Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
downhill a little way and you'll find yourself amid another group of jars, one of which has a
crude human shape carved onto it.
In the hill off to the left is a large
cave
that the Pathet Lao used during the war, and which,
according to local legend, was used as a kiln to cast the jars. Erosion has carved two holes in
the roof of the cave - natural chimneys that make the cavern a worthy kiln of sorts. Colani
suggests that the cave was used as a crematorium: in and around the cave she found the re-
mains of what she believed to be commoners not lucky enough to be interred in the stone
funeral urns, which were reserved, she argued, for the ashes of the nobility.
Site 2
The turn-off for
site 2
is 3km south of site 1 at Lat Houang, along the main Phon-
savan-Muang Khoun road. Zipping across the flats surrounding Lat Sen, the town that played
host to the old French airstrip, towards Phaxai and the Jar sites, you'll pass narrow dirt run-
ways on the grassy meadows and hillsides. These clearings are used by hunters to trap swal-
lows in nets that they trigger from camouflaged huts at one end of the strip; smoky fires bring
bugs to the surface of the clearing, attracting the swallows. The most skilful hunters can catch
several hundred birds on a good day, netting a tidy sum.
Ten kilometres on from the turn-off at Lat Houang, you turn left along a dirt track - a road
in slightly worse condition than the Phaxai road - and follow it for 2km through a village
just large enough to support a tiny monastery, until you wind up at two adjacent hills, one on
either side of the road. Nearly a hundred jars are scattered across the twin hills here, lending
the site the name
Hai Hin Phou Salato
(“Salato Hill Stone Jar Site”).
Site 3
The gateway to Site 3, the most atmospheric of the three Jar sites, lies in the village of Ban
Xieng Di, 4km up the Phaxai road on the left. Large Lao Phuan houses line the way to Wat
Xieng Di, a simple wooden monastery, 1km from the turn-off, where you'll find the path
leading to
HaiHinLatKhai
, also known as Hai Hin Xieng Di. There's a depressing, bomb-
damaged Buddha here that the guides like to point out. Pick up the path at the back corner of
the monastery compound, which hops a stream and cuts uphill through several fields before
arriving at a clearing with more than a hundred jars and sweeping views of the surrounding
countryside.
ESSENTIALS: THE JAR SITES
Admission to site 1 is 15,000K, while sites 2 and 3 cost 10,000K each. It's possible to visit the
Jar sites independently by
chartering a tuk-tuk
(expect to pay around 150,000K for a half-
day) or by
rentingamotorbike
(70,000-100,000K/day) or bicycle (20,000K/day). However,
it's highly recommended you go with a guide in order to gain a better understanding of the
history and myths surrounding the sites, in addition to learning more about how UXO is af-
fecting the area.
