Visit Haw Pha Bang - an extremely beautiful temple in Laos

If you have an Asia tour to Laos, do not miss Haw Pha Bang - one of the most famous royal temples in Laos. Let's read the following article to learn about this attractive destination!

When is the best time to travel to Laos?

The Laos climate is divided into regions distinctly. The average temperature is from 24 to 33 degrees Celsius. Northern Laos including Luang Prabang has a four-season climate which is similar to the climate of northern Vietnam.

You can visit Luang Prabang, Laos all year around. However, before traveling, you have to know what the season of the country is exactly to prepare sunscreen or raincoat. The reason is that Laos has summer and winter season. The climate in the Laos regions is the tropical monsoon climate with two distinct seasons such as rainy season and dry season. The rainy season runs from May to November. The dry season lasts from December to April next year. This period is considered the best time to visit Laos because the average temperature is only about 15 degrees C - 30 degrees C.

General information about Haw Pha Bang

Haw Pha Bang temple (thousandwonders.net)

Haw Pha Bang - one of the Luang Prabang’s most impressive monuments on the Royal Palace Museum's grounds. Being a very elaborate temple completed in 2006 on Sisavangvong road, the name "Haw Pha Bang" which means “the Royal temple” is also known as the Wat Ho Pha Bang. Haw Pha Bang was built to shrine the most sacred Buddha statue in Laos.

Although the Haw Pha Bang temple looks old at first sight, it is a quite new structure built in traditional style of Laos. The construction of Haw Pha Bang started in 1963. The works have come to a halt when the communist Pathet Lao party took control and resumed in the 1990’s.

How to visit the Haw Pha Bang temple?

Haw Pha Bang temple is situated in the South East of the Royal Palace complex. Because the distance is small, it is very convenient to go on foot from most areas of the town. You can hire a tuk tuk or jumbo to ride in the center of Luang Prabang. This cost will be from 10,000 Kip (about US$ 1.30) to 15,000 Kip (about US$ 2), which depends on the distance and your skill of bargaining.

The entrance fee and opening hours

The Haw Pha Bang temple is on the Royal Palace Museum's grounds on the Luang Prabang peninsula. Therefore, the entrance fee of the temple is included in the sightseeing ticket of the Royal Palace Museum. The Haw Pha Bang temple opens all the days of the week except Tuesday, from 8.00 AM to 11.30 AM in the morning and from 1.30 PM to 4.00 PM in the afternoon.

Haw Pha Bang - The Royal temple

The very elaborate structure with the gold and glass decoration is set on a multi-level raised platform. The multi-tiered roof of Haw Pha Bang is decorated with stylized Naga finials at the roof’s ends. The center top of the roof is a “Dok so faa” which is a decorative element including 17 spires found in a lot of Laos temples. The wooden front facade is carved with the Buddhist depictions in gold and green color. The entrance of Haw Pha Bang is the stairways with multi-headed mythological snakes of Naga extending across the balustrades. The inside of the temple is a large and very ornate gilded alter where the Phra Bang Buddha is to be preserved and shrined.

Visit the Haw Pha Bang temple

The Phra Bang Buddha image

The purpose of building the temple was to shrine the Phra Bang Buddha which is the most respected Buddha image in Laos. The image which the Luang Prabang's town is named is now put in a splendid shrine in the Royal Palace Museum.

The Phra Bang image with 83 centimeters tall is located in the Abhaya mudra which is the symbol of dispelling the fear. According to the legend of Laos, the Phra Bang image was made in Sri Lanka nearly 2,000 years ago. Assessing its style, it likely appeared from the 14th century. The Phra Bang image was offered to Fa Ngum, the first ruler of the Lan Xang Kingdom in 1353 by the Angkor King. On two events in the following centuries, Siamese invaders moved the Phra Bang image to Thailand. In 1867, the image was returned to Laos. After that, this image was put in the Wat Mai and Wat Wisunalat.

Nowadays, the Phra Bang Buddha image is saved in a stunning shrine in the Royal Palace Museum and soon to be enshrined in Haw Pha Bang. Being a part of the celebrations in Laos New Year, the Phra Bang Buddha image will be processioned to the Wat Mai temple where it is cleansed with rites.

After reading this article, do you want to visit Haw Pha Bang right now? To know more information about Haw Pha Bang and Laos tour groups, via our website. Share this article if it is useful for you. Have a nice trip!