Laos is fast becoming the darling of South-east Asia, satisfying all the romantic images of perfumed frangipani trees, saffron-robed monks, rusty old bicycles and golden temples, all set amongst a rich tapestry of tropical river islands, ethnic minority villages, cascading waterfalls and vivid, green rice paddies, and bound together by the mighty Mekong River, the country’s lifeline.
Laos is one of the few destinations where, in some areas, visitors are yet to deviate from a few well-trodden sights. It’s Indochina’s final frontier, and our specialists have trekked through jungles, scouted out caves and journeyed up rivers to get to know it more intimately. They can help you plan your holiday to Laos to follow in their wake. Only now emerging after years of isolation, Laos is a country of steep, jungle-robed valleys inhabited by resilient communities who live at a refreshingly unhurried pace. The former royal stronghold, Luang Prabang, is a mosaic of golden wats and Indochinese villas, its streets often filled with silent processions of monks. In the diminutive capital, Vientiane, you’ll find faded French-colonial mansions and coffee shops. The rest of the country is predominately one blanket of green, carved with slow-flowing tributaries of the Mekong. As you explore, you’ll happen upon little-visited hill tribes, backwater towns and Cham temples that predate Cambodia’s Angkor Wat.