Travel from Sapa to Luang Prabang

By bus the journey from Sapa to Luang Prabang is scheduled to take from 24 to 25 hours depending upon which bus service you use.

Bus Times from Sapa to Luang Prabang

There are currently 7 bus services a day from Sapa to Luang Prabang available to book online.

Buy Tickets from Sapa to Luang Prabang

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Sapa Bus Stop

• Grouptour services from Sapa to Luang Prabang depart from 544-586 Đường Điện Biên Phủ, TT. Sa Pa, Sa Pa, Lào Cai, Vietnam.

Luang Prabang Bus Stop

• Grouptour services from Sapa to Luang Prabang terminate at Luang Prabang Southern Bus Terminal.

About Travel to Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang is a small city, with around 50,000 permanent residents, which is in a remote location that was difficult to reach until the construction of a local airport in 2013 and a concrete road connecting the city to Vietniane in 2014. Despite it’s small size, Luang Prabang is one of the most important cultural centres in South East Asia.

History of Luang Prabang

Luang Prabang became the first capital city of Laos in 1353 and the home city of the Laos royal family until 1975 when control of the country passed to the communist Laos Prathet and the royal family’s importance rapidly disappeared. During that period of over 600 years of royal patronage lots of temples, and an impressive royal palace, were constructed in Luang Prabang. As a consequence of this rich cultural and architectural heritage Luang Prabang was granted UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1995.

Temples in Luang Prabang

The main attraction in Luang Prabang is its many temples. Some of the temples are more famous than others, but most have significant points of interest and a motivated visitor could spend days exploring them.

The two most interesting temples to visit are Wat Xieng Thong and Wat Chom Si.

Wat Xieng Thong is the oldest temple in Luang Prabang, dating back to 1559, and the place where many of the former kings of Laos were crowned. In 1887 when most of the rest of Luang Prabang was destroyed by a Chinese warlord, Wat Xieng Thong was left intact. The wooden congregration hall at Wat Xieng Thong is massively impressive with a highly distinctive roof. Amazingly this building, despite being made of wood, has been altered very little since 1559.

Wat Chom Si is a much smaller temple at the top of the large Phou Si hill. The views from the top of the hill are fantastic and a rich reward for those who walk up a lot of steps to reach the hill top temple. The actual temple itself is of less interest.

Other Attractions near Luang Prabang

As well as the temples in the city centre, there are a number of other attractions in the surrounding countryside which are also popular with visitors. The two most visited of which are:

• Kuang Si Falls: Located about 40 minutes by road from Luang Prabang city, the Kuang Si Falls consists of a series of falls, the largest of which is the falls at the top with an impressive drop of about 60 metres. On the way up to the falls you can also visit the Tat Kuang Si Bear Rescue Centre, which cares for Asiatic bears which have been rescued from illegal bile extraction farms.
• Pak Ou Caves: Accessible by river boat from the centre of Luang Prabang, the Pak Ou Caves feature thousands of statues of the Lord Buddha. On route many tour boats stop at Lao Lao Village, so named because of the rice whiskey which is made in that community.