Laos 7 Day Itinerary: Vientiane, Vang Vieng and Luang Prabang

About 1 hour, with a small fee to climb to the top, open until 5pm. Make it the first stop after check-in: it closes Lane Xang Avenue and gives you the scale of a capital that is low-rise, green and surprisingly quiet.

The arch went up between 1957 and 1968 to honour those who fought for independence, and locals call it the vertical runway, because the cement was donated by the United States to extend the airport. A sign on the monument itself admits, with rare candour, that up close it looks like a monster of concrete.

Free, 2 hours, 2 km down the avenue from Patuxai. Stalls open around 5pm on the riverbank and stay until 10pm. Arrive in time to watch the sun drop over the Mekong: the far bank is already Thailand.

The market itself sells clothes and souvenirs and is not much to write home about. The real draw is the promenade beside it, where the whole city comes out to stroll, join open-air aerobics and eat at stalls grilling skewers and salt-crusted fish.

About 1h15, cheap entry, 25 km from the centre near the bridge to Thailand. Go first thing, by tuk-tuk or ride-hailing car, before the heat and the tour groups: it is the furthest point of the day, so work your way back into town afterwards.

A monk who blended Buddhism and Hinduism created the park in 1958, and it holds more than 200 concrete statues, from a huge reclining Buddha to many-armed gods. The most fun piece is a giant three-storey pumpkin whose levels stand for hell, earth and heaven: you enter through a demon's mouth and come out on a terrace overlooking the garden.

About 1 hour, a small fee, 4 km northeast of the centre. It is the country's most important monument and appears on the national emblem and on kip banknotes. Cover shoulders and knees to enter.

King Setthathirath rebuilt the 45-metre stupa in the 16th century after moving the capital to Vientiane, and it was restored again in the 20th century after Siamese looting. Walk around the outside of the cloister and visit the two temples in the complex, one with a golden reclining Buddha. In November, at the full moon, the That Luang festival fills the grounds with pilgrims.

Free, donations welcome, 1 hour. It is the most important visit in Vientiane for understanding the country, and the one almost nobody plans.

Between 1964 and 1973 the United States dropped more than 2 million tonnes of bombs on Laos, making it the most heavily bombed country per capita in history. Around a third of the cluster submunitions failed to explode and still lie in the fields. The COPE prosthetics centre shows handmade legs built from bomb scrap, survivor films and the rehabilitation work that continues today.

About 40 minutes, cheap entry, open until 4pm with a lunch break. It stands across the street from Wat Si Saket, 900 metres from COPE.

The temple was built in 1565 to house the Emerald Buddha, which the Siamese carried off in 1779 and which now sits in Bangkok's Grand Palace. Today's building is a 20th-century reconstruction that works as a museum of religious art, with bronze Buddhas on the veranda and carved, gilded wooden doors.

About 45 minutes, cheap entry, also closes at 4pm. Go straight after Haw Phra Kaew, mid-afternoon.

Built in 1818 by King Anouvong, it is the only temple in the city that survived the Siamese sack of 1828, probably because it followed the Bangkok style. The cloister walls hold thousands of niches with small silver and ceramic Buddha images, some damaged in the invasion, which makes this a quieter visit than its neighbour.

About 1h15, cheap entry, on the southern edge of town. The train from Vientiane takes about an hour and Vang Vieng station is roughly 15 minutes by car from the centre: drop your bag at the hotel and cross the resort bridge to the cave stairway.

The lit cave, with walkways inside, was used as a hideout against invaders in the 19th century, and its mouth looks over the whole valley. At the base a cold, clear spring lets you swim before heading back for check-in.

About 2h30 in total, including a steep 40-minute climb partly on stone and bamboo steps. It is 6 km west of town across the river, reached by tuk-tuk, scooter or bicycle. Bring water, shoes with grip and a torch for the way down.

At the top, a wooden platform and an old motorbike left as a photo prop open onto a 360-degree view of rice paddies and limestone peaks. Start climbing at 4pm for the golden light, or go before 6am for sunrise with the valley under mist, the most famous photo in Vang Vieng. If it is crowded, Pha Ngern viewpoint, north of town, has a similar climb and fewer people.

Half a day, cheap entry, 7 km from town on a dirt road. Go early, before 10am, when the buggy groups arrive and the water is still calm. There are several numbered blue lagoons around town; this is the original, number 1, and the prettiest.

Locals jump from the branches of the tree into the pool and swing out on the rope. Above the lagoon, a steep 15-minute path climbs to Tham Phu Kham cave, where a bronze reclining Buddha lies under a shaft of light. Bring a torch: the back of the cave is dark and slippery.

If you want to start the day up high, the sunrise hot air balloon flight leaves town around 6am and costs about 100 US dollars.

About 3 hours, early afternoon, when the sun is lower. Agencies on the main street drive you 4 km upriver by tuk-tuk and you float back to the centre on an inner tube or paddle a kayak, between limestone cliffs and buffalo on the bank.

Tubing gave Vang Vieng its party reputation until 2012, when the government shut the riverside bars after a string of deaths. It is far calmer now, but the rules stand: life jacket on, no alcohol on the water and finish before dark. In the dry months, February to April, the river runs shallow and kayaking beats the tube.

About 1 hour, around 30,000 kip, closes at 4pm and on Tuesdays. The train from Vang Vieng takes an hour and the station is 13 km from the centre, so arrive in the morning, check in and start here at 3pm. Cover shoulders and knees; no photos inside.

The palace was built in 1904 for King Sisavang Vong during the French protectorate and stayed intact when the monarchy fell in 1975. The throne room has red walls covered in coloured glass mosaics. In the garden, the Haw Pha Bang temple holds the Phra Bang, the gold Buddha image that gave Luang Prabang its name.

Quick stop, 25 minutes, right next to the palace. The late 18th-century temple has a five-tiered roof and a veranda covered in gilded reliefs telling the Buddha's penultimate life. For almost half a century it was the temple that kept the Phra Bang.

About 1h15, a small fee, across the street from the palace. Start climbing at 5pm: the sun sets over the Mekong around 6pm and the top gets packed, so arrive early for a spot on the western wall.

The hill, about 100 metres high, is crowned by the golden stupa of Wat Chom Si, and the path passes Buddhas for each day of the week and a footprint tradition attributes to the Buddha. Come down the stairway on the Nam Khan side, which is quieter and ends near the night market.

Free, 1h30, on Sisavangvong Road at the foot of Phousi. From 5pm to 10pm the street closes to traffic and becomes a corridor of textiles, quilts, mulberry paper lanterns and crafts from the northern ethnic groups, often sold by the makers themselves.

Bargaining is expected, but gently and with a smile: margins are small. For dinner, step into the side food alley, where a fixed price fills a plate at the vegetarian buffet, or order grilled Mekong fish and skewers.

Free, 45 minutes, from 5.30am to 6.15am on Sakkaline Road. Every day hundreds of monks leave the temples in single file, barefoot, and receive sticky rice from residents kneeling on the pavement. It is a religious ritual, not a show, and the monks have publicly asked tourists for more respect.

The rules are simple: stand on the opposite side of the street, in silence, with no flash and never in the path of the line. Only take part if it means something to you, kneeling, with rice bought at the market, never from the vendors who approach tourists on the pavement, whose rice is often poor quality.

About 1 hour, 20,000 to 30,000 kip, opens at 8am. It is 300 metres from the Tak Bat stretch, at the tip where the Nam Khan meets the Mekong: have breakfast by the river and walk in when it opens.

Built in 1560 by King Setthathirath, it is the most important temple in town and the model of the Luang Prabang style, with a layered roof that sweeps almost to the ground. Walk round to the back wall for the tree of life mosaic in coloured glass, and step into the hall that houses King Sisavang Vong's 12-metre funeral carriage.

Quick stop, 40 minutes, 1.2 km from Wat Xieng Thong along the main street. The lanes behind the palace sell mountain greens, Mekong fish, frogs, roots and fruit. It is the moment to try khao piak sen, the thick rice noodle soup Lao people eat for breakfast.

Half a day, 4 hours with the ride, 60,000 kip entry including the bear sanctuary. It is 30 km away, 45 minutes by minivan or a tuk-tuk hired in town; leave after lunch, when the morning groups have gone, and stay until closing, around 5.30pm.

The water tumbles down a staircase of limestone terraces into turquoise pools, and swimming is allowed in several of them. Take the left-hand trail to the top of the 60-metre main drop. At the entrance, Free the Bears cares for Asiatic black bears rescued from the bile trade.

Quick stop, 30 minutes, on the boat ride to Pak Ou. The village distils lao-lao, a rice spirit, in clay pots and offers tastings at the riverside stalls. The bottles with snakes and scorpions inside are for photos, not for your luggage: most will not clear customs.

A full morning, with a 2-hour boat ride upriver and 1 hour back, leaving at 8am from the pier behind the palace; cheap entry to the caves. You can be back in time for a mid-afternoon flight.

The two caves sit in the cliff opposite the mouth of the Ou river and hold thousands of Buddha images in wood and gold, left by pilgrims over centuries. The lower one, Tham Ting, is at water level; the upper one, Tham Theung, is darker and needs a torch.