Laos’ most important religious building and its national symbol, this towering Lao-style stupa of glittering gold sits on the site of a much earlier building. Plundered, bombed and destroyed many times over the years the stupa you visit today is from the 1930s and surrounded at its base with cloisters that are full of old images of Buddha. Located just outside of Vientiane’s centre, a sunset visit shows the polished gold stupa in all its glory.