The only World Heritage Site in southern Laos is Wat Phou in Champasak. The ruins 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.

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. The best way to get there is by bicycle.

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 is April and May when the flowers of the frangipani scent the air.

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.

This island near Champasak Town belongs to the UNESCO World Heritage Site that includes Um Tomo and Wat Phou. It is a living museum of the Laotian lifestyle that existed a hundred years ago.
The inhabitants of the island live in traditional wooden houses on stilts. They raise water buffalo and chickens, plant rice and gather hay just like their ancestors. Don Khong offers the most authentic glimpse of Laotian culture and is highly worth seeing. Although you will come across some pre-Angkorian ruins and beautiful wats, it's the ambience of the place that will make the strongest impression on you.

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. You can take a chartered boat from the Kong Ngay beach in the early morning or late afternoon (the best time for seeing dolphins).

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.

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.