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Xieng Khuan is the weird and wonderful Buddha Park of Laos. It's located about 25 km from the capital city of Vientiane. Set along the mystical Mekong River, Buddha Park is home to several eyebrow-raising sculptures.
Xieng Khuan was founded in 1958 by Luang Pu Bunleua Sulilat, a priest-shaman who practiced his very own self-improvised mix of Hinduism and Buddhism. His belief system is reflected superbly in the bizarre sculptures scattered around the site.
Starting with a dome structure made up of three floors representing the three stages of the evolution of life: Hell, Earth and Heaven. The entrance is an open mouth of a demon inviting you in. Once inside, you find yourself surrounded by scenes of bliss (Earth) to then be taken aback by evil-doers depicting barbaric scenes of torture and death (Hell). A spiral staircase takes you to the top (Heaven) of the dome where you get a panoramic view of the Buddha Park.
The park isn't very big but it still manages to entice you. You'll be taken on a journey through its collection of weird and wonderful sculptures of demons and deities. You'll be left wondering "Wtf?" is this all about. From googly-eyed giants to serpent-wrapped goddesses to multi-headed ghouls, I was in awe the whole time. This was definitely my kind of place. Not to mention, it was basically empty.
Among all the weirdness was a much more familiar image: a huge, beautiful lying Buddha. It, obviously, represented the founding priest-shaman's Buddhist faith. There aren't any descriptions on any of the sculptures; your imagination is your only guide.
Xieng Khuan Buddha Park is definitely weird and wonderful. I highly recommend a visit if ever you're in Vientiane.
HOW TO GET TO XIENG KHUAN BUDDHA PARK IN VIENTIANE
Take bus no. 14 from the Central Bus Station (in front of Talan Sao Morning Market) in Vientiane. The bus fare is 12,000 kip (.56¢). The bus will stop at the Laos-Thailand border for those who wish to cross over to Thailand but it will continue to the Buddha Park.
READ MORE ON LAOS:
- Visiting the Pak Ou Caves in Laos
- The Waterfalls of Paksong
- Kuang Si Waterfalls: The Most Beautiful in Laos
- Vientiane: The Capital City People Love to Hate
- The Day Luang Prabang Cast a Spell on Me
- Riding Through the Countryside in Vang Vieng
- Monks, Wats, Shopping, Eating & Sweating in Luang Prabang
- Indulging in Sweet Nothingness on Don Det Island
TRAVEL RESOURCES
- Verify visa requirements for Laos on the official website
- Book flights to Laos via Skyscanner
- Compare hotel prices in Laos on Booking.com & Agoda
- Check hostel prices on HostelWorld
- Stay connected using an Airalo E-sim for Laos
- Search for tours & excursions in Laos
- Shop for affordable travel insurance with SafetWing
- Save on conversion fees while traveling with Wise
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I’m the founder and creator of Life Untraveled. I quit my corporate job, sold everything I owned and have been traveling full-time since 2018. I hope to inspire you to travel differently on a budget.
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stephaniestraveldiary
I was at Buddha Park last summer and thought it was beautiful.
However I had imagined it much bigger, so I was a little bit dissapointed by the size.
x
Wanderers Hub
These pictures look stunning – not like the buddha place we saw in Bhutan. Putting Laos on our list for sure!
Lydia@Lifeuntraveled.com
Was the Buddha place in Bhutan not interesting?
Hair to There
I’ve never been, but I would certainly pay it a visit if I find myself in Laos! So cool to see these this park without hoards of other tourists!
Lydia@Lifeuntraveled.com
It really is a great place to visit – hope you get to go one day!
Sridhar Salian
Last time we had a plans to visit Thailand and Laos together but because of time we dropped Laos. This time we are planning to Laos and this places notes in my list.. this Buddha park looks unlike anything i have seen before. definitely weird yet wonderful sculptures of demons and deities..
Lydia@Lifeuntraveled.com
Yay – have fun in Laos! It’s a country with immense natural beauty.
Lisa
This looks very interesting especially if it’s not touristy. I wonder want some of the local folklore is surrounding it since there are no descriptions.Even the sculptures look intriguing not to mention huge. Hope to visit one day thanks for sharing.
Katie @ CreativeTravelGuide
This place looks incredible! I need to visit Laos this year and will deffo head here, the sculptures look awesome! 🙂
Spendlifetraveling.com
A friend told me about this park recently. Great to see pictures of it now. It looks absolutely incredible!!
Milena D
Amazing!! I would love to visit Laos and then I would definitely add that place on my list. Especially, I like how they present three stages of the evolution of life. And your pictures are beautiful!
Lynne Sarao
Oh my goodness, I had no idea this place even existed, but now I want to go! I’m excited to visit more of Southeast Asia and when I do Laos is definitely going to be on my list!
Jenni Sheldon
Looks so interesting I love visiting places like this. I haven’t my been to Laos before but looks a cool place to visit
Claire Summers
Oh wow how amazing is this?! and how have a never heard of it before! I’m just sad that I won’t be back in the SEA area for a year or two! But I’ve pinned it for later, this looks too good to miss!
Travel Pockets
I love all the photos you took and how interesting that none of the sculptures had descriptions. I’ve never been to Laos, but have heard from friends that it’s an amazing place to visit.
Girlswanderlust
Whoa, this park looks so interesting! Just like you say: weird, but also wonderful. Will definitely keep this in mind for when I’m travelling to Laos. 🙂
M@thewanderlusteur.com
You got me at weird and wonderful. As a fashion designer, I also love to immerse myself in design around the world. I’ve pinned this for when I visit Laos! Excited!!
Chantell Collins
Oh I went here last year and absolutely adored it! I know that a lot of people don’t spend much time in Vientianne but I enjoyed my two days there including the visit to Buddha Park – well worth the trip :).
Frank Thomae
Great photos! Did you see the one just outside Nong Khai by the same man? http://bbqboy.net/visiting-amazing-sala-keoku-nong-khai-thailand/.
Just so weird isn’t it? One of the weirdest places we’ve been
Frank (bbqboy)
Lydia@Lifeuntraveled.com
I just loved the outright weirdness of this sculptural park! I didn’t go to the one in Thailand though.
Lydia@Lifeuntraveled.com
Hi Marina! Yes all the statues are open air (and the park lines the Mekong River which makes it even more whimsical). It’s really a great place to visit – I loved it!
Lydia@Lifeuntraveled.com
I was uttering a few WTF’s at some of the sculptures but they also made me smile a lot!
Lydia@Lifeuntraveled.com
Hi Ty! I didn’t quite understand the meaning of all those sculptures but I just loved how different it was from anything else we had seen in Laos. It’s a great place to visit!
Lydia@Lifeuntraveled.com
This park was so fascinating! I didn’t expect such weirdness in a country that’s mostly very conservative. Laos is definitely an interesting country known for its natural beauty. Put it on your list of places to see! 😉
Lydia@Lifeuntraveled.com
Hi Ivy! Thank you so much – that means a lot to me! I always wonder if what I share is interesting and you just put a huge smile on my face. 🙂
Lydia@Lifeuntraveled.com
Hi JM! This park was one of my favorite things in Laos because it was so different and it was empty. Laos is a wonderful country and it’s very easy to travel to/from Cambodia.
Lydia@Lifeuntraveled.com
Hi Sheri! It does look much bigger but there’s a lot packed in a small area. It’s a great park – hope you make it there one day!