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). Up a narrow, spiral staircase takes you to the top (Heaven) of the dome where you can see the entirety of Buddha Park splayed out in all its crazy glory.
XIENG KHUAN - THE WEIRD & WONDERFUL BUDDHA PARK OF LAOS
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 was most definitely weird and wonderful. I highly recommend a visit if ever you're in Vientiane.
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27 Responses
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. 🙂