Laos

Executive summary by darmansjah

Laos is the only landlocked Southeast Asian country, yet water—more than 50 inches (130 centimeters) of rain falls annually in the northern provinces and the Mekong River flows through nearly 1,140 miles (1,835 kilometers) of Lao territory—shapes the borders, crops, culture, and daily life in this emerging ecotourism destination.

The dry season (November to April) is the best time to embark on a guided hiking tour of the rugged terrain (about 70 percent of the country is mountainous) to view the exotic, endemic wildlife, including leopard cats, Javan mongooses, goat antelopes, and Malayan sun bears. Sign on with Gibbon Experience for low-impact, high-flying travel deep into the remote, northern Bokeo Nature Reserve, home of the rare black-cheeked crested gibbons. Treks begin in neighboring Thailand and cross the Mekong into Laos by boat. Guests lodge in five canopy-level tree houses linked by an intricate network of zip lines and stewarded by a local guide representing one of Bokeo Province’s 400 villages.