That Sikhottabong

That Sikhottabong stands on the Mekong's Lao bank about six kilometers south of Thakhek in Khammouane Province. Its slender gold-and-whitewashed bell rises nearly thirty meters from a square base and ranks among central Laos's most venerated relic monuments. Lao tradition holds that it enshrines Buddha relics, joining That Ing Hang downriver in Savannakhet and That Phanom across the water in Thailand as Mekong relic-stupas anchoring a shared Buddhist identity beyond the modern river border.

The site and ancient Sikhottabong kingdom take their name and mythic charge from legendary Phaya Khottabong. Outside festival season the compound welcomes quiet circumambulation and incense; for a few February days it becomes one of the region's busiest pilgrimage gatherings. Its power lies in continuity: a relic faithfully kept and re-enshrined over centuries on the same riverbank.

What draws devotion here is the conviction that the stupa contains relics of the Buddha. In Theravada practice a relic-stupa is not a symbol pointing elsewhere; it is treated as a continuing presence, a place where the Buddha can be honored directly through circumambulation and offering. That Sikhottabong's sacredness is deepened by its place in a network. Lao and northeastern Thai pilgrims understand it as one of three sibling relic-shrines strung along the river, so that to venerate it is to take part in a devotional geography larger than any single temple. Its riverside setting reinforces this. The Mekong has carried trade, kingdoms, and pilgrims for as long as the relic tradition has held, and the stupa's continuity through cycles of decay and restoration is itself part of what makes the place feel weighted with the prayers of generations.

Founded to enshrine and safeguard relics of the Buddha, anchoring the religious life of the Sikhottabong kingdom along the Mekong.

From a legendary early foundation the stupa was substantially refurbished in the 16th century under King Setthathirath of Lan Xang and has been maintained and re-enshrined across the centuries, becoming a provincial icon of Khammouane and the focus of a major annual festival.

Most of the year the visit is unhurried. The stupa stands bright against the sky in an open compound near the water, and the act of walking slowly around its base, incense in hand, is the heart of what people come to do. The setting is rural and calm, the river close by, and the scale is human rather than overwhelming. Visitors often describe an hour or two of quiet attention as enough. The site changes character entirely during the Boun That Sikhottabong festival at the February full moon, when the grounds fill with pilgrims, alms-givers, traders, and performers, and the devotional intensity becomes communal and loud. To arrive on an ordinary morning is to meet the stupa as a steady local presence; to arrive at the festival is to feel the pull that draws people across the river.

The stupa sits about six kilometers south of central Thakhek on the Mekong's left bank, in an open riverside compound reached by tuk-tuk or car.

Tradition places the stupa's founding around the 6th century, when a ruler of the Sikhottabong kingdom is said to have raised a riverside shrine to safekeep relics of the Buddha. Both the kingdom and the monument take their name from the legendary Phaya Khottabong. The accounts vary in their royal names and spellings, so the founding is best understood as a legendary act of devotion rather than a firmly documented event. What history can affirm more securely is the 16th-century refurbishment under King Setthathirath of Lan Xang, who tied the stupa into the wider Lao Buddhist landscape of his reign.

Theravada Buddhism in the Lao lineage of Lan Xang, sharing the Mekong relic-stupa tradition with That Ing Hang and That Phanom.

The enduring observances are relic veneration and circumambulation of the stupa, alongside the cycle of refurbishment and re-enshrinement that has kept the relic honored across the centuries.

Today the stupa receives daily merit-making and alms to its resident monks. Its great occasion is the annual Boun That Sikhottabong festival at the full moon of the third lunar month, usually February, which combines religious rites and alms-giving with wax-castle (prasat pheung) processions, a trade fair, and traditional performances, and draws pilgrims from northeastern Thailand as well as across Laos.

Walk slowly around the stupa, offering incense and flowers as you go, and keep a measured pace that lets the relic tradition register. If visiting at festival time, arrive early and let the procession set the rhythm rather than working against the crowds.

The stupa is read both as a revered relic-shrine of central Laos and as a monument whose earliest history dissolves into legend.

Continue through the atlas by country, tradition, physical form, 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.

Phra That Phanom

That Phanom, Nakhon Phanom, Thailand

46.1 km away

That Ing Hang

Savannakhet, Savannakhet, Laos

82.6 km away

Wat Pha Nam Thip Thep Prasit Wanaram

Nong Phok, Roi Et, Thailand

125.3 km away

Thiên Đường Cave and Mountain-God Temple

Phong Nha, Quảng Trị, Vietnam

151.4 km away

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

1. 01That Sikhottabong — Wikipedia contributors
2. 02Khammouane to Host Annual Sikhottabong Stupa Festival 2026 — Laotian Times
3. 03Sikhottabong Festival — Lao News Agency (KPL)
4. 04Khammouane Province — Tourism Laos (national tourism authority)
5. 05Phaya Khottabong — Wikipedia contributors
6. 06Sikhottabong Festival — Discover Laos Today