Experience the beauty of the 'land of a million elephants' by taking a boat ride along Laos' mighty Mekong river. Like stepping back in time the epic scenery creates a stunning backdrop for the local people who inhabit the river banks in the same peaceful
way like so many generations before. Travelling by boat gives you the opportunity to relax into the serenity of this ancient landscape, with its primeval forests and dramatic limestone mountains.

As the journey goes on the landscape of the river itself changes, sometimes flowing, calm and graceful, at other times becoming so wide that it seems as if you are floating on a lake, rather than this great Asian river. which travels so far. Starting in the Tibetan – Qinghai Plateau the Mekong roams through Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and Thailand before dispersing throughout Vietnam's Mekong Delta and into the South China Sea.

As you while away the hours aboard your vessel, all around the wildlife teems, birds of prey swoop and circle around the craggy peaks and tropical birds, butterflies and dragonflies dance out the drama of their lives beside the great river. The Mekong is home to over 1300 different species of fish, including the Mekong giant catfish which holds the title of largest freshwater fish in the world. Lucky visitors may glimpse the endangered Irawaddy Mekong dolphin, wild elephants and even tigers amongst the myriad of rare and tropical plants in the surrounding tropical evergreen forests. The extraordinary range of biodiversity has led to phenomenal discoveries of new wildlife species in the region, with birds such as the limestone leaf warbler, and the Laotian rock rat, or Kha-nyou, thought to be extinct 11 million years ago, but recently rediscovered by scientists.

Much of Laos daily life takes place along the banks of this great river, or its thousands of tributaries and the people have earned a great reputation with travellers for being kind, open and generous, often inviting people to share in their celebrations,
festivals and traditions. The people of Laos enjoy sharing their culture and integrated way of living, much of which has not changed over hundreds of years as they continue to live off the land and river. This can be a wonderful and eye opening experience for those coming from the hustle and bustle of western society, and adds even more to the precious moments spent in this enchanting, timeless setting.