Comparable to Stonehenge and Easter Island, the Plain of Jars in Laos
is one of the most mysterious sites in the world. No one can quite
figure out how thousands of stone jars came to appear on these grounds,
and it has captured people’s attention and imagination for a thousand
years or more.
Location and How to Get There
The Plain of Jars is composed of over 90 sites scattered throughout
the Xieng Khouang province of Laos. The most visited of these is Site 1,
which is found near the town of Phonsavan. Visitors to the site can go
there by public bus to Phonsavan, which occasionally come with military
escort to serve as protection from any highway robbers. But the easiest
way to reach the town is by plane from the Lao capital city of
Vientiane. Once in Phonsavan, the Plain of Jars is only a half hour
motorbike ride away.
What to See There
Each of the 90-plus sites in the Plain of Jars contains 1 to 400
giant stone jars, varying in size from 1 to 3 meters. Of these sites, 7
are open to the public: Sites 1, 2 and 3, all located south of
Phonsavan; Site 16, which is close to the old capital of Xieng Khouang;
Site 23, which is near Muang Kham’s hot spring; Site 25 in the district
of Muang Phukoot; and Site 52, found close to a traditional Hmong
village, and with a total of 392 jars is the largest known of all the
jar sites to date. But the biggest of the jars is found at Site 1; with a
height of more than 2 meters and nearly just as wide, it is also unique
for being the only decorated jar among the others.
History
The Plain of Jars is believed to date back to the Iron Age, from 500
BCE (Before the Common Era) to 500 CE (Comon Era). Lao folklore
attributed the jars to a race of giants that supposedly lived in the
area. Particularly, the jars were said to have been created by the
legendary king Khun Cheung for brewing and storing large quantities of
the rice wine Lao-lao. Studies conducted during the 1930′s deduced that
the jars were connected with prehistoric funerary practices. Sure
enough, this is supported by later excavations, which yielded traces of
human remains and other artifacts related to burial rites around the
jars. It is also possible that the jars were once used to collect
rainwater for passing travelers. In 1992, the Plain of Jars was added to
UNESCO’s tentative list of Laos World Heritage Sites, and is presently
pending full induction.
Cost
To get around from Phonsavan to the Plain of Jars, one can rent a motorbike for 100,000 Lao Kip per day.
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