Phonsavan

Jar sites 1 to 3, Ban Napia and the bomb craters around Phonsavan

Spend a full day on the Plain of Jars from Phonsavan, booking a tour the evening before: start at Site 1, the largest group and nearest to town, among bomb craters, then Sites 2 and 3. On a second day visit Ban Napia, where villagers make spoons from war scrap, and the craters at Baan Khai.

Day one is for the jars. Book a full-day tour the evening before; the better guesthouse tours run longer than the rest and cover lunch and entry to Sites 1 to 3. Start in the morning at Site 1, the biggest group and the nearest to town, where hundreds of jars stand on a grassy rise pitted with bomb craters. In the afternoon move on to Sites 2 and 3, set among quieter hills and farmland, and stop on the way at Ban Napia, where villagers cast spoons from melted war scrap. At every site, keep between the marker stones: the land beyond them has not been cleared.

Day two turns to the war. Visit the provincial museum in town (Tuesday to Sunday, 9 am to 4 pm) for its relics and Pathet Lao displays, then hire a driver north-east along Route 7, where bomb casings serve as fences and planters. Baan Khai, about 36 km away beyond Nong Phet, is where the cratered land is plainest; turn left in the market area and continue about 7 km, and show the village name in Lao script if you lose the way. Back in Phonsavan, eat early. The plateau cools fast after dark.

Hed deep mushrooms, Chinese pears and highland noodle soup

At 1,100 m, Xieng Khouang grows produce scarce in lowland Laos: Chinese pears, passion fruit, peaches and plums in season at Phonsavan's market. Mushrooms are the local pride, especially hed deep, a yellow mushroom shaped like a flower, and a bowl of highland noodle soup is the warming breakfast on cold mornings.

Altitude changes the menu.

Mushrooms are the local pride. Hed deep, a yellow mushroom shaped like a flower, is common across the province, while hed wai is rare enough to be exported to collectors abroad at high prices. You will also see bundles of ya hua, a medicinal root sold to restore strength and appetite and traditionally given to women after childbirth.

Restaurants line the main road, most serving the standard Lao and Thai repertoire of noodle soups, fried rice and laap with sticky rice. Cranky-T on Highway 7 is the place for wine, cocktails and dishes such as teriyaki when you want a change. On a cold winter evening after a day at the jar sites, though, nothing beats a steaming bowl of noodle soup.

Cold plateau nights and Hmong New Year bullfights

Phonsavan's height keeps it cool: even April averages only about 29C, and December nights fall to about 8C, so bring a warm layer for unheated guesthouses. November to February is the dry window, with under about 25 mm of rain a month, and Hmong New Year in the cool season brings bullfights and courting games.

Height keeps Phonsavan out of the furnace that grips lowland Laos. Winter is the surprise: December lows fall to about 8C, and guesthouses without heating feel cold at night, so bring a warm layer.

From April the rain builds, peaking at around 300 mm in August, when paths at the jar sites turn slippery and the long bus routes slow even further. October is a reasonable shoulder month, with about 64 mm of rain and the hills still green.

Hmong New Year, usually held around December, is the big local event. Families gather in their finest embroidered clothes, young people play the ball-tossing courtship game, and villages around town stage bullfights. Any time of year, the ranching country outside town is where you may spot Hmong cowboys in brown and violet hats, moving cattle through the pine-covered hills.