A former capital of the realm, known in the 13th century as "the Kingdom of millions of elephants." It is the site of over 20 Buddhist pagodas including the Phou Si which is said to enshrine the footprint of Buddha.
Wat Phou (Vat Phu) is a ruined Khmer temple complex in southern Laos located at the base of mount Phu Kao. It was shaped to express the Hindu vision of the relationship between nature and humanity, using an axis from mountain top to river bank to lay out a geometric pattern of temples, shrines and waterworks extending over 10 km.
Go back to our travelog, Up the Mekong
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Lynn Salmon <>{ Last Updated: October 23, 2006