Our guide to Laos' top places, plus our lesser-known favourites

Si Phan Don, or the 4,000 Islands, is landlocked Laos’s answer to the coast: laid-back, palm-fringed, and lush beyond belief, this riverine archipelago is the ultimate place to relax.

You’d never guess it now, but Champasak was once the seat of an independent royal kingdom that thrived for over 200 years. Today, this tiny, sleepy, riverside town is best-known as the gateway to the lush and laid-back 4,000 Islands.

Hidden in the mountains of central Laos, the vast chambers, twisted rock formations, and glowing emerald pools of Kong Lor Cave are a geological wonder accessible only on a wet-and-wild sampan ride through the darkness.

Luang Prabang is Laos’s Shangri-La: sweeping golden roofs and colonial shophouses against a lush backdrop of jungle-covered mountains, and a laid-back atmosphere of peace and serenity.

Gently rolling hills and picturesque farmland dotted with ethnic minority villages and hot springs: Muang La is a place to unplug and sync up with the rhythms of countryside life.

A visit to Laos is all about the wild and untamed beauty of the mountains – and it doesn’t get much wilder and more untamed than this. Covering nearly 6,000 square kilometres, Nam Et-Phou Louey provides a haven for endangered animals.

Hooked in a bend of the Nam Ou River, with steep, forested slopes rising vertiginously all around it, the low-rise, red-roofed village of Nong Khiaw is a wonderful base from which to explore some of Laos’s most seductive scenery.

It’s the views that make Pakbeng more than just a convenient stopover: this is part of one of Asia’s most stunning river journeys, with lush and verdant mountains rising either side of the broad, coffee-coloured waters of the Mekong.

Built by French, Chinese and Vietnamese immigrants at the turn of the 20th century, the city of Pakse isn't a stunner, but it’s the jumping-off point for some of Laos’s most exciting adventures.

Prehistoric burial sites, rainwater reservoirs, or bottles used by the giant king Khun Cheung to brew rice wine? The 2,500 stone jars of remote Phonsavan are one of the world’s great archaeological mysteries.

With its distinctly Soviet aesthetic and remarkable “hidden city” tunnelling deep into the mountains, this former communist HQ is a relic of revolution set against a backdrop of some of Laos’s most remote and beautiful scenery.

Home to the largest elephant population in Laos – as well as a stellar conservation project working to ensure their survival – remote Sayaboury is one of our favourite places to get up close and personal with these gentle giants.