Closed by their history and their Theravada Buddhism philosophy, Laos and Cambodia have preserved magnificent archaeological sites and architecture listed as World Heritage by the UNESCO. We introduce you below the must see places in Laos and Cambodia.

Luang Prabang – Laos

Former capital of Lane Xang Kingdom, the city is set 700m above sea level at the confluence of the Nam Khan River and the Mekong River. The important number of monasteries, temples and the French Indochinese architecture have allowed the city to be designated a World Heritage site in 1995.
In the surrounding countryside of Luang Prabang, various excursions are easy reachable like the one to the Pak Ou Buddha caves, at the confluence of the Mekong and Nam Ou rivers.

Set on a bend in the Mekong River, Vientiane became the capital of Laos in the middle of the 16th century. Compared with the other capitals of Southeast Asia, Vientiane has kept the charm of a provincial town. The city shelters the most important religious building of the country, the sacred stupa of That Luang.

Near the town of Champassak, the archaeological site of Wat Phou (Mountain Monastery) is the most evocative Khmer ruins outside Cambodia. The site is small compared with the monumental Angkor temples near Siem Reap but it has also become a World Heritage site since 2002. 

Mekong River – Laos and Cambodia

From the Tibetan Plateau to China sea, the Mekong River spreads over 4000 km and runs through China, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. The extreme seasonal variations in flow have made the navigation difficult. For the people of the Mekong area, the river is extremely important as it is use for agriculture irrigation, rice plantation, fishing and hydroelectric production.

Angkor is the former capital of the Khmer Kingdom. Just located about 8km from Siem Reap town, Angkor’s monuments are spread throughout 400sqm of forest. One of the most famous of them is Angkor Wat temple, the world’s largest religious monument. The complex was listed as World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1992.

Tonlé Sap Lake - Cambodia

Located at 15km from Siem Reap, the Tonlé Sap Lake is the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia and the first provider of fishes in Cambodia. Its level rises rapidly with the rainy season that’s why its famous floating villages move depending on the season.