Rainfall varies substantially according to latitude and altitude; the highlands of Vientiane, Bolikhamsai, Khammuan and eastern Champasak Provinces are wettest.
Temperatures also vary according to altitude. In the humid, low-lying Mekong River valley, temperatures range from 15°C (59°F) to 38°C (100.4°F), while in the mountains of Xieng Khuang the temperature can drop to 0°C (32°F) at night.

Laos – Events
Buddha’s Birthday (Visakha Bu-saa) (May – annual)
This is the main Buddhist festival of the year and falls on the full moon in May. Visakha Bu-saa is the day on which the Buddha was born, died and achieved Enlightenment, so for Buddhists up and down the country the celebrations are massive. Families visit the local wat (temple) to pray, and services continue all night and well into the morning.

In Luang Prabang there is a beautiful candlelit procession through the streets of this incredible city. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it boasts over 60 Buddhist temples, some of them more than 700 years old.

As part of the celebrations for this festival, Laotians build huge bamboo rockets which they fire at the rain god to bring down the first rains of the season. Beside the Mekong, most notably in Vientiane, hundreds of rockets explode into the sky in a riot of noise and color. Originally a preserve of the monks, these days there is intense competition to build the most spectacular rocket between anyone who can lay their hands on some gunpowder! The prizes on offer, the betting that takes place, and the home-made nature of the rockets (!) make this a wild and spectacular occasion, not to be missed, and the accompanying processions and fertility dances make it even better. (A similar celebration can still be seen in the Isaan Province of Thailand at Yasothon)

In addition to the processions there are puppet shows and dancing with everyone dressed up in their very best clothes for the occasion.

Incidentally, there is an amazing Buddhist pilgrimage site an hour upriver from Luang Prabang named Pak Ou. It is an enormous limestone cave filled with thousands of Buddhist statues placed by pilgrims who have made a pilgrimage there during the last 1000 years. The Buddha images range from the minuscule to the gold-leaved life-size. A visit to Luang Prabang is not complete without experiencing this holy and awe-inspiring place.

Laos – Sights

Wat Phu Champasak
Spread over the lower slopes of Phu Pasak (also known more colloquially as Phu Khuai), Wat Phu is small compared with the monumental Angkor-era sites in Cambodia or Thailand. But the tumbledown pavilions, ornate Shiva-lingam sanctuary, enigmatic crocodile stone and tall trees that shroud much of the site in soothing shade give Wat Phu a mystical atmosphere.
This town cranks it up every year when pilgrims from near and far amass for Bun Wat Phu Champasak. During this three-day Buddhist festival (usually held in February) worshippers wind their way up and around Wat Phu Champasak, praying and leaving offerings; bands play traditional and modern music; young and old dance together; and Thai boxing, comedy shows and cockfights all add to the entertainment. Stands selling food and drink do a roaring trade along the road from town to Wat Phu and accommodation in town is booked out weeks in advance.

10km (6mi) SE of Champasak
opposite Ban Thong Khop village
Pak Ou Caves