After taking in Luang Prabang’s central, walkable area (see part 1 and part 2), it’s time to take the well-beaten path to yet another destination out of town.
The Pak Ou caves (pronounced ‘pahk ooh’) are also called the Tham Ting (lower cave) and the Tham Theung (upper cave); both names can be used when describing them.
While arriving takes an hour via motorcycle or taxi, the highlight of the trip is the ferry ride. There’s no bridge anywhere nearby, and nowhere to drive on the other side (park your motorbike or arrange for your tuk-tuk driver to wait for you). You can also get a ride here via the river from Luang Prabang if tuk-tuks aren’t your thing.
There are two caves to peruse, so start climbing the staircase up, up, and away for the upper cave. Bring a flashlight or borrow one for a small donation — this is required to get anywhere interesting since it gets dark pretty fast.
Supposedly, the first Lao people came here in the 8th century, when they were worshipping the spirits of nature. By the 16th century Buddhism was the religion of royalty, and the royal family visited here as part of the New Year celebrations until 1975. The shrines are cleaned every April and repainted as part of the annual religious ceremonies; people also bring their Buddha images here to be ceremonially washed with holy water. A sign shows a reproduction of a drawing of the cave from the 1860’s, and the Australian and Lao governments started a five-year conservation project in 1992. The caves are still fairly well-kept, thanks presumably to the donations and offerings that come in — over 4,000 sculptures are present and were mostly donated by worshippers.
If you’re clever, you’ll figure out how to take a picture with your camera in almost complete darkness sans flash. As a hint, there are a few solid, flat places to rest your camera around waist level…
Another 2,500 or so are in the lower cave — head back down the stairs towards the boats, then look for the other entrance to the left:
There’s really only one direction to go besides the main platform — up a few stairs to the right will make you appreciate how far up the nearly sheer rockface to place their Buddha statues. A few paintings are harder to make out without crossing into restricted areas, but you might be able to see some faint traces of them.
The images here are much more densely packed, and it’s difficult to make out any semblance of a pattern. There doesn’t need to be, naturally — enjoy the myriad poses and various sizes, then leave a donation to assist their upkeep.
A look out the only other way to go in the lower cave — not an exit, but a nice view out.
If going on a guided tour, note they sometimes like to add on an unannounced side stop on the way home. Heading to the Pak Ou caves means you might be stopping at the Whiskey Village, but if traveling there yourself you can stay as long as you like or pass right by.
Call it Sang Hai or Xang Hai (GPS: 20.00450,102.23250), but the roadside attraction has one purpose — money extraction from tourists. The wines and whiskeys here come with snakes inside the bottle — to be clear everything’s drinkable, but it’s the look that makes it unique. Be aware that even the tiny, free shots pack a kick — if driving a motorbike, don’t have too many…
As a half day trip, it’s a little underwhelming and touristy — that said, Laos remains an exotic destination by most people’s standards, and getting off the beaten path here represents a much more difficult challenge here. The views driving here on a motorbike, however are spectacular — don’t pass the sights by without stopping for at least a few photos.
Name: Pak Ou Caves
Address: Unnamed dirt road about 7 kilometers from route 13, north of Luang Prabang (GPS: 20.04867,102.21050)
Directions: Tuk-tuks and ferries can both be arranged from the city. If you’d rather get there yourself, borrow a motorbike.
Start from central Luang Prabang and get to route 13. This is south of the walkable center of town, and most easily reached from Kitsalat road. At the first fork / T, stay right with the major road; at the three way intersection, turn left to head northeast, cross the bridge and head out of town. From the bridge it’s about 18.5 kilometers to the left turn down to a dirt road — keep your eyes out for signs on the left.
Once on the dirt road, drive past the whisky village, stay straight on the dirt road, and go several kilometers. You’ve arrived when see the flagged rope across the road. Park your motorcycle (5,000 kip), walk towards the river, then buy your ferry ticket (13,000 kip per person, round-trip — be sure to find the same person to take you back!). Afterwards, turn left at the intersection with two convenience stores and follow this road to the river.
Hours: N/A
Admission: 20,000 kip
Phone: +856–71–212487 (Lao Tourism Information Office)
Website: tourismlaos.org
