Stone jars
Man-sized.
Jakub Hałun — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jakub Hałun — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Jakub Hałun — CC BY-SA 4.0 · François Bianco — CC BY-SA 2.0
A mysterious archaeological landscape on the Xiangkhoang plateau: thousands of huge stone jars scattered across grassy valleys and hills, in groups from a single jar to several hundred, inscribed by UNESCO as World Heritage in 2019. The jars were carved from sandstone and granite in the Iron Age, around two thousand years ago; some stand taller than two men and weigh several tonnes. No one knows for sure who made them or why. Most archaeologists link them to ancient rituals, while Lao legend calls them giant jars for a victory feast. Site 1, nearest Phonsavan, is the largest, with more than three hundred jars on grassy hills and a view over the wide plateau. Sites 2 and 3 are quieter and greener, in villages among rice fields. The plateau was heavily bombed in the 1960s-70s war, and bomb craters still show among the jars. The sites open to visitors have been cleared, so keep between the small marker posts. Site 1 costs about LAK 15,000, per visitor guides. Rural Laos still holds unexploded ordnance from the 1960s-70s war, so keep to marked paths and never touch metal objects, per UK travel advice.
Man-sized.
A wide plateau.
Who made them?
Site 1, about 5 km south-west of Phonsavan, Xiangkhoang plateau
Yes at the sites open to visitors, which have been cleared of ordnance, as long as you stay between the markers and on the paths.