Vat Phou, Hindu temple complex in Champasak Province, Laos.

Vat Phou is a ruined Khmer Hindu temple complex at the foot of Phou Khao mountain in Champasak Province, about 6 kilometres from the Mekong. A long processional path of packed earth, lined with weathered stone pillars, runs from the plain toward a low dark stone sanctuary at the mountain's base. The surviving buildings, mainly 11th-century Koh Ker and Baphuon work, stand among reservoirs and smaller shrines.

Stone structures first appeared here during the second century BCE with early architectural features marking the site's origins. Over subsequent centuries, the complex underwent several reconstructions as different cultures and religions took control of the place.

Over centuries, the site transformed from a Hindu shrine dedicated to Shiva into a Buddhist sanctuary, with both spiritual traditions leaving their marks on the grounds. You can walk through spaces where ancient stone carvings sit alongside Buddhist symbols, showing how two faiths coexist in the same place.

The site is open daily from 08:00 to 18:00. Foreign visitors pay 55,000 kip and Lao visitors 20,000 kip. The climb from the lower terraces to the upper sanctuary follows stone staircases, so allow time and carry water. A museum on site displays statues of Shiva, Vishnu, Nandin and the Buddha.

The crocodile carving is not the only early work: the site's first megalithic phase, from around the second century BCE, also left two stone cells, serpent stairs and offering platforms. The Văt Luong Kău inscription (K.365) records Devanika, a ruler who came from afar, founded a sacred tīrtha here and offered thousands of cattle to a temple foundation.