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The Pak Ou Cave—plus the Tham Ting (lower cave) and the Tham Theung (upper cave)—are caves situated near the confluence of the Mekong and the Ou rivers some 25 km north of Luang Prabang. The caves are notable for their miniature Buddha sculptures, which have been placed on altars among the stalagmites by local villagers for centuries. After visiting the cave on the Mekong expedition in 1867, Francis Garnier described coming upon the cave as a “striking impression.”
French expeditioner Garnier wrote: “Despite the originality of this religious decoration, I wondered if it did not lessen the natural grandeur of this cave and whether the sparkling of stalactites might not have been preferable to the faded gilt and colors stained by humidity of these Buddhist trinkets. Travelers and river boatmen are the pious clientele of this cave and the priests who tend it and dwell on the opposite bank, in the village of Pak Hou, never lack flowers or offerings.”