The Black Stupa sits at a quiet roundabout between the central business district and the American embassy. Its weathered laterite, blackened by centuries of moss and lichen, gives it a brooding presence very different from the gilded stupas elsewhere in the city. The structure dates from around the 16th century and has been stripped of whatever gold or paint it once carried.
Nobody knows for certain what was inside, although legend insists on the slumbering naga. It is more atmospheric than spectacular, but worth a stop if you are walking between Patuxai and the riverside. Best photographed at dusk, when the surrounding traffic eases off.