Wat Phou

Wat Phou predates Angkor Wat and was built around a natural feature rather than a plan: a spring emerging high on the flank of Phou Kao, a mountain whose summit was read as a linga, the symbol of Shiva. The complex runs up from the Mekong plain in a long axis, past two large barays and a pair of ruined palace buildings, then climbs a steep stone stairway flanked by frangipani trees to the sanctuary near the spring. Water was channelled over the linga inside. The temple was later converted to Theravada Buddhist use, which is why Buddha images sit in a Hindu shrine. Carvings survive on the lintels and doorways, and from the upper terrace the view runs across the barays to the Mekong.

What you actually see

• The upper sanctuary - the shrine by the sacred spring, with surviving carved lintels.
• The frangipani stairway - the steep processional climb between old trees.
• The palace buildings - two large stone structures on the lower terrace.
• The barays - the ancient reservoirs on the axis approaching the hill.

When to go

November to March, the cool dry season. The Wat Phou festival at the February full moon fills the site with pilgrims and is the most atmospheric time. Mornings avoid both heat and coach parties from Pakse.

Honest expectations

The stairway is steep, uneven and slippery, with no handrail in most sections, and it is a hard climb in heat. Much of the complex is ruin rather than standing building. The site is quiet outside festival days, which is either the appeal or a sign that half a day is enough.

Nearby

The Bolaven Plateau's coffee farms and waterfalls are inland; Si Phan Don lies south on the Mekong.