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Wat Phu in Champasak

Wat Phu (also known as Vat Phou or Wat Phou) is one of the two UNESCO world heritage sites in Laos (the other being the city of Luang Prabang). It is a ruined Khmer temple complex near Champasak in southern Laos, located at the base of mount Phu Kao. Although there was a temple on the site as early as the 5th century, the surviving structures date from the 11th to 13th centuries. Wat Phu was shaped to express the Hindu vision of the relationship between nature and humanity, using an axis from mountain top to river bank to lay out a geometric pattern of temples, shrines and waterworks extending over some 10 km. The site nowadays is a centre of Theravada Buddhist worship.


01 Causeway promenade	02 Baray pond	03 Worship pavilion	04 Worship pavilion


05 Window with stone bars	06 Worship pavilion	07 Gate to worship pavilion	08 Worship pavilion


09 Worship pavilion	10 Walkway and Plumeria	11 Walkway to next level	12 Galleries to next level	13 Nandi pavilion


14 Khmer statue and worshipper	15 Staircase	16 Staircase	17 Staircase and Plumeria trees	18 Terraces


19 Terraces	20 Staircase to upper level	21 Shiva Lingam sanctuary	22 Shiva Lingam sanctuary	23 Apsara bas-relief


24 Bas-relief	25 Bas-relief with Khmer warrior	26 Lateral view with windows	27 Gate	28 Buddha statue	29 Buddha statue


30 Khmer style Trimurti	31 Ruins	32 Columns	33 Cliff	34 Rear view of sanctuary


35 Shiva Lingam sanctuary	36 View of plains	37 Panorama view of the plains	38 Buddha statue


39 Bas-relief	40 Bas-relief	41 Apsara bas-relief

Other Champasak province galleries: Pakse ▪ Um Muang Khmer site ▪ Crossing the Mekong in Champasak ▪ Roads in southern Laos

Categories: Tropics ▪ Historical sites ▪ Archaeological sites ▪ Tourist attractions ▪ UNESCO world heritage sites ▪ Ancient Khmer architecture ▪ Ruins ▪ Temples ▪ Religious sites ▪ Hinduism

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