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Nestling in a slim valley shaped by lofty, green mountains and cut by the swift Mekong and Khan rivers, LOUANG PHABANG exudes remote tranquillity and casual grandeur. A tiny mountain kingdom for more than a thousand years and designated a World Heritage site in 1995, Louang Phabang is endowed with a legacy of ancient red-roofed temples and French-Indochinese architecture, not to mention some of the country's most refined cuisine, its richest culture and its most sacred Buddha image. The very name Louang Phabang conjures up the classic image of Laos - streets of ochre colonial houses and swaying palms, lines of saffron-robed monks gliding through the morning mist, and, of course, longtail boats racing down the Mekong. This is where the first proto-Lao nation took root. It is the most Lao city in Laos, the only one where ethnic Lao are in the majority and where the back streets and cobblestoned lanes have a distinctly village-like feel. It's the birthplace of countless Lao rituals and the origin of a line of rulers. Conveniently, Louang Phabang is also the transport hub of northern Laos, with road, river and air links - both domestic and international - all leading to the city.

The earliest Lao settlers made their way down the Nam Ou Valley, sometime after the tenth century, absorbing the territory on which the city lies and naming it Xiang Dong Xiang Thong . But it wasn't until legendary Lao warrior Fa Ngum captured the town in 1353 that it emerged as the heart of a thriving, independent kingdom in its own right. He founded the kingdom of Lane Xang Hom Khao - the Land of a Million Elephants and the White Parasol - and established the line of kings that was to rule Laos for six centuries. With Fa Ngum came monks, artisans and learned men from the Khmer court, a legal code, and Theravada Buddhism. Striking temples were built, epic poems composed and sacred texts copied, and in 1512, King Visoun brought the very sacred Pha Bang Buddha image to the city, a hugely significant event. Lane Xang was, for the moment, a major power on the Indochinese peninsula, but by 1563 the fear of encroaching Burmese led to the capital being moved to Vientiane. The Pha Bang was left behind and the city renamed after the revered image. From then on, Louang Phabang had a roller-coaster ride, invaded first by the Burmese and then by the Siamese, until King Oun Kham finally agreed to co-operate with France, and the city's French period began. During the two Indochina wars, Louang Phabang fared better than most towns in Laos. However, the Second Indochina War ultimately took its toll on Louang Phabang's ceremonial life, which lost its regal heart when the Pathet Lao ended the royal line by forcing King Sisavang Vatthana to abdicate in 1975.