Thakhek

Province

Thakhek (Lao: ທ່າ ແຂກ ) is a city in Laos with about 70,000 inhabitants.

It is the administrative capital of the Province Khammuan. It lies on the banks of the Mekong River, opposite the Thai town of Nakhon Phanom and was before the country's independence French headquarters, which is still recognizable in the old town. Some villas and several business houses in the unmistakably French colonial style are available here today. The Catholic Church not far east of the city center was built by the French.

Tourist Thakhek is interesting as a starting point for excursions into the karst landscapes of the province Khammuan. Interesting is, among other up to 30 meters high and up to a meter wide rock formation " Kampaeng Yak ", which looks like a manmade huge wall of large blocks and extends over several kilometers. To its origin is shrouded in different legends. One of them states that the wall of giants - called " Khon Paet Soek ", which literally means "eight -Ellen - people " means - to have been built. These giants are said to have made ​​the enormous stone vessels in the Plain of Jars. A well-preserved section of the wall can be seen in the village of Ban Na Gna Vai, six kilometers north of Thakhek, on the National Road 13.

Nearby Thakheks also several caves worth a visit. One of the best known is the cave Tham Pa Fa, 18 kilometers east of the city in which 229 Buddha statues - some of bronze, partly out of pure gold - of varying size are located. The cave was discovered in 2004 and is now a major pilgrimage site.

Six kilometers south of the city rises on the Mekong, almost 30 meters high Stupa That Sikhottabong, one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in Laos. It was built in the early 19th century. Your gold-plated tip, modeled in form of a closed banana flower is visible from afar.

Houses of the French colonial period

Old town

Rock Formation " Kampaeng Yak "