The Cham­pasak cul­tur­al land­scape, includ­ing the Vat Phou Tem­ple com­plex, is a remark­ably well-pre­served planned land­scape more than 1,000 years old. It was shaped to express the Hin­du vision of the rela­tion­ship between nature and human­i­ty, using an axis from moun­tain top to riv­er bank to lay out a geo­met­ric pat­tern of tem­ples, shrines and water­works extend­ing over some 10 km. Two planned cities on the banks of the Mekong Riv­er are also part of the site, as well as Phou Kao moun­tain. The whole rep­re­sents a devel­op­ment rang­ing from the 5th to 15th cen­turies, main­ly asso­ci­at­ed with the Khmer Empire.