Wat Phu, Lao PDR
8 January 2008

Note: The area of coverage in this SPOT-5 image is approximately 10 km x 10 km.
The reduced resolution image on display has undergone compression and so does not represent the true resolution of the original satellite image.

Wat Phu, a famous pre-Angkor Khmer temple for Siva, is located next to the Mekong River, near Champasak, Lao PDR. This has been a site of worship since the 5th century but the present structures are from the Angkor period. A road runs westward from the river towards the hills at the edge of the Korat Upland, the sacred Phu Pasak Range. The museum building is sited next to the entrance, as are two rectangular ponds (barays). Inside the temple complex, a grand walkway with flights of steps climbs to pavilions and galleries with fine sculpture. A further set of steps leads to the temple buildings, with a sacred spring located at the foot of the mountains. The lower hillslopes are under secondary vegetation but the upper slopes may carry some primary forest. In contrast, the lowland in the dry season is bare, small trees lining the water courses. Agricultural fields tend to occur next to the Mekong. UNESCO recognised Wat Phu as a World Heritage Site in 2001.