Champasak Destination Guide

The Champasak Province is a lesser known part of Laos, but this simply adds to its appeal. Here villagers live in traditional ways, much as they have for hundreds of year, and the laid back and friendly atmosphere that you feel as soon as you enter the province is one of its main attractions.The highlight for many on a Champasak travel experience is going on a Wat Phou tour, a pre-Angkorian site which has been listed to the World Heritage site by UNESCO. Whilst smaller than other ruins in South East Asia, such as Angkor Wat in Siem reap, a Wat Phou tour is highly atmospheric and offers stunning views of the Mekong from its terrace.

Marvel at the reminders of the past throughout the province while you savour your meal of sticky rice, laap and Beer Lao at one of the delightful riverside restaurants. Champasak has many highlights.

Use this Champasak Destination Guide to determine what there is to see and do while you are in this beautiful part of Laos. Our Champasak tours page lists some competitively priced tours on things to do thrughout the province including Wat Phou tours. You may also want to speak to your Champasak guesthouse host or Champasak hotel, as they can give you detailed local information. More general information about things to do around the country can be found in our Laos Country Guide.

Things to See & Do in Champasak

The only World Heritage Site in southern Laos is Wat Phou in Champasak. The ruins, seen from a Wat Phou tour, are scattered across the mountains and the Mekong plain. Wat Phou is on the main road, 6km southwest of Champasak Town.

The temple complex of Wat Phou Champasak is the most important religious site in southern Laos. The temple was built during the 6th to 8th centuries in the Chenla Period. During the 9th to 13th centuries, it belonged to the Khmer Angkor Empire. You may not find the ruins as imposing as the one near Siem Reap in Cambodia, but the Wat Phou countryside makes it all worthwhile whether you are a temple buff or a casual traveller. Beginning at the foothills of Phu Pasak (Pasak Mountain), the complex ascends in three stages to the main sanctuary which commands spectacular views of the surrounding countryside. It is definitely worth booking a Wat Phou tour to get the full experience.

According to historians, the Khmers chose this site because of the Phou Pasak peak which resembles the symbolic idol of the Hindu god, Shiva and also for the spring near the summit of the mountain. The temple complex is 8 km southwest from the small village of Champasak. Travel by bicycle is the best way to get there.

When you enter the complex from the ticket office, you will walk down a path which takes you to two pavilions. These are known as the Women's and Men's Pavilions and are believed to be halls for worship, although this is not yet officially ascertained. The buildings don't have roofs any longer, but they are still in good condition. You will see the Nandi Pavilion behind the Women's Pavilion (Nandi is the mount of Shiva). Long, long ago, the Royal Road to the distant Angkor Wat began from the Nandi Pavilion.

As you continue your climb, the route gets more strenuous and the groves of frangipani trees get denser. The next stop is the main complex. This was originally a temple to the god Shiva and was converted during the 13th-14th centuries into a Buddhist shrine. The sanctuary no longer has a roof, but the foundations and walls are in good condition. In the days when the spring still gushed from behind the temple, the water was channelled via aqueducts down the face of the cliff into the chamber at the rear. Here it would bathe the lingam (Shiva's idol) in a perennial lustre. After this the water was directed out to a public place for worshippers to bathe in.

You will find some intriguing sights beyond the central complex such as an elephant rock and a crocodile rock, both highly popular with visitors. The best time to go to Wat Phou, especially to book a Wat Phou tour, is April and May when the flowers of the frangipani scent the air.

Read more about the Wat Phou UNESCO Wolrd Heritage Site

To get to Champasak Town (and Way Phou) you will need to take a ferry across the Mekong River if travelling by Route 13 South. 

The ferry departure point is a sandy bank with the mandatory stall set up selling various refreshments and necessities. The ferry is identifiable by vehicles being parked on top of a wooden platform that seems to be connected to the bank by wooden planks latched together.

Departure and arrival are very soft and the journey is a short 10 minutes to cross the river. A seemingly random Lao person will probably approach you for 5,000 KIP for the crossing. The person does work for the boat, but none of them wear anything identifiable as such. The boat goes once it is full or relatively so, crossings do seem to go fairly frequently at 20-30 minute intervals (and vice versa).

There is at least one song-theaw/small open bus to town on the other end. Make sure you get on it to save walking the long 3-4 kilometres under the hot sun.

You will find the Khmer style Um Tomo temple (built in the same period as Wat Phu) about 15 km south of Champasak Town. Situated near the river bank on the opposite side of the river Mekong, this is smaller than the Wat Phou, and far more ruined. All you can see here is a walkway lined with carvings and the ruins of a couple of small temple pavilions. However, the place is beautiful, located in a thicket of tall trees between the paddy fields of neighbouring Ban Nakham Noi. and the Mekong River.

A short boat ride across from the mainland will have you at the sandy shoreline of Don Khong - the largest of the Four Thousand Islands. The main strip of guesthouses facing the river offers most facilities that you may require. The island is very quiet and laidback. Best activity is reading somewhere overlooking the Mekong or rent a bicycle or motorbike and tour the island. There is a hiking track to the north of the main street. And cheaper internet services are about 400m to the south from the boat drop off point and inland from the main street. Another 50m and you will find the bank and currency exchange place.

Don Khone is a quiet peaceful island with only one stretch of tourist guesthouses and relevant services that avoids the blaring pop music and neon signage of it’s neighbour at Don Det.  Don Khone is also the access point for both Liphii Waterfalls and viewing the Irrawaddy dolphins.

The main tourist stretch is surrounded by villages at either end that seem happy to continue on with their habitual everyday life, undisturbed by the trickle of tourists that cycle or walk through the village. A good walk 2 kilometre walk in either direction will bring you to waterfalls. Li Phi is more populated with Pa Soi the only restaurant to service the small numbers that pass through this many cascading falls. The suspension bridge gives you a good view of one part of the falls, but it is a nice walk to continue over the bridge and follow the natural path to more views and other parts of the falls.

The villagers seem happier here on this island with a few more ‘sa-bai-dee’s being handed out. It is a great place to observe the everyday village life and some natural wonders, which are within walking distance of your guesthouse.

The freshwater Irrawaddy Dolphins of the Mekong River are said to have come to the rescue of travellers and locals struggling with the strong current. If you are lucky, you will see these dolphins off the southern end of Don Khon.

There are two launching points to charter a boat to the Irrawaddy dolphins playing ground. One is most famous at Ban Hong Khon, the other is at Long Beach. It’s much quieter at long beach and the boat drivers will try to charge more than the 60,000 KIP per boat (max 3 people) charged in the main town. Early in the morning or after 3pm is a good time to go for the chance to see the dolphins. The ride out from Long Beach is a very scenic one full of bright green trees that have been blown or shaped by the strong river current as they all have this lean-to effect. Water buffalos continue to mulch without being bothered by the loud engine noise of the long tail boat.

Drivers usually kill their engine as they approach the area and allow passengers to climb up onto some perfectly located rocks as a viewing point in the middle of the river (this will change depending upon the time of year). Stand or sit patiently and watch the dolphins surface every once in a little while or play with each other. It’s nice to see them even if they are off into the distance. Our driver was very good as he’d slow down if any of us pulled our camera up to take a photo. A very enjoyable experience for the scenery and the chance to see these endangered mammals.

Once on the island of Don Khong, the best way to which the falls is by bicycle - although the bike ride out to the waterfalls is a slightly bumpy one as you pass through paddy fields. Don’t be put off by bicycles parked at the entrance; you can cycle all the way to the falls, although you may prefer to walk. There are many view points of the falls, including one another 100 meters away from the shops and main viewing area. The falls are large as they span a long distance. The flow of the emerald green water from the different outlets of the falls is impressive as is the setting amongst sharp rocks. There is a rather unimpressive beach (signposted) 200 meters from the main viewing area. Beware of snakes and be careful on the rocks as they are sharp.

This trek across Don Det Island takes you five km along the old railway line. You walk through lush forest, villages and paddy fields until you end at the French pier. From this point, Cambodia is just across the river. The uneven terrain is more suited to trekking than biking.

On this hike, you will walk to the eastern edge of Don Khon with its concrete walls built by the French. You can see the channels which were used to float logs downstream, from the forests in Sainyabuli. To reach the channels where fishermen still trap fish in the traditional manner, you will have to walk northwest from the bridge you crossed on the Railway Hike. En route you will hike past a wat (Buddhist temple) with its surrounding rice fields.

If you like the idea of feeding and looking after an elephant (part of the trek package), try one of the long elephant treks into the jungles surrounding Champasak Town.