Phonsavan

Travel Guide

Hotel Deals of the Day

best price guarantee

The lively town of Phonsavan is the capital of Xieng Khuang province and is famous for two reasons.

Firstly, the area was one of the most heavily bombed in Laos, and that's saying something in the most heavily bombed country in the world. Today the region remains littered with unexploded ordinance (UXO) and the evidence is everywhere. The resourceful locals use bomb casings and other remnants for every purpose imaginable: as fences and parts of their housing, as tools, vegetable planters, decorations and barbecue fireplaces.

Secondly, the province is the site of the mysterious Plain of Jars. The centre of Xieng Khuang province is littered with clumps of large stone vessels, believed to be ancient funerary urns. The origin of these enormous jars is unclear, inciting international debate.

The scenery in the province is very different to any you'll see in the rest of Laos. Rolling hills are covered in the wet season with green grass and sparse forests of pine trees -- a striking contrast to the usual high mountains and dense jungle.

The Jars aside, Phonsavan itself is a fascinating place to visit with a number of attractions in its outlying areas. It perhaps should not be the first place on an itinerary in Laos, but it's great if you're planning a fair amount of time exploring the country.

The town is now experiencing a bit of a tourist boom and a considerable amount of infrastructure has been or is being built and the town is now well and truly on the tourist trail and rightly so. Just be sure to come here for more than just the jars.

Accommodation options are plentiful in town, with a plethora of budget-range choices and a healthy selection of midrange places to boot. Most of the accommodation is centred around the main street running through town -- take a short walk along the main road and you'll see plenty, many with free WiFi.

Orientation
A post office, banks and internet cafes are all available along the main street in Phonsavan. There is an ATM at the local BCEL bank close to the main intersection in the centre of town. Money can be changed at many guesthouses in town along with tour shops and the bank. 3G internet access is available in town on the big mobile networks such as Unitel and ETL.

There is also a hospital in town, but as for most other places in rural Laos, this is best only used for treating minor ailments. More serious injuries and emergencies should definitely be treated in Vientiane (or even better, Thailand).

Get orientated with a map of Phonsavan, Laos

Phonsavan reviews

Backchat from the Travelfish community

History Takes a Turn

Phonsavan is worth a visit if you are interested in history. I'm an IGCSE History teacher from the States and I must say that I was really startled by the place. Now, the city itself is not very great, and the road there is long, and the food was so-so ... but that said, everyone who comes does so for one reason -- the plain of jars. What was really worth appreciating was the confluence of the Vietnam War Era bombings with the landscape of the plain; craters around busted jars, caves for shelter from bomb raids, and this coming together of an ancient need to create with the ancient activity of war and destruction.

If your tour is Northern Laos, this is an important point of interest to visit.
- Sights & activities
- History & culture
- Scenery & environment
- Eat & drink
- Traveller's scene
- Romance
- Value for money
- I'll be back (or not)
By caseyprich (dabbler)
Written on 9th March, 2010 after a visit to Phonsavan in February, 2008

Also reviewed by caseyprich: Battambang, Can Tho, Champasak, China Beach, Da Nang, Don Dhet, Gili Meno, Hoi An, Hue, Kampot,

Have your say

You need to be logged in to add a review.

Username: Password:

Not a member? you can join here.
Review title

Snappiness encouraged ;-)

When did you visit here?

This gives your review a bit of context - especially if you were last in Chiang Mai in 1932.

Your review

(Remotely sensible, non-ranting comments are much appreciated. If you don't like somewhere, please explain why -- it's all far more helpful for others that way.) Serial ranters, loons and spammers will be banished!
And please, no self-promotional URLs -- that's what your signature field is for.

So how does it rate?

On a scale of one to ten (with 10 being outstanding and 1 being bloody awful) how would you rate here under the following criteria?

Note: Ratings are OUT OF TEN -- not five!
Please note comments are edited for clarity, typos and style before they appear. Ranting tirades, spam and anything else that really belongs somewhere else won't make the cut. If you want to rant, go to Thorntree.

Please login and refresh this screen before writing your review -- thanks!