Wat Pa Phonphao In Luang Prabang City At Loas Stock Photography

Wat Pa Phon Phao, also Wat Phon Phao, Wat Phonphao, or Wat Phol Phao, meaning Peacefulness Temple, is a Buddhist temple situated on a hill in the southeast of Luang Prabang, Laos, across the Nam Khan River from Luang Prabang Airport. The temple, a golden stupa, is used as a forest meditation retreat, and was once headed by the abbot Ajahn Saisamut, a noted Lao Buddhist teacher. His funeral in 1992 was one of the largest funeral services Laos had ever seen. The temple has a fine collection of murals, some of them gruesome in nature. Luang Prabang, or Louangphrabang (Lao: ຫຼວງພຣະບາງ, literally: Royal Buddha Image (in the Dispelling Fear mudra), pronounced [lǔaŋ pʰra.bàːŋ]), is a city located in north central Laos, at the confluence of the Nam Khan river and Mekong River about 300 km north of Vientiane. It is the capital of Luang Prabang Province. The population of the city is about 50,000.nnThe city was formerly the capital of a kingdom of the same name. It had also been known by the ancient name of Chiang Thong. Until the communist takeover in 1975, it was the royal capital and seat of government of the Kingdom of Laos. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.nnThe main part of the city consists of four main roads located on a peninsula between the Nam Khan and Mekong rivers.