When visiting Laos, Luang Prabang is a very popular tourist destination. Filled with colonial history, beautiful temples and monasteries, bars and restaurants, it is a must-see destination when visiting Laos. To be honest I only indented on visiting Luang Prabang for the famous ‘Koung Si Waterfall’ however there are plenty of other things you can do there.

Here are my recommended things to do whilst in Luang Prabang for 3 days:

• Alms giving ceremony

A very important cultural ceremony in Laos that takes place every morning around 5.30am is the alms giving ceremony. The Buddhist ceremony involves hundreds of monks of all ages walking through the streets of Luang Prabang barefooted and collecting alms.  Local people line the streets and will give offerings of food (sticky rice) to the monks in order to support their practices. We arrived in Luang Prabang off the night bus just in time to take part in the ceremony. We were able to purchase the rice from one of the sellers and sit along the street waiting for the monks to come past and collect the food.

• Visit Mount Phousi hill.

In the centre of the old town of Luang Prabang is Mount Phousi hill. The hill is around 150m high and you will have to climb 300 steps to get to the top. It is a very easy walk which will take you around 10 minutes. Located on the top is a gold stupa temple named Wat Chom Si. From the top, you are able to enjoy a panoramic view of Loas and the Mekong river. We visited around 4pm and the views were beautiful but I would recommend going up here to watch the sunset if you can. It will be more crowded as it is a fairly small area at the top so get there early to find a good spot. The entrance fee is around 20,000 kip (£2/2.50 usd) which you can pay half way up.

• Sunset river boat

After opting for the bus journey from Thailand into Laos rather than the slow boat, we wanted a chance to experience the Mekong river. Whilst walking along the riverside we found a company offering sunset boat tours. The price was very reasonable at around $10 (£8.50) each including an alcoholic drink/cocktail and BBQ food. It was a very unique experience. We enjoyed a 2-hour journey along the river on a beautiful boat where we had awesome views of the sunset. Before boarding the boat, we chose a fish to release into the river. During the journey we had to write wishes and burdens onto bamboo leaves. The wishes were released with the fish into the river and the burdens were sunken. We were each given a blessing and a bracelet and there was also the opportunity to receive a lao massage. Would highly recommend this experience with ‘Sa sa sunset cruise’.

• Koung Si Waterfall

The most popular place to visit in Luang Prabang is the gorgeous Koung Si Waterfalls and there is no doubt why, this place is stunning. After seeing this place on Instagram when researching Laos, I knew I had to come and visit it for myself. With photo-shop and filters, places can often look very different in person, but not this place. Thankfully it was just as beautiful as expected, if not better! As you enter the area, you are welcomed with a range of different sized pool and falls. You can swim in the bright turquoise pools and climb the steps to enjoy the view from the top. It is around 30km from Luang Prabang so you will need to organise transport to get there. You can arrange a tour from your hotel/hostel or rent a scooter and drive there.

You can also visit the Bear sanctuary which is located in the same area as the waterfall. You will pass through it when walking to the waterfall.

Read more here with my ultimate guide to Koung Si Waterfall.

• Night market

One thing I loved about Luang Prabang is the night market, a place where locals and tourists can meet and enjoy cheap food, drinks and shopping. The market is on every night from 5.00pm until 11pm and is situated on Sisavangvong Road. There are a huge number of venders selling a wide variety of items from homemade crafts, souvenirs and clothes to food and drinks. Prices are very reasonable and you can haggle to get the best deals!

• Bamboo bridge

The bamboo bridges are very iconic in Laos and often appear on pictures and postcards. We unexpectedly stumbled across this bridge when walking along the riverside. Although it looked quite insecure it was surprisingly quite sturdy. The bridges are built by the local families in order to create a easy way to access the town. There was a small cost to cross the bridge of 10,000 kip per person which is around 70p/ $1 dollar for a round trip. The money goes towards the maintenance and upkeep of the bridge. There are several bamboo bridges in Luang Prabang that you can explore if you have the time.

• Utopia bar and Bowling

One of the most popular travellers’ spots in the city. Utopia is a bar and restaurant set alongside the river bank. It is super chilled and offers yoga classes during the day. It offers both local and western choices of food and drinks and is a very popular party spot at night. Most travellers will come here for drinks before heading to the bowling alley afterwards.

I know bowling sounds a little bit of a crazy thing to do when travelling but it is one of the most popular things to do in Luang Prabang. In Luang Prabang there is a curfew with most bars shutting around 11pm. The bowling alley however does not and because of this most travellers will continue the party at the bowling alley. It is a little out of town so you will need to get a tuk-tuk to take you there. The alley is open until pretty late and drinks are super cheap in there. So grab a group of friends and enjoy drinks and a few games of bowling!

If you plan to visit Laos, make sure to visit Luang Prabang and check out some of these activities. There are plenty of things to do here and you could easily spend a few more days relaxing and enjoying the city.

Please comment below if you have any further recommendations or questions about a visit to Luang Prabang.

Happy travels. 😊