The Valley of Jars is an unsolved landmark of Laos. Thousands of gigantic megalithic vessels are scattered across the mountain valleys and lower foothills of the central plain of the Xiangkhoang Plateau in the main mountain range of Indochina. In shape, the vessels are more like jugs, hence the name itself. Their sizes are striking - up to 3 meters in height, and up to 6 tons in weight.

Where is the Valley of Pitchers

The valley is located in the province of Xiengkhuang in the northern part of the country near the city of Phonsavan.

Geographic coordinates 19.431047, 103.152298

general description

The valley has several separate sections with vessels. There are more than 90 such sites in total. They have their own numbers. And on each of them from one to 392 stone jugs. Their height varies from 1 to 3 meters. All as one carved from stone.

The jugs are cylindrical in shape, and the lower part is always wider than the upper. The vessels have no bas-reliefs and drawings, except for one jug on the main platform at number 1. The silhouette of a man with raised arms and bent knees is engraved on the outside.

By the way, similar images are found in rock art in the mountains of Guangxi (China) and date back to 5-2 centuries BC.

Research, theories and legends of giant jars

According to scientists, the age of the jars is approximately from 1500 to 2500 years.

Since many jugs have a certain seat, it is believed that initially they were covered with lids. Several flat stone lids have been found in the vicinity. But it is assumed that the lids themselves were made of a material more susceptible to destruction than the jugs. Therefore, there are much fewer lids than vessels. The lids found contained bas-reliefs depicting tigers, frogs and monkeys.

One of the few surviving lids

Also found are stone disks, which are different from the lids. Perhaps they were indicators of burial places.

It is worth noting that five types of rocks were found in the vicinity: sandstone, granite, conglomerate, limestone and breccia. Most of the jugs are made of sandstone. It is assumed that ancient craftsmen used iron chisels to make these vessels, but there is no conclusive evidence for this.

Archaeologists offer us several hypotheses about the origin of the jars.

Jugs as a burial place

According to one version, the vessels are a kind of urns for burial or cremation.

In 1930 French researcher Madeleine Colani suggested that the jars were related to prehistoric burial practices. Perhaps they were cremated bodies with subsequent burial of the remains in a separate place.

In particular, she found a cave in the area of ​​​​site No1, which has a limestone formation. There is a natural hole in the northwestern part of it, and two artificial ones at the top. These holes Kolani considered chimneys for the crematorium. She also found materials in the cave to support the cremation theory. In some jugs, colored glass beads, burnt teeth, and bone fragments were found. Human bones, fragments of pottery, iron and bronze objects, and remains of charcoal have also been found in the vicinity. Bones and teeth inside the vessels indirectly prove cremation.

Research by Laotian and Japanese archaeologists also partly confirmed Kolani's theory.

By the way, similar giant funerary urns called Mudhumakkal Tazhi or Eema-Tazhi were used in South India. The bodies of the dead were placed in them while sitting and along with personal goods and jewelry. A similar practice existed until 200 AD.
It was common for the Thai, Cambodian and Lao kingdoms to place a corpse in a vessel. It was believed that in this way the soul gradually passes from the earthly world to the other world. Later, the body was burned, and the remains were buried in the ground.

Pitchers as water tanks

There is also a version that these jugs were made as ordinary water storages. Their main function was to collect rainwater for traveling caravans. The fact is that drought periodically occurred in these places, and water supplies turned out to be most welcome.

The beads found at the bottom of the jars may have been a kind of offering from the caravaners that accompanied prayers for rain.

Legends of the Valley of Pitchers

The locals believe in the legend that giants lived here a long time ago, to whom these vessels did not seem huge at all.

Lao legends tell of giants who inhabited the area. They were believed to be ruled by a king named Khun Chung. The king fought fierce wars with his neighbors, and when he defeated them all, he ordered in honor of this event to create huge jugs for cooking in them a myriad of lao-lao (the so-called traditional local rice wine).

Another version states that the jars were cast from natural materials, including clay, sand, sugar, and animal products.

The locals believed that the cave at site No1 was actually a furnace, and that vessels were created there, not carved out of stone at all.

Valley of Pitchers in tourism

During the Civil War, most of the sites were abundantly strewn with shells and bombs, so studying this phenomenon is difficult.

Between 1964 and 1973, the Valley of Jars was heavily bombed by the US Air Force. In general, the United States dropped more shells on Laos than in the entire Second world war. More than 262 million anti-personnel cluster bombs have been dropped on Laos. According to experts, about 80 million of them did not explode and remained a deadly threat to the local population. Until now, unexploded mines are found here, so not all sites are available to tourists.

The most studied and visited place is located 5 kilometers from the city of Phonsavan and is called Site No. 1. In addition to it, seven more sites are available. They are completely cleared of unexploded bombs and are open to visitors. These are sites No. 2, No. 3, No. 16 near the Old Capital of Xieng Khouang, site No. 23 near the hot spring in Muang Kham, site No. 25 and site No. 52, where 392 jugs are located.

Once again, extending the Thai visa, we decided to combine business with pleasure and visit even more outlandish and historical places in Laos.

One of these places is the city Phonsavan, he is Phonsavan, he is Phonsavan.

Our route passed through the cities: Luang Prabang - Phonsavan - Vang Vieng - Vientiane - 10 days ()

Travel time: May 2017

Travel duration: 3d/2n

How to get there: we traveled by bus from Luang Prabang - 95000 LAK / person = 11 USD drive 7-8 hours, you can also get from Vientiane and Vang Vieng.

Visa to Laos: When visiting Laos for up to 15 days, citizens of the Russian Federation do not need a visa.

Currency: 10000 LAK (Laotian kip) = 1USD, there are ATMs - commission for withdrawal, depending on the bank - 20,000 LAK or 3% of the amount.

Our itinerary in Phonsavan: Military village (Ban Napia War village), Plain of Jars site 3, Russian tank, Plain of Jars site 2, Plain of Jars site 1 (Plain of Jars site 1), Old capital - Muang Khoun.

General information:

Phonsavan is located in the northeast of Laos and is the capital of the Xianghuang province. It was built in the late 1970s, and replaced the old capital of Muang Khaun, which was destroyed during the Secret War who received assistance from North Vietnam and the USSR). More on this later.

Map

We went to Phonsavan by bus. (95000LAK/person = 11USD) from Luang Prabang. From Lung Prabang you can also go by minibus (it goes 1 hour faster), but we still preferred the bus. And we were convinced of our correct decision in the morning at the station, when the bus on which we were supposed to go was with lying places, although we bought tickets for a seated bus. As it turned out, this is such a bonus, because usually the buses are really sedentary.

So, the ride took about 7 hours. The road passes through the most beautiful mountain serpentines, with an incredible number of turns.

At Phonsavan Station, a group of 7 people, we immediately got into a minibus taxi (10000LAK/person = 1 USD) and drove to the hotels.

We planned to stay in Phonsavan for 2 days. The cost of our guesthouse was 120000LAK - 14 USD for two. Booking a guest/hotel is easy with Booking.COM, but keep in mind that hotels in Phonsavan do not have air conditioning. Yes, they are not needed at all, we spent the night with an open window and it was not even very hot. We recommend choosing hotels on the main street.

In general, I must say that it is quite cool here, especially in the morning and evening. In the afternoon after 12 more or less warms up, so take sweaters with you. We went in May, when the rainy season, but we were lucky and there was no rain and it was dry.

Upon arrival, we decided not to waste time and walk around the center of Phonsavan. From itself it is one street along which the city center, so to speak, stretched along. Here you will find cafes, hotels, motorbike rentals and travel agencies with excursions, small shops. There are also ATMs.

The resourcefulness of the local population also attracts attention. At the entrances to cafes, and even in travel agencies, you can often see bomb cases and other remnants of military relics. They also use all this in elements of fences, make decorations for the interior, flower vases, cutlery, and all sorts of things for the household as a whole.

On the this moment Phonsavan, roughly speaking, is divided into 2 halves - the center and new town which is under active construction. A huge number of areas are being filled and concreted.

As for excursions

Local travel agencies immediately offer a set of excursions. These can be: 3 places with jugs (Jars of site 1, 2,3) + Bomb craters + Military village (War village) + Old capital (Old capital) + Hot springs (Small Hot spring, Big hot spring ) - in time, this whole complex is designed for 1 day. The cost of such a tour is 200000 LAK = 24 USD/person. But since we did not want to visit all these places, and it was impossible to refuse additional attractions, we decided to rent a Motobike 70000 LAK = 8 USD/day and using the map in the MAPS ME for Android and MAPS ME for iPhone (a very useful navigation application that has free maps and almost all outlandish places even offline) go around all the places of interest to us.

A bit of history

During the "Secret War" the United States undertook a massive bombardment of the territory of Laos. The territory of Phonsavan is just one of the most affected by these "bombs". The bombs were dropped on Laos for two reasons: 1) In the eastern side of the country, through the mountains, just near Phonsavan, Laos took part in the so-called "Ho Chi Minh Trail", where during the Vietnam War North Vietnam transported troops and artillery into South Vietnam. 2) In some cases, due to bad weather conditions or for other reasons, the US Air Force, flying from Thai air bases, could not drop bombs on the “primary target”, and for a safe landing they were forced to drop bombs on Lao territory.

The purpose of our visit to Phonsavan was to visit the legendary Plains of jars, and with it places with military echoes - bomb craters and the village "with traces of war" (War village). The Valley of Jars is generally a group of sites (Plains of jars site 1,2,3…), where there are thousands of large stone pots. The size of the pots is from half to three meters, and the age is estimated to be from 1500 to 2000 years. Since at the moment not all of the territory of the Valley of Jars has been cleared, only a limited number of sites are open to the public. For the same reason, scientists and archaeologists still cannot give an exact answer for what and who needed these jugs, archaeological research is difficult even now due to incomplete demining.

There are several legends of origin. The most common - jars were associated with prehistoric burial practices. French scientist, geologist and amateur archaeologist Madeleine Colan was excavating in the 1930s and found material to support the cremation theory. Inside some jars were found colored glass beads, burnt teeth and bone fragments from more than one person. Around the stone vessels, she found human bones, fragments of pottery, iron and bronze objects. In 1935, Colan concluded that the Valley of Jars is nothing more than an Iron Age burial ground. Other scientists who excavated the Valleys of Jars also do not rule out that the jugs were used to store food, various substances, as well as rainwater, to provide trade caravans.

Our route

Our route was as follows, we decided to start from the farthest point of interest and the rest of the points along the way: Military village (Ban Napia War village), Plain of Jars site 3, Russian tank (Russian tank), Valley of pitchers site No. 2 (Plain of Jars site 2), Valley of Jars site No. 1 (Plain of Jars site 1), Old capital - Muang Khoun. This journey took us approximately 5 hours.

Map

BUT - Military village (Ban Napia War village, coordinates 19.279983, 103.099809)

B - Valley of Jars Site No. 3 (Plain of Jars Site 3, coordinates 19.298778, 103.147874)

With - Russian tank (Russian tank, coordinates 19.325994, 103.142724)

D - Valley of Jars Site No. 2 (Plain of Jars Site 2, coordinates 19.319349, 103.153728)

E - Valley of Jars Site No. 1 (Plain of Jars Site 1, coordinates 19.430427, 103.155120)

F - Old capital Muang Khoun (Old capital - Muang Khoun, coordinates 19.326312, 103.374717)

G - Phonsavan (Phonsavan, coordinates 19.452173, 103.186220)

Military village(Ban Napia War village)

The military village (Ban Napia War village) is our first place on the map. The way there ran initially along the highway, after that - a congress onto a dirt road, along the villages. There is also a "War village" sign.

What it is - the entrance, of course, is free, at the entrance to the village there is a remelting of unexploded bombs on makeshift stoves. Here, locals sell souvenirs - from metal badges to cutlery.

Throughout the village as a whole, you can see bomb fences and all kinds of crafts in the courtyards of houses.

There was also a museum of shells left after the Secret War. But by the time we arrived, he had already apparently stopped working, since the sign was hanging, and the building itself was abandoned. After the tour, we moved on.

Valley of pitchers site №3 (Jars of site 3)

So, the long-awaited Valley of pitchers. At the entrance to the "Valley" there is a ticket office, the cost of entry is symbolic - 10000 LAK - 1 USD/person. Rice seedlings, water meadows and, in some places, herds of cows spread along the path to the "Pitchers". Also along the way you can see concrete signs with the inscription "M.A.G" (American Demining Company, Mines Advisory Group). If these signs are there, there is nothing to be afraid of - there are no mines nearby.

Pitchers. The site itself is not equipped, it is only slightly fenced off from livestock, although livestock, namely cows, did not care for this fence. The jugs themselves on this site (Jars of site 3) are somewhere around 40-50 pieces, and they are all really different. Cylindrical, but externally different from each other, their size varies from 0.5 to - 3 meters. Somewhere the jugs are split, somewhere they lie. In general, a person in some jugs is placed in full growth. Mysterious and unusual.

We spent about 30 minutes on inspection and drove on.

Russian tank (Russian tank)

On the road from the platform with jugs No. 3 to the platform with jugs No. 2 there is a tank, from the time of that very Secret War. On the map, it is marked close to the main road, but it is not visible from the road itself - you need to go down on foot. The territory is fenced again with a symbolic fence, in which the gate is always open. And here is the tank itself. It lies upside down, the hull is separate from the turret. The most surprising thing is that in such a poor area, these remains of the tank were still preserved, and in fairly good condition. The only thing was that there was not enough caterpillar on the hull. Well done Laotians! - in a word.

I would like to note that the roads here are in fairly good condition and it is quite convenient to ride a bike, admiring the local nature.

Valley jugsNo. 2 (Jars of site 2)

The cash desk, the cafe, the M.A.G. demining sign, and the whole situation in the area are generally the same as on the 3rd site. Pass cost 10000 LAK = 1 USD/person. In general, I think that when a person at the cash desk ends his working day, you can go here without a ticket, since the places are not guarded by absolutely anyone.

The jars themselves on this site are located in two places, and there are no longer those same seedlings with rice and other rural activities. Everything is more outlandish. There are 2 stairs leading to the pitchers. The first one is on the left and goes into the forest. The nature in the forest is untouched, clean. The view is mesmerizing.

And the jugs here and there are of different sizes, and in different positions. But if you choose from site #3 and site #2, #2 is more picturesque than #3. Especially in combination with the surrounding nature, fleetingly reminiscent of the nature of central Russia - fields, pine edges, and water meadows.

After seeing everything, we moved on to the next point.

Valley jugsNo. 1 (Jars of site 1)

This site is the closest to the city and therefore the most popular. Here the entrance is ennobled and parking is paid. In the main building, where the ticket office is located, there is a small museum. Opening hours 9:00 – 17:00. Entry fee - 15000 LAK = 2 USD/person.

Drive a little forward and leave the bike in the parking lot - 3000LAK.

The territory, with an area of ​​25 hectares, is the most ennobled. There are about 330 vessels here.

You can also see bombing craters, although now they are almost overgrown. But in some places they are marked with signs.

There is also a small cave, which served as a refuge for local residents during the American bombing.

The ride from the site with pitchers No. 1 is about 30 km. On the way, the natural landscape is rapidly changing - from flood meadows a sharp transition to mountain ranges. Beautiful and impressive.

old capital Muang Khaun(Old capital - Muang Khoun)

The town of Muang Khoun, aka old capital Xianghuang province, also known as the capital of the medieval state of Phuan. It was here great amount wars, but this city could not “transfer” the Secret War - during the bombing, 2 dilapidated stupas of the 15th-16th centuries That Foun and That Chomphet remained from the city and Wat temple Pia Wat. Entrance fee for all three monuments 10000 LAK =1 USD/per person.

Wat Pia Wat was built in 1372. and was the local center of Buddhism. Today, only ruins remain of the temple, and, of course, the Buddha statue.

Stupas That Foun and That Chomphet are almost completely overgrown.

Also 6 km from the city of Muang Khoun (Muang Khoun) is famous cave Tham Piu Cave. In this cave, during the Secret War, 374 people took refuge and, unfortunately, all died. We never got to this cave, which we are very sorry about. There will be a desire - go, it's not so far away.

After all this event, we moved back to Phonsavan to give the bike and have dinner.

Where to eat?

There is a wonderful Simmalay cafe in the city center, it is also on the map in MAPS.me.

Map

The locals prepare Laotian cuisine, which is very tasty and served in large portions. You can have both breakfast and dinner, huge baguettes are served for breakfast. Second courses here cost a maximum 25000 LAK = 3 USD. What we ordered did not exceed 15000 LAK = 1 USD. As a result, the check usually came out 45000 LAK = 5 USD.

Also, as a sign of respect, fragrant Laotian tea is served here, at the expense of the institution.

Main dishes part 1

Main dishes part 2

Bus fares from Phonsavan

Tickets are sold at any travel agency, as a rule, the price includes a transfer from the hotel to the bus station.

The cost of a trip for 3 days to Phonsavan from Luang Prabang is 50 USD per person

• Bus: Luang Prabang - Phonsavan - Vang Vieng 95000LAK=11USD x 2 = 22USD
• BUT bike renda: 70000LAK= 8USD
• Tours:
• Valley of pitchers Site 1- 15000LAK= 2USD
• Valley of pitchers Site 2- 10000LAK= 1USD
• Valley of pitchers Site 3- 10000LAK= 1USD
• old capital Muang Khaun(Old capital - Muang Khoun)- 10000LAK = 1USD x 2 = 2USD
• Accommodation:
• guest house- 120000LAK = 14 USD

Conclusion

I must say that Laos is one of the countries South-East Asia which is extremely varied. Let there be no sea coast, but the individuality of each city compensates for this. Phonsavan is no exception. Rich history, mysterious sights and changeable landscape - it's amazing how all this can be found in such a small town. If you are interested in the history of World Heritage and visiting all sorts of unexplored places, then this trip is for you. We love all sorts of remote places of this kind, so this trip left us only vivid impressions.

The Valley of Pitchers is a territory consisting of 60 sites on which very unusual stone vessels of unclear origin were found. This strange place is located in the province of Xiangkhouang.

The estimated age of these amazing finds is 2000 years, but who created them and why is a real mystery. According to Laotian legends, ancient jugs were common utensils of giants who lived in this valley many thousands of years ago.

Scientific versions suggest that the vessels were used as burial urns or as containers for collecting water, and possibly storing rice wine. Despite the global divergence of views on practical use stone bowls, no one can prove their absolute rightness.

Most jugs are cylindrical in shape, but sometimes there are also cubic examples. The size of the vessels ranges from 0.5 to 3 meters, and the weight of the largest specimens reaches 6 tons. In the same area, round stone discs were found, possibly serving as lids. To save unique place it was proposed to include the Valley of Pitchers in the list world heritage UNESCO.

In the 1930s, Madeleine Colani from France conducted the first archaeological research here. It was she who found a cave with burials and ashes in the vicinity of the valley, which required a long and detailed study, but despite all the painstaking work, historians and archaeologists did not manage to collect all the necessary information.

During civil war part of the massive bombing by the US Air Force fell on these lands. Explosions destroyed the cave and damaged a significant number of stone vessels. Moreover, many unexploded shells that posed a threat of explosions became a problem for researchers and significantly slowed down the scientific process.

Today, specially for visiting by tourists and researchers, local volunteers managed to clear three of the best-preserved sites from air bombs. Thanks to these brave people, the world was able to see these amazing photos from the Valley of Pitchers.

At the foot of the Annam Range separating Vietnam and Laos, there is an unusual area - the Valley of Pitchers. This name is not at all accidental and is due to the fact that the 60 sites located here contain unique historical and archaeological monuments - giant stone jugs, whose age, according to scientists, is approximately 1500-2000 years.

The strange area, completely covered with huge jars, is mostly located in the province of Xiangkhouang. Similar sites can be seen in northern India and in Thailand. Mysterious jugs are round or rectangular and made of different materials - granite, rock, calcined coral or sandstone. The size of jars randomly scattered across the valley can be from one to three meters. Next to them come across and stone disks, which are considered to be the lids of these unusual containers.

That the exact origin and purpose of such a large number of giant stone jars is still unknown. Scientists believe that the mysterious jars belong to an unknown ancient people who lived in Southeast Asia about two thousand years ago. According to historians and anthropologists, these jugs could be funerary urns, or they were used to store rainwater. Despite numerous theories of the origin of giant stone jugs, they all remain unproven.

Some Lao legends say that giants once lived in the Valley of Jars. Others tell of the victory of King Khung Chung over his enemies, after which he gave the order to prepare a large number of rice wine for the celebration.

In the 1970s in Xiangkhouang Province US Air Force carried out massive bombardments, so most of the Valley of Jars is closed due to unexploded shells since those times. Only three sites are now open for free visits by tourists. The largest number of stone jars, 250 pots, is located at the First Site, which is located near the city of Phonsavan.

The Valley of Jars, located in Laos, is to this day an unsolved monument to the mysterious ancient civilization. The authorities of Laos believe that this unique area deserves to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. However, a large number of shells left after the war hinders the conduct of full-scale research and the development of tourism in this region.