Pak Ou Caves

Where the Nam Ou joins the Mekong, a limestone cliff on the far bank holds two caves that have been receiving Buddha images for centuries. Tham Ting, the lower one, opens directly onto the river and is crowded with figures on every ledge, most of them wooden and lacquered, ranging from a few centimetres to human height. Tham Theung is higher up a stair, darker and emptier, and needs a torch. The images were placed by pilgrims and by royal households, and the practice predates the arrival of Buddhism at the site.

What you actually see

• Tham Ting - the lower cave, open to the river and packed with several thousand images.
• Tham Theung - the upper cave, reached by stairs, dark and much less visited.
• The river mouth - the confluence of the Nam Ou and the Mekong seen from the cave mouth.
• The boat trip - two hours upstream past villages and sandbars, which is half the outing.

When to go

November to March has the calmest river and the clearest air. April is hot and often hazy from agricultural burning. In the wet season the river runs fast and brown, and the lower cave can be affected by high water.

Honest expectations

The caves themselves take twenty minutes; the boat is the greater part of the day, and slow boats are more pleasant than fast ones. The upper cave is genuinely dark and the stairs are steep. Vendors and a whisky village stop are usually built into the trip whether or not you asked.

Nearby

Ban Xang Hai, the whisky village, is on the same stretch of river, and Luang Prabang is downstream.