Henri Mouhot Grave, Luang Prabang

Alexandre Henri Mouhot (15 May 1826 — 10 November 1861) was a French naturalist and explorer of the mid-19th century.

Mouhot died of a malarial fever on his 4th expedition, in the jungles of Laos. He had been visiting Luang Prabang, capital of the Lan Xang kingdom, one of 3 kingdoms which eventually merged into what can be known as modern day Laos, and was under the patronage of the king.

A modest monument was erected over his grave in 1867. The monument was destroyed by the overflow of the river Nam Khan. It was replaced in 1887 by a more durable crypt monument, and a maisonnette was built nearby to house and feed visitors to the white shrine. Some restoration work was done on the tomb in 1951.

Mouhot's tomb was consumed by the jungle and lost until it was accidentally rediscovered in 1989. A new plaque was fixed to one end of the crypt in 1990 to commemorate this rediscovery.

The location is now known to hotels and tourist operators in Luang Prabang, and a minivan or "tuk tuk" may be hired to take one the 10 km (6.2 mi) from town to visit it. This entails a walk down a steep track on the southern bank of river Nam Khan, over a small wooden bridge, and then up to a well-cleared track to the tomb, altogether about 150 meters (164 yd).

Small tree house next to the parking lot.
A tree house, tree fort or treeshed, is a platform or building constructed around, next to or among the trunk or branches of one or more mature trees while above ground level.