Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang is a town in Laos.

Two rivers meet there, and green mountains stand all around it.

Luang Prabang lies in northern Laos, 219 kilometers north of the capital, Vientiane. Store norske leksikon, Norway's big encyclopedia, says the town stands on a peninsula formed by the Mekong and the Nam Khan River. UNESCO adds that mountain ranges surround it in lush greenery.

Laos's census of 1 March 2015 counted 66,781 people in the urban part of Luang Prabang district, the fourth largest town on City Population's list for Laos.

Store norske leksikon ('Luang Prabang', Cato Næverdal and Sten Lundbo): a town in Laos 219 km north of Vientiane, on a peninsula formed by the Mekong and the Nam Khan; an international airport; a railway to Vientiane opened in 2021; placed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1995. UNESCO (479, 'Town of Luang Prabang'): in northern Laos at the heart of a mountainous region; on a peninsula formed by the Mekong and the Nam Khan; mountain ranges, in particular Phou Thao and Phou Nang, encircle the city in lush greenery. Larousse ('Luang Prabang ou Louang Prabang'): a city of Laos on the upper Mekong, chef-lieu of a province. City Population (Lao Statistics Bureau): urban population of Luang Prabang district 55,027 (census 1 March 2005), 66,781 (census 1 March 2015), fourth among Laos's cities; Luangprabang Province 431,889 (2015).

Look at the river winding past the town!

Red and gray roofs peek out between palm trees, and mountains rise behind.

Shelly Zohar took this photo of Luang Prabang from above in 2019. A river curves past sandbanks on the left, with a bridge across it, low buildings with red, orange and gray roofs stand among palm trees and green trees, a long straight street runs through the town on the right, and forested mountains rise behind under a pale sky.

UNESCO says most of the town's buildings are made of wood, as is the tradition, while one- or two-story brick houses are the part built in colonial times. Long ago, walls marked the edge of the town.

Commons: File:Luang Prabang, Laos. III.jpg, by Shelly Zohar (Creator template; CC BY-SA 4.0; permission confirmed through a Wikimedia VRT ticket, 2019121510000351), dated 2019, uploaded 15 December 2019 by a VRT volunteer (Geagea); the description is only the place name; the categories were set by another user in April 2020. Seen in the 1,280-pixel copy: a river curving past sandbanks at the left with a bridge, low buildings with red, orange and gray roofs among palm trees and green trees, a long straight street at the right, forested mountains behind, a pale clear sky. UNESCO: the richness of Luang Prabang's architecture reflects a mix of styles and materials; most buildings are, following tradition, wooden structures; one- or two-story brick houses characterize the colonial element; formerly the town limits were defined by defensive walls; the colonial street network overlapped harmoniously with the older urban model.

Craftspeople in Luang Prabang make shiny lacquer, and gold and silver things.

There are waterfalls not far away.

Larousse calls Luang Prabang a center of trade and crafts, known for lacquer work and for gold and silver work. Store norske leksikon calls it a cultural center of Lao culture.

On Wikidata, the Tat Sae Waterfalls are about 10 kilometers east-southeast of the town's point.

Larousse: 'centre de commerce et d'artisanat (laque, travail de l'or et de l'argent)'. Store norske leksikon: a cultural center for Lao culture. Wikidata from the town point: Tat Sae Waterfalls (Q7687776) 10.34 km ESE; the mountains Phou Phachik (Q27437828) 6.95 km WSW and Phou Thua (Q27437830) 10.70 km E.