Pha That Luang in Laos

Pha That Luang (The Great Stupa or Sacred Reliquary) is the most significant Laotian religious and national monument.It is situated on a hill about three miles north east of the center of Vientiane. Indochina tours Laos

Pha That Luang is a huge Buddhist Stupa of 45 meters in height and width 69 built in pyramidal shape and is surrounded in turn by 30 small stupas. The Pha That Luang stupa is covered with 500 kilos of gold leaf, precious metal that achieves such impressive golden color, symbol of the splendour of Laos.

The Pha That Luang or “Great Stupa” is the most important Buddhist monument in Laos. The large golden stupa in Vientiane is believed to enshrine a breast bone of the Buddha.

The Pha That Luang was built in 1566 after King Setthathirath had made Vientiane the new capital of the Lan Xang Kingdom.

The pagoda is surrounded by cloister walls with small windows. The galleries on the inside of the cloister walls contain ancient Laos and Khmer artifacts like statues, many of them badly damaged, inscribed steles and other sculptings.

According to the legend of That Phanom Stupa, also known as ‘Tamnan Oulangkhathat’, King Ashokkamahalath authorized the relics to be placed inside That Luang Stupa in Vientiane. Tours in Laos

The Pha That Luang stupa is built on 3 levels, which symbolize the ascent from the Earth to the sky. The first level is the underworld, the second level 30 perfections of Buddhism and the third and final level, the prelude to the Kingdom of heaven. Each level is more narrow than the previous level, for example the first level are 69 meters of width, the second level 47 meters and the last level just 29 metres.