Epic Travel → Asia & the South Pacific → Laos → Mount Phousi

Location: Luang Prabang, Laos

Time Required: 2 hours

Red Tape/Notes: Open 24 hours; admission is 20,000 kip. Very crowded at sunset.

What’s Nearby?: Luang Prabang, Mount Phousi, Alms Giving Ritual, Kuang Si Waterfalls

This 100 meter tall hill (sometimes spelled Pho Si or Phu Si – regardless, the meaning is “Sacred Hill”) is a religious site with several Buddhist shrines and temples and an imprint of the Buddha’s foot in stone. The hill is climbed via one of several approaches with hundreds of steps, but none of them are particularly strenuous. The top offers panoramic views of the countryside, and it’s popular to climb up to the top to watch the sunset. You’ll run into lots and lots of people at this time of day; if you want to avoid people, you could try coming up in the early morning (you can climb the hill at any time, even in the dark) to watch the sunrise, although there’s often haze in the mornings so photography opportunities are probably better later on. I’ve seen so many beautiful temples and views, that the most interesting thing to me was the Buddha foot imprint (it looked like really large toes imprinted in stone) and the rather attractive walkways. Worth doing if you have nothing else to do, but certainly don’t feel bad if you want to skip it.

Epic Travel → Asia & the South Pacific → Laos → Mount Phousi