Imagine hundreds of huge stone jars scattered across a high plateau, some taller than a person, some lying on their sides, some cracked open by time or by bombs. That is the Plain of Jars in Xieng Khouang province, Laos, and nobody knows for certain who made them or why. Archaeologists believe they are about two thousand years old or more, and that they were connected with burial practices; local legend says they were made to brew rice wine to celebrate a great victory. Since 2019 a selection of the jar sites has been listed by UNESCO as the Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang. Site 12 is one of the smaller groups, out in the countryside some twenty-five kilometres from the provincial capital, Phonsavan.
The landscape is beautiful, rolling hills of grass and pine, rice paddies and villages of wooden houses, at an altitude that makes the air noticeably cooler than in the lowlands. But it carries a terrible legacy. During the Vietnam War, Laos became the most heavily bombed country per person in history, and this province was hit especially hard. Unexploded ordnance still litters the land, and clearance teams continue to work. At the jar sites, cleared paths are marked; stay on them, without exception.
Phonsavan has a visitor centre run by a mine clearance organisation that explains the history and the ongoing work, and it is well worth a visit.
The riding to get here is an adventure. Route 7 runs from the junction at Phou Khoun, on the road between Vientiane and Luang Prabang, east across the mountains to Phonsavan, with endless bends, steep climbs and spectacular views. Surfaces vary from good asphalt to broken, potholed sections, and you will share the road with trucks, buses, scooters, buffalo and children. The smaller roads to the outlying jar sites are often dirt, muddy in the rainy season and dusty in the dry.
Phonsavan has fuel, guesthouses, restaurants and motorbike rentals. Outside town, fuel is scarce, sold from bottles at roadside stalls in some villages. The best time to visit is the dry season, from November to April; nights can be cold on the plateau in December and January. The rainy season, from May to October, makes the dirt roads very difficult.