CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
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.
On the way it passes Site 52, Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang - Plai, Site 25 and back through Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang - Plai. The stored terrain estimate reaches about 1,250 m; a measured road-elevation profile is not available.
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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Site 23 is where the day begins. Next is 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Site 52 comes up about 55 km into the recorded legs. Next is 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
about 104 km into the recorded legs you reach Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang - Plai. Next is Site 25.
Local legend has a cheerful explanation for the stone jars of Xieng Khouang. It tells of Khun Cheung, a legendary king who won a great victory and ordered the jars carved so that his people could brew lao-lao, the rice spirit, in huge quantities for the celebration. Archaeology prefers a funerary purpose, but the story says a lot about how people here like to see their past, and it is a good one to share over a glass of the real thing in the evening.
Read the complete Site 25 write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Site 25, about halfway. Next is 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.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang - Plai sits at 146 km, about halfway. Next is back through Site 52.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Site 52 write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
back through Site 52 comes up about 221 km into the recorded legs. Next is Site 23.
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Site 23 write-up.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Site 23 closes the day.
Site 23 → Site 52 is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
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 → Site 25 is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
Site 25 → back through Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang - Plai is 34 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Megalithic Jar Sites in Xiengkhuang - Plai → back through Site 52 is 49 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.
back through Site 52 → Site 23 is 55 km of rhythm rather than effort. Let it flow and let the view breathe.