Tourist Attractions in and around the Plain of Jars
Plain of Jars, one of the most mysterious place on earth
Plain of Jars Location Map
Plain of Jars (27 December 2005)
© Timothy Tye
Plain of Jars Site 2 (27 December 2005)
© Timothy Tye
Plain of Jars Site 3 (27 December 2005)
© Timothy Tye
Rustic farmer's hut in Phonsavan (27 December 2005)
© Timothy Tye
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The Plain of Jars in Xieng Khouang Province, Laos, is one of the most enigmatic sights in the world, on par with Macchu Picchu of Peru, and the moais of Easter Island. Here, in this forgotten corner of Asia, is a highland plains about 1000 meters above sea level, where you find giant-size stone jars, created and left behind by a civilisation that has now disappeared. I had the good fortune of Plain of Jars together with a few members of AsiaExplorers, and am documenting it now for your knowledge.
Thus far, the Plain of Jars is still far from the tourist routes, and thankfully, I would say, the number of tourists is still at the minimum. The number of hotels are also few, and the level of accommodation here quite basic. In addition, the presence of UXO (mines and unexploded bombs) left behind from the Vietnam War twenty years ago (and even today continued to injure the rural folks of Laos) has effectively curtailed the tide of international tourists. But not for long.
The Laotian government is working to clear the UXO off the plains, to make it possible for visitors to explore and appreciate the jars without fear on landmines. This is in cooperation with Unesco, the National Tourist Authority of Lao PDR and the Ministry of Information and Culture.
So far, very little information is available about the stone jars. Like who made them, why, and when. The jars are scattered, without any determined arrangement, over the plains. From far, they looked like boulders. There are over a dozen sites around the town of Phonsavan where these jars are found, but only three are opened to visitors, and are named Thong Hai Hin (Site 1), Hai Hin Phu Salato (Site 2) and Hai Hin Laat Khai (Site 3). Members that joined the AsiaExplorers expedition was fortunate to be able to visit all the three sites. The photograph in this and the related pages come from this expedition to Laos.
An extensive study was conducted in the 1930s on the jars by a French archaeologist, Madeleine Colani, from École Française d'Extrême Orient (the same organisation researching on Angkor). She spent three years here, travelling on elephant. Her work, Megalithes du Haut-Laos (Megaliths of Upper Laos) was published in 1935. Colani claimed that the jars were created by a civilisation that flourished between 300 BC and AD 300, and postulated that the jars were funerary monuments.
The jars come in different sizes. The majority are 1.5 meter in diameter and height, but a few can be considerably larger. There appears to be evidence that they were dragged up to higher ground, and that they were fashioned using iron implements. Colani claimed that she found charred human bone fragments within some of the jars, supporting her hypothesis that these are funerary monuments.
In addition to the jars, beads and bronze figurines have also been discovered near and around the jars. Although Colani did not draw a conclusion as to the origin of this mysterious civilisation, more recent researchers have attempted to trace them to either the Cham of Vietnam or to some Lao Theung groups from the Attapeu Province of southeastern Laos.
An unfortunate footnote over Colani's work is that the artefacts she collected during her study have mysteriously disappeared, opening a window for later researchers to discount her work, and claim that the jars might not have been funerary monuments, but may have been used as storage vessels for rice or for wine fermentation. The presence of UXO has made research slow or often not entirely possible. So it will be quite some time, I believe, before anybody can draw out the secrets of the jars.
There are more than 60 sites of stone jars in different groups on the vast plateau in Xieng Khouang province. The sites located in the middle of the plateau, the ones opened to visitors, are named Site 1, Site 2 and Site 3. The majority of people who come here visit only Site 1. Our driver was initially reluctant to take us to all three sites, giving excuses that the road is impassable, but after much persuasion, he brought us there. And we found that the road was not as bad as he had claimed.
To view photographs and admire the jars more closely, follow the links provided to Site 1, Site 2 and Site 3 of the Plain of Jars.
Getting there
The main town for visiting the Plain of Jars is Phonsavan.
By Bus
There are local buses that link Phonsavan with Luang Prabang and Vientiane. These public buses sometimes get military escorts to guard against highway robbers, although, strangely enough, there wasn't any armed personnel on our tour bus.
By Plane
A faster alternative to get to Phonsavan is by flight. Thankfully there is an airstrip in town served by regular flights from Vientiane.
Exploring Phonsavan
You can rent a motorbike to explore Phonsavan, at 100,000 kip per day. The Plain of Jars can be reached in half an hour by motorbike.
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