Mount Phousi

Phousi is the wooded hill the town is built around, about a hundred metres high, with stairs climbing it from both sides and small shrines and Buddha images set into the rock along the way. At the top is That Chomsi, a gilded stupa that is the finishing point of processions at Lao New Year, and a terrace with the Mekong on one side and the Nam Khan on the other. It is the standard sunset spot in Luang Prabang, which is both why people go and the main thing wrong with going.

What you actually see

• That Chomsi - the gilded stupa on the summit, floodlit after dark.
• The two rivers - the Mekong and the Nam Khan visible from opposite sides of the terrace.
• The shrine niches - Buddha images and small caves set into the hillside along both stairways.
• The roofscape - the peninsula's temple roofs and tiled houses laid out below.

When to go

November to March is dry and clear. Sunset is the busiest hour by a long way, with queues on the stairs and standing room only at the top; sunrise gives the same view with almost nobody on it. Late March and April are often hazy from agricultural burning.

Honest expectations

There are a few hundred steps and no other way up, which rules it out for some visitors. At sunset the terrace is genuinely packed and the experience is of a crowd as much as a view. The haze in the burning season can flatten the view entirely for weeks at a time.

Nearby

The Royal Palace Museum is at the foot of the stairs, and the night market runs along the street below.