 Click on the map to see more information about each site |
The Champasak Plain is a living cultural landscape that has
remained essentially unchanged for over a thousand years. In
order to fully understand and appreciate the site, it is important
to understand how the Vat Phou Temple Complex relates to the
other elements within the landscape. Only then can one appreciate
the enormity of the achievements of the builders. This sketch
shows the primary features of the site in relation to each other
and to the topography of the site.
The remains of two of the ancient settlements built by the Khmer,
Shrestrapura and Lingapura, are among the most important
findings at the site. The ruins and foundations of other structures,
mostly temples, are still standing, though only Vat Phou, Nang Sida
and Tomo Temple are open to visitors. Archaeologists have also
discovered that Vat Phou was linked to Angkor via an imperial
road 250 kilometres long. Small villages and historic temples
have also played a role in the evolving history of the area, which
is still rural and primarily used for rice cultivation.
 | | By the end of the 12th century, the entire
landscape between Phou Kao Mountain
and the east bank of the Mekong River
was designed and engineered to create a
virtual"heaven on earth" in conformity
with Hindu cosmology. |
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