Early morning at 7:30, we head out from Luang Prabang to Phonsavan 260km. We will stop and see varied Hmong and other hill tribe minority villages along the road. They are nice, friendly and welcome you to visit. Continue driving uphill, enjoying the mountain scenery, forest, and landscape. Around noon, we stop at Muang Phu Khoun, a village in the heart of the Hmong people. We have a lunch break and enjoy the magnificent mountain scenery.

Afterward, we continue our way and then stop at the town of Nong Tang and see a site of more than 200 years old Buddha images in Tham Pha Caves. The caves were also hospitals and shelters during the Indochina wars. Upon arrival at Phonsavan, we check in at the hotel and have free time.

The Plain Of Jars

Today we will spend one day touring the Plain of Jars and Xieng Khouang and take you to the legend of Jars and traces of the history of the Second Indochina War. After breakfast, we will move on to visit the Jarls Plain. The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has presented Laos with a certificate allowing the registration of the Jarls Plain as a World Heritage Site in 2019. The site encompasses hundreds of large stone jars scattered across the plateau. We will visit Thong Hai Hin, known as Jarl Site 1. It is the most visited archaeological site located 8 km southwest of the city.

The Plain Of Jars

Jahr Site 2 (Hai Hin Hoo Sarat) is approximately 20 km southwest of the city. Next, at Ban Na Pia, near site 2, the villagers of Tay Puan reuse UXO scrap from unexploded bombs to make spoons, which they sell as souvenirs.

Wat Phiawat

In the afternoon, we will head to the ancient capital of Muang Khoun, the 14th-century royal palace of the Phuan Kingdom and the capital of the French colonial provincial city until recently. Once a major city along with Luang Prabang, today only a few ruins remain, including Wat Piawat. The invasion of Thai and Vietnamese soldiers, the looting by Chinese bandits in the 19th century, and a bomb storm that lasted nearly a decade during the Second Indochina War left the town devastated, and the kingdom’s elaborate temples nothing remained. The parts of the town had been reduced to ruins by 1975.

MAG UXO Visitor Information Centre

Afterward, we return to Phonsavan at around 4 pm and visit MAG UXO Center and Official Tourist Information Center to deepen our understanding of history.

After breakfast, we have a short visit to the morning market and a fair-trade “Mulberries Organic Silk Farm” where visitors can observe the silk-weaving process from cocoons to colorful scarves. Then we are leaving for Luang Prabang. We will arrive in Luang Prabang around the evening.