Mekong Route: from Luang Prabang to Angkor along the rivers of Indochina

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The Mekong is the vital artery of Indochina, and this itinerary follows it from the mountains of northern Laos to the millennia-old temples of Cambodia. Luang Prabang, a UNESCO heritage town between mountains and rivers, opens the route with its golden pagodas and the dawn alms ceremony. The river threads gorges and jungle down to Vang Vieng, where limestone karsts rise like green teeth over valleys of rice paddies. Vientiane, Asia's most laid-back capital, blends French architecture with Lao temples. The crossing into Cambodia through the southern border reveals the temple of Wat Phu, a pre-Khmer ruin that predates Angkor. Finally, Siem Reap and the Angkor complex, with its 400 square kilometers of temples from Angkor Wat to Ta Prohm, where the trees devour the stone in a millennial battle between nature and civilisation. Each day combines trekking, navigation and cultural discovery in a remote setting.