Why this ride
The stops in between: Site 42, Site 52, Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang - Plai and Site 2. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,250 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Site 23 and Site 2
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 256 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 5 h 22
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Site 23
Nobody agrees on who made the stone jars of Xieng Khouang, or exactly why. They are scattered over a high plateau in northern Laos, thousands of stone vessels, some of them taller than a person, carved from rock and set in groups on grassy hillsides, dating from perhaps two thousand years ago. The usual explanation is that they were used in funerary rites by an Iron Age culture, and archaeologists have found human remains and burial goods near them, which supports that, but folklore says they were brewing vessels for a giant king's victory feast. The UNESCO listing of 2019 covers a number of different sites, and Site 23 is one of the smaller, less visited ones, so I can tell you about the region better than I can describe the exact spot.
Read the complete Site 23 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Site 23 is where the day begins. Next is Site 42.
2. Site 42
Northern Laos is a country of steep green ridges, and then, near the town of Phonsavan, the mountains open into a high rolling plateau of grass and pine, the Xiangkhouang plain, where hundreds of huge stone jars lie scattered across the hills. Site 42 is one of dozens of clusters of jars that make up the Plain of Jars, inscribed by UNESCO in 2019, and it lies north-east of Phonsavan in remote country.
Read the complete Site 42 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Site 42 comes up about 20 km into the recorded legs. Next is Site 52.
3. Site 52
On a grassy ridge in the highlands of Xieng Khouang Province in northern Laos, hundreds of huge stone jars sit scattered among the grass, some as tall as a person, some tipped on their sides and some leaning against each other. This is the Plain of Jars, and Site 52, also called Ban Phakeo, is the most dramatic of the places where the jars can be seen. It has several hundred jars spread over hillsides with wide views across the valley, and it is the one that most tour groups choose. UNESCO listed the Plain of Jars in 2019.
Read the complete Site 52 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 60 km into the recorded legs you reach Site 52. Next is Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang - Plai.
4. Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang - Plai
Hundreds of huge stone jars lie scattered across the grassy hills around Phonsavan, some tall enough to hide a person, some tipped on their sides, some with stone lids lying beside them. Nobody is entirely sure who made them. Archaeologists date them to the Iron Age, roughly two thousand years ago or more, and connect them with burial practices, since human remains and grave goods have been found around them. Local legend has a more cheerful version, saying they were made to brew rice wine for a victory celebration of giants. Since 2019 the Plain of Jars has been a World Heritage Site.
Read the complete Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang - Plai write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang - Plai, about halfway. Next is Site 2.
5. Site 2
The Plain of Jars is not one site but many, and Site 2 sits on a hillside about fifteen kilometres from Phonsavan, the market town that serves as the base for visiting them. Phonsavan, with some thirty-seven thousand people, is a plain, post-war place of tin roofs and wide streets, rebuilt after the original town was destroyed in the bombing of the 1960s, and the jar sites lie scattered around it, along dirt tracks, in grassland and light forest.
Read the complete Site 2 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Site 2 sits at 101 km, about halfway. Next is back through Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang - Plai.
6. back through Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang - Plai
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang - Plai write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang - Plai comes up about 147 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Site 52.
7. back through Site 52
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Site 52 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
about 197 km into the recorded legs you reach back through Site 52. Next is back through Site 42.
8. back through Site 42
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Site 42 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Site 42, late in the day. Next is Site 23.
9. Site 23
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Site 23 write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
The route ends here after 256 km.
Leg by leg
Site 23 to Site 42
Site 23 → Site 42 is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Site 42 to Site 52
Site 42 → Site 52 is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Site 52 to Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang - Plai
Site 52 → Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang - Plai is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang - Plai to Site 2
Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang - Plai → Site 2 is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Site 2 to back through Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang - Plai
Site 2 → back through Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang - Plai is 19 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang - Plai to back through Site 52
back through Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang - Plai → back through Site 52 is 50 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Site 52 to back through Site 42
back through Site 52 → back through Site 42 is 40 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Site 42 to Site 23
back through Site 42 → Site 23 is 20 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
More motorcycle rides nearby
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- Site 23 and Site 1 · 409 km
- Site 23 and Site 25 · 277 km