pakse is the gateway for Si Phan Don (4000 Islands) and the Bolaven Plateau. It should be noted, though, that the area around Pakse has an increased Malaria risk and Dengue fever has also been recorded.

In any case I would recommend taking in the sunset on the Mekong the night before. Stellar.

Theresa

Canada - 06-Nov-11 -

I traveled from Pakse to Vat Phou by motorbike. The countryside was very beautiful and interesting... The villages we passed looked like people were living as they had been living for hundreds of years.

I was fortunate to meet an archeologist in the high complex who was kind enough to show me around and explain the significance of the site. He said this was where the Khmer kings came to be "cleansed" before beginning their reign. So I imagined I was there as a preparation for the big exploration in Cambodia...

Vat Phou itself is small and demure compared to the majesty of the Khmer cities in Cambodia so I recommend seeing Vat Phou first as kind of a preview of things to come in Cambodia.

Els Slots

3.50 The Netherlands - 16-Mar-11 -

Southern Laos has always been pretty difficult to access. Things are changing here too, however, albeit slowly. I was happy to discover a direct flight from Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam to Paksé (the main transport hub in South Laos). Lao Airlines started this only last year, and I wonder how long they will continue it as there were only 20 passengers on my flight. Paksé itself feels unbelievably quiet and slow, especially when you’ve just come from Vietnam as I did. You can easily walk in the middle of the streets in the center of the town. A brochure at the Lao Airlines described it accurately: "it's no chaos, it's Laos"!

As I had plenty of time, I decided to give it a try to get to Vat Phou by public transport. Guidebooks and internet fora could not supply me with clear directions on how to do it. So I started out early (before 7 a.m.), looking for a songthaew to Champasak. To cut a long story short: they do exist, but will go only later in the morning when the people from Champasak have finished their selling and shopping at the market of Paksé. I ended up chartering a whole songthaew, together with an Italian guy who was stuck too.

We arrived in Champasak just before 10 o’clock. I hired a bike for the remaining 8 km to Vat Phou. 10 a.m. is already pretty hot in Laos in March. Fortunately, the road is well-paved, flat and just straight ahead. Vat Phou is a large complex. There’s an archeological museum at the entrance. Some lingam are shown here, and other objects are found at the Vat. It’s just one room, not very spectacular. Then it’s a couple of hundred meters more to the archeological complex. I could take my bike with me (buses also go there). It all is in the open field, with very little shade.

The complex is made out of 3 parts: one lower, one middle, and one high. The parts are connected by steps – many steps, steep steps, sometimes dangerous steps. You’ll pass redheaded tourists taking a break on stones by the side of the stairs. And we all endure this to get to the highest point, the ceremonial complex. But the lower area I found more impressive: the old processional walkway, with great views of the linga-shaped Phou Kao mountain and the frangipani that surround the stairs going upwards.

And then I had to get back to Paksé. This is where all of the guidebook directions go silent. The answer is: there is no public transport from Champasak to Paksé in the afternoon. At least, no one was able to point it out to me. I asked around in a number of guesthouses, but all that they came up with was “early tomorrow morning”. So I had to improvise a ride back. I planned to just stand by the side of the road in the right direction, and just try every passing vehicle. Fortunately, I did not have to – I walked into one more restaurant to ask for transport to Paksé, and found a driver and a guide who were just “delivering” their 2 guests to a boat. They had to return empty to Paksé, and were all too happy to take me along (for a little money of course). In hindsight, I think it’s best to stay overnight in Champasak, and head for Vat Phou early in the morning. It’s an atmospheric site.

Frederik Dawson

2.50 Netherlands - 01-May-05 -

Southern Laos is famous for its cultural diversity and natural beauty especially many beautiful waterfalls, but traveling in this region can not be completed if not visited the 1,500 years old Khmer ruin, Vat Phou, the second Khmer heritage in the World Heritage list.

Vat Phou is very important as it is one of the first stone buildings built by ancient Khmer and served as the main temple of the early capital of Chenla Kingdom which is the predecessor of Angkor Empire in present-day Cambodia, but that was not the main reason made Vat Phou to be accepted by UNESCO. Vat Phou is a part of Champasak Cultural Landscape; the center of the landscape is a lingam-liked mountain. Since ancient Khmer were Hinduism, the lingam-liked mountain had to be regarded as the symbol of god deserved to be worship by constructing the temple for. Moreover behind the temple has spring, the holy water from Lingam Mountain!, with the clever ancient engineering, Champasak people built waterway to let the spring flow pass the small man-made lingam in the main temple building before the spring flow down to the reservoir in front of the temple complex. For ancient pilgrims, Vat Phou was the place where they could receive the blessing from God via the double passed lingam spring (double holy).

I have to admit that after read UNESCO evaluation and other study reports, my imagination on this place go far beyond the reality. Right now, Vat Phou is a ruined complex with only 3 buildings that are still standing hardly testify your imagination, the story of the double holy water is very hard to contemplate the possibility of existence. Actually I can not find any lingam since Vat Phou has been converted to become a Buddhist temple long time ago. In reality Vat Phou can not be competed with other important Khmer ruins like Phimai or Phanomroong in Thailand or Preah Vihear in nearby Cambodia (all are in UNESCO tentative list) and surely Vat Phou is disappointing if you visited those sites before. However, please do not consider I do not like Vat Phou and the lingam mountain; they have their own charms with serene and holy atmosphere which are surprisingly existed, so if you visit Southern Laos, there is no reason to not visit this place, it is the must and you can not find any important Khmer ruins that is so peaceful, solitude and less tourist like Vat Phou (except other forgotten sites in Cambodia) and that's alone make Vat Phou special.

Salika Nammavong

U.S.A. - 01-May-05 -

I visited Champasak in 1996 with my family who are originally from there, from a little village called Ban Dou. It was the first time for me and over twenty years for my Mother and Aunt. After arriving in Vientiene, which we stayed with my Uncle's relatives for a few days, we booked a flight down to Pakse which lasted about 45 minutes and then crossed the Mekong River by ferry to Champasak. I have heard they have since built a bridge that connects the two sides and you can now drive across. From there we drove to my mother's village which is about twenty to thirty minutes and is located on the main road, which its name has escaped me. Unfortunately we did not see Vat Phou or toured the main city of Champasak, but stayed in the countryside. It's so beautiful there, the sky is so blue and the clouds are so white and puffy and at night the stars are endless, because there are no bright city lights to shadow them. We stayed in Ban Dou for only two weeks, and for me it felt like it was only a few days. There is so much to take in, by just walking along the main road down to my grandfather's rice patty to walking with a bunch of my cousins down to the little stream and taking a swim. I savored every moment and it would take a book to tell you all the things we saw and did and felt in only two weeks. It wasn't seeing the main attractions for me really because we didn't, like the waterfalls and Vat Phou, it was being close to family. I plan to visit there again in the near future and this time I plan on visiting Vat Phou and all its glory.