A Slow Walk Through the Peninsula Temples

From the watermelon stupa to the gilded façade of Wat Mai, a half-day stroll links the old town’s lesser-known monasteries, each with its own colour and character.

Area

Old town

Start from

Wat Visoun, south of Mount Phousi

Distance

about 4 km on foot

Time needed

half a day

Best season

November – February is most comfortable; start early in hot months

Difficulty

Easy

Transport

On foot or by rented bicycle

Tickets & rules

Small tickets at a few temples; modest dress throughout

Why go

Wat Xieng Thong takes the fame, but the pleasure of Luang Prabang is in the dozens of smaller monasteries scattered along its lanes. Each has a sim, a few monks’ residences, a drum tower and usually a dog asleep in the shade, and each feels like its own small village within the town.

This walk strings several of the best together in a loose line from the south of the peninsula to the tip: an ancient stupa shaped like half a watermelon, a temple with a red façade glittering with gold stencils, the five-tiered roof and golden reliefs of Wat Mai, and quiet monastery courtyards where novices are studying, sweeping or playing football.

It is unhurried, flat and full of shade, with plenty of excuses to stop for fruit shakes, coffee or a bowl of noodles. I never manage to do it without at least one long conversation with a novice practising his English.

The story

Wat Visounnarat, usually called Wat Visoun, was founded in the early sixteenth century and once had one of the grandest wooden sims in the country. It burned when the Black Flag bands sacked the town in 1887 and was rebuilt in the following years. Its grounds now hold a collection of old Buddha images gathered from damaged temples, an unusual and slightly ghostly sight.

In front of it stands That Pathum, the ‘lotus stupa’, nicknamed That Makmo, the watermelon stupa, for its squat rounded dome. Built in the early sixteenth century, it was damaged by the 1887 raiders, who reportedly found small treasures inside, and later restored. Next door, Wat Aham was for a time the seat of the Supreme Patriarch of Lao Buddhism and is linked to the guardian spirits of the town.

Wat Mai Suwannaphumaham, beside the Royal Palace, was built in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Its veranda is covered with gilded reliefs telling the story of the Buddha’s penultimate life and scenes from the Ramayana. For many years it housed the Phra Bang before the image moved to the palace grounds, and it still plays a central role in Lao New Year.

Further along Sakkaline Road, Wat Sensoukharam, known as Wat Sene, dates from the early eighteenth century and stands out with its deep red walls and gold motifs. It keeps the long racing boats used in the boat festivals at the end of Buddhist Lent, usually in the eighth or ninth lunar month.

Getting there

Start at Wat Visoun on the southern edge of the old town, about ten minutes on foot from the main street, and end at Wat Xieng Thong at the tip of the peninsula.

A bicycle makes the route quicker and lets you add the riverside roads; most guesthouses rent them for a modest daily fee.

A suggested plan

1. 8:00Wat Visoun and the watermelon stupa, then next-door Wat Aham.
2. 9:00Walk north to Wat Mai beside the palace and study its golden façade.
3. 10:00Continue along Sakkaline Road to Wat Sene and its boat sheds.
4. 11:00Pause for a drink, then visit Wat Xieng Thong at the end of the peninsula.
5. NoonLunch by the Nam Khan and a rest in the heat of the day.

Where to stay

Any old-town guesthouse works. The southern lanes near Wat Visoun are a little less touristy and still a short walk from everything.

Good to know

• Carry small notes in kip for the temple tickets and donation boxes.
• Late afternoon is lovely too, when chanting starts in the sims around 5 pm.
• Novices often welcome conversation, but avoid entering their living quarters.
• Look for the drum towers; their huge drums are struck at dawn and dusk.