That Ing Hang

Outside Savannakhet stands That Ing Hang, a three-terraced golden stupa marking the spot where, by legend, the ailing Buddha leaned against a hang tree to rest. Believed to enshrine his relic and ranked second in sanctity in southern Laos after Vat Phou, it draws Lao and northern-Thai pilgrims across the Mekong, especially at its December festival.

In a quiet rural setting northeast of Savannakhet rises That Ing Hang, a well-proportioned golden stupa of three terraced tiers, among the holiest Buddhist monuments of central and southern Laos and second in standing only to Vat Phou. Its name carries its founding legend: the Buddha, traveling and fallen ill in the ancient Kingdom of Sikhottabong, is said to have leaned (ing) to rest against a hang tree at this spot. A relic of the Buddha, described in some accounts as his collarbone and in others as his spine, is believed to be enshrined within. By tradition a first stupa was raised here under King Soumitatham some two millennia ago, but that origin is legendary; the terraced stupa standing today was built or rebuilt in the mid-sixteenth century by King Setthathirath of Lan Xang, over an earlier Khmer temple. The stupa anchors a living devotion that crosses borders. Lao and northern-Thai (Isan) Buddhists make merit here through the year, and at the annual festival around the December full moon the grounds fill with offering towers, music and pilgrims from both sides of the Mekong. A gender-specific custom persists at the monument: women are not permitted to enter the hollow lower chamber that holds the Buddha images, and women are asked to wear a traditional Lao pahsin on the temple grounds. Away from festival days the stupa keeps a serene, uncrowded calm.

The defining legend tells that the Buddha, traveling and fallen ill in the ancient Kingdom of Sikhottabong, rested by leaning (ing) against a hang tree at this spot, giving the stupa its name, That Ing Hang. A relic was later enshrined and, by tradition, a stupa raised under King Soumitatham some two thousand years ago, though this earliest origin is legendary rather than documented. The terraced stupa standing today was built or rebuilt in the mid-sixteenth century, with sources giving dates between 1548 and 1566, by King Setthathirath of Lan Xang, raised over a pre-existing Khmer temple. Accounts of the enshrined relic differ, naming it the Buddha's collarbone or his spine, and the stupa rises about nine meters, crowned by a gold umbrella. It is not a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but it is nationally significant and is described as the second-holiest religious monument in southern Laos after Vat Phou in Champasak, which holds the World Heritage inscription.

That Ing Hang belongs to the Theravada Buddhism of the Lao and the neighboring Thai-Isan, shaped by the royal Buddhism of the Lan Xang kingdom under Setthathirath and rooted in an earlier Khmer temple on the site, with a legendary lineage reaching back to the Kingdom of Sikhottabong. It remains an active pilgrimage stupa today.

The pull of That Ing Hang rests on presence and proximity. The legend holds that the Buddha himself paused here, weary and ill, leaning against a hang tree to rest, so that the ground is felt as a place the awakened one actually touched, and the stupa's very name preserves that act of leaning. To this the tradition adds an enshrined relic of the Buddha, his collarbone or spine by different accounts, set within the hollow heart of the terraced stupa, giving the monument a sacred core as well as a sacred site. The devotion this gathers is notably cross-border: the Mekong here divides Laos from the Isan region of Thailand, yet both Lao and northern-Thai Buddhists cross to make merit at the same stupa, so that the site binds a region of shared faith rather than a single nation. A terraced golden stupa with a hidden relic chamber, marking a spot touched by the Buddha in legend, sustained by claimed continuity over two millennia and by pilgrims from both banks of the river, it concentrates a quiet, durable holiness away from the larger crowds of Vientiane.

The great annual observance is the That Ing Hang Festival, held over the full moon of the first lunar month, around December. Pilgrims place khanmakbeng, offering towers of banana leaf and flowers, around the stupa, receive wrist-string blessings tied by nuns, and bring offerings of forest products such as honey along with traditional food, amid prayers, processions and cultural performances.

Beyond the festival the stupa sees year-round prayer, offerings and circumambulation, with merit-making by both Lao and northern-Thai pilgrims who cross the Mekong region to worship here. The festival remains the devotional and cultural high point of the year.

Circle the stupa quietly and, if you wish, make a simple offering or receive a wrist-string blessing in the local manner; come in the cool morning for stillness, or during the December festival to witness the full cross-border devotion. Women should observe the inner-chamber custom and wear a pahsin where required.

Most of the year the visit is calm and uncrowded. The stupa stands in a quiet rural setting outside Savannakhet, well away from the larger monuments of Vientiane, and visitors most often describe a serene, well-proportioned golden form to be circled at an unhurried pace, with mornings the coolest and quietest time. That stillness gives way at the annual festival, around the December full moon, when the grounds fill with pilgrims, offering towers, and music, and the strong local and Thai devotional atmosphere comes fully into the open. Visitors regularly note two things: the depth of cross-border devotion, with Isan Thai pilgrims crossing the Mekong to make merit here, and the gender custom at the inner chamber, where women do not enter the relic chamber holding the Buddha images. The experience is one of quiet merit-making and reflection more than spectacle, a connection to the Buddha-resting legend and to the shared Buddhist life of the middle Mekong.

The stupa stands about 12 kilometers northeast of Savannakhet town, near Ban That on Route 9 toward Seno, reached by car, tuk-tuk or motorbike. Savannakhet sits on the Mekong opposite Mukdahan in Thailand, linked by the Second Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge, which feeds the cross-border pilgrimage. Women are asked to wear a pahsin on the grounds and do not enter the lower relic chamber.

The stupa is read at once as a documented royal monument over a Khmer site and as a living relic-shrine of a Buddha-touched place.

Scholars regard That Ing Hang as a major Theravada Buddhist stupa of central and southern Laos, rebuilt in its present three-terraced form under King Setthathirath in the mid-sixteenth century over an earlier Khmer site, and ranked second in sanctity in southern Laos after Vat Phou. Its earliest, roughly two-thousand-year origin is treated as legendary rather than documented.

For Lao and northern-Thai (Isan) Buddhists the stupa marks where the Buddha rested and enshrines his relic; it is a focus of cross-border merit-making, with living customs that include the women's inner-chamber prohibition and the pahsin dress.

Popular tradition stresses the 'miracle stupa' and the Buddha-visit legend, and the great antiquity of the site under the Kingdom of Sikhottabong.

Whether an authentic relic of the Buddha is enshrined, and the historicity of the Buddha's visit and the two-thousand-year origin, remain matters of faith; the nature and date of the underlying Khmer temple, and the precise identity of the relic (collarbone or spine), are also uncertain.

About 12 km northeast of Savannakhet town, near Ban That on Route 9 toward Seno; reached by car, tuk-tuk or motorbike. Savannakhet sits on the Mekong opposite Mukdahan, Thailand, linked by the Second Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge.

Savannakhet town, about 12 km away on the Mekong, offers a range of hotels and guesthouses, with further lodging across the river in Mukdahan, Thailand.

Dress modestly, observe the women's customs, and treat the relic stupa with quiet reverence.

Modest dress with shoulders and knees covered; women are commonly asked to wear a traditional Lao pahsin (sarong) on the temple grounds, and shoes are removed where indicated.

Generally permitted in outdoor areas; be discreet around worshippers and within sacred spaces.

Khanmakbeng (banana-leaf and flower offering towers), flowers, incense, candles and food are customary, especially at the festival.

By religious custom women are not permitted to enter the hollow lower relic chamber containing the Buddha images; do not point your feet at sacred images, speak quietly, and behave respectfully.

Continue through the atlas by country, tradition, site type, or a focused search that combines this place’s strongest context.

Sacred places within a half-day’s reach. Pilgrims often visit them together: walk one, stay for the other.

That Sikhottabong

Thakhek, Khammouane, Laos

82.6 km away

Wat Luang

Pakse, Laos

193.7 km away

Wat Phousalao

Pakse, Laos

197.3 km away

Vat Phou

Nongsa, Champasak Province, Laos

221.7 km away

Sources consulted when researching this page. Independent verification by readers is welcome.

1. 01That Ing Hang Festival in Savannakhet Province — Lao National Tourism / tourismlaos.orghigh-reliability
2. 02That Ing Hang — Lonely Planet
3. 03That Ing Hang - A Miracle Stupa in Savannakhet, Laos — Go Laos Tours
4. 04That Ing Hang Stupa Attractions - Laos — Asia King Travel
5. 05That Ing Hang Stupa — Laos Tourism (laostourism.org)
6. 06Savannakhet's That Ing Hang Festival to Break Records — Travel And Tour World
7. 07Savannakhet - That Ing Hang — tri140.50webs.com