Plain of Jars


Laos' Plain of Jars sits on the Xieng Khouang Plateau in the north of the country. Legends claim the jars were constructed to brew alcohol to be used for celebrations after a victorious military campaign. However, archaeologists disagree, suggesting the jars are actually funerary urns, carved nearly 2,000 years ago. Thousands of ancient stone jars in clusters of up to 300 pock the plains, varying from one to three meters in height. The Plain of Jars played a pivotal role in the Second Indochina War and was the site of many ground battles and unfortunately intense aerial bombardment. The area around Xieng Khouang is refreshingly clean with cool weather, vast waving grasslands, with nearby hot springs and caves and home to several ethnic minorities. The Laos Government is preparing a nomination dossier for submission to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre nominating the area as a World Heritage Site. The Plain of Jars is accessible by air from Vientiane and Luang Prabang. Overland travel is possible from northern and central Laos and north-central Vietnam.

Archaeological theories and local myth suggest the enigmatic jars were used for burial purposes. The jars weigh as much as six tonnes (6.6 tons) and have been fashioned from solid stone, which doesn't seem to have come from the area. Many of the smaller jars have been taken away by collectors, but there are still several hundred in the five major groups. Thong Hai Hin, the biggest and most accessible site, has two pavilions and toilets, as well as the largest jar on the plain.