Wat Phu

A UNESCO World Heritage Khmer Hindu temple complex on the slopes of Mount Phu Kao in southern Laos, Wat Phu dates in its current form primarily to the eleventh and twelfth centuries, though the site was venerated as a sacred mountain long before the Khmer occupation. The ceremonial approach from the Mekong plain rises through two palace buildings and a series of terraces to the main sanctuary, which is carved directly into a cliff face from which a natural spring once flowed. Champasak district has been inhabited since at least the fifth century BCE, and the site holds layers of pre-Angkorian and Angkorian religious significance.