Luang Prabang

Alms round, Kuang Si and Pak Ou from a Luang Prabang peninsula stay

Three days suit Luang Prabang. Spend the first on the peninsula at Wat Xieng Thong, the National Museum in the former Royal Palace and the climb up Phousi at sunset; watch the dawn alms round respectfully on the second, then visit Kuang Si falls; take a boat up the Mekong to the Pak Ou caves on the third.

Day one stays on the peninsula. Begin in the morning at Wat Xieng Thong near the confluence, where the roofs sweep almost to the ground, then walk up Sisavangvong Road past a run of temples to the National Museum in the former Royal Palace (cover shoulders and knees). After a long lunch by the Nam Khan, climb Phousi in the late afternoon for sunset and drift down into the night market.

Day two starts before 5.30 am with the alms round. Watch from across the street, quietly and without flash, then go back for breakfast. Late morning, catch the green bus from Thatluang Park to Kuang Si Falls and spend the afternoon in the pools; ask the driver about the return times before you set off.

On day three, take a boat up the Mekong to the Pak Ou caves, packed with old Buddha images, which fills most of a morning. In the afternoon, ride the free shuttle from the Ock Pop Tok shop to its weaving centre 2 km south for a tour or a dyeing class, or spend an hour at the Traditional Arts and Ethnology Centre (closed Mondays). End with dinner on the riverbank.

Or lam, khai paen and jeow bong by the Nam Khan

Luang Prabang has no international fast-food chains, and its local dishes are what to seek out. Or lam is the town's signature stew, thickened with sticky rice and spiked with chilli wood; khai paen is crisp fried river weed with sesame, and jeow bong a sweet, smoky chilli paste, best eaten by the Nam Khan.

Restaurants cluster along Sisavangvong Road and the two riverbanks, and there is not a single international fast-food chain in town. Cooking ranges from banana pancakes to serious French tables, but the local dishes are what to look for. Or lam is the town's signature stew, thickened with sticky rice and spiked with chilli wood, which leaves a faint numbness on the tongue. Khai paen are sheets of dried river weed pressed with sesame and fried crisp, a snack made for Beerlao. Try the buffalo sausage too, with a dab of jeow bong, the sweet and smoky chilli paste the town sends all over Laos.

The dish many visitors rate highest is the Lao take on the fried spring roll. Market stalls are the budget option, selling baguettes, crêpes and pancakes from morning to night.

Beer prices barely change from bar to bar, yet food prices along the river vary a great deal, so read the menu before you sit down. Eat reasonably early. The curfew is strictly enforced, and the small cluster of bars between Phousi and the Mekong starts winding down well before midnight.

Sand stupas at Pi Mai and lantern boats in October

Visit Luang Prabang between November and February, when December highs average about 27C, dawns are cool enough for a fleece at the alms round and rain stays under about 30 mm a month. April reaches 35C with smoky skies; Pi Mai brings sand stupas in April, and lantern boats float on the Mekong in October.

The cool, dry season runs from November to February. December highs average about 27C and lows 15C, cold enough at dawn that a fleece helps during the alms round, and rainfall stays under about 30 mm a month. By April the average high reaches 35C, and smoke from burning fields often blurs the mountains seen from Phousi.

Rain arrives in May and peaks in August at around 330 mm. Kuang Si is then at full flow and the hills turn deep green, though trails get muddy.

Two festivals are worth planning around. Pi Mai, Lao New Year in mid-April, is marked here with more ritual than in most of the country: processions, sand stupas built in temple grounds and the ceremonial washing of the Phra Bang image, alongside cheerful water throwing in the streets. Book rooms early and expect to get soaked. In October, the end of Buddhist Lent brings boat races on the Nam Khan and the festival of lights, when people float small banana-leaf boats with candles on the river and parade large illuminated boats through town.