About Laos

A substantial area ofthe country is coveredby forested mountains, thatreachuptothreethousandmetresinheight. The main river artery of the country is the Mekong River. This enormous waterway flows through five of the countries of Indochina – and for much of its distance it forms the natural boundary between Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. The Lao Republic is divided into 17 provinces, which make up the four main regions of the country – Highland Northern Laos, Northern Laos, Central Laos and Southern Laos. In order to protect large swathes of tropical monsoon forest, the wildlife ecosystem and karst limestone caves, the government has created twenty protected environmental areas – national parks and reserves – which account for some 14% of the country’s territory. 

The best way of getting to Laos is by plane – there are four international airports in the country. You can also get to Laos by train from Thailand, or by car via border-points which operate on the international highways leading to all of Laos’s neighbouring countries. For travel within Laos itself, car is the best option – but don’t ignore boat options either. The Mekong is the Mekong, after all. Laos is home to 6.5 million people, although at 23 people per square kilometre the population density is the lowest in SE Asia. Neighbouring Vietnam, by comparison, has 270 people per square kilometre. There are 49 separately-identifiable native ethnic peoples who live in Laos – of whom the Lao, Khmu and Hmong are the largest groups.