Champasak

Champasak is one long road on the west bank of the Mekong, running for a few kilometres with the river on one side and rice fields behind. It was the seat of a Lao kingdom and later a French administrative post, and the residue of both is still standing: two royal villas with colonnaded fronts, a scatter of colonial buildings, wooden Lao houses on stilts, and the wat at the northern end. Wat Phou is eight kilometres inland, and the whole town functions as its approach, which keeps it quiet and slow.

What you actually see

• The main street - a single riverside road with old wooden houses and colonial fronts along it.
• The royal villas - two colonnaded houses built for the Champasak family, now partly restored.
• Wat Thong - the town temple at the northern end, with a small royal cemetery.
• The river frontage - fishing boats, the ferry landing and the far bank across the Mekong.

When to go

November to March is dry and cool enough for cycling, which is the right way to see the town and reach Wat Phou. The Wat Phou festival, usually in February, fills the town for several days. April and May are severely hot.

Honest expectations

There is very little here beyond the street itself, and that is the appeal rather than a shortcoming. Restaurants are few and close early. Most visitors stay one night and find they wanted two, or arrive on a day trip and see nothing of the town at all.

Nearby

Wat Phou is eight kilometres inland, and Don Daeng island lies just offshore.