Northern Laos is one of the most popular regions of the country for adventure activities, coupled with an authentic dose of ethnic-minority lifestyles. Right at the heart of the region lies Luang Prabang, the perfect place to start or finish a road trip through the remote north.

Whether it's for trekking, cycling, kayaking, ziplining or a family homestay, a visit to northern Laos is for many the highlight of their trip. Dotted about are unfettered, dense forests home to tigers, gibbons and a cornucopia of animals, with a well-established ecotourism infrastructure to take you into their very heart.
In the north you will also find a tapestry of vividly attired ethnic tribes unlike anywhere else in Laos.

Here the Land of a Million Elephants morphs into the land of a million hellish bends and travel is not for the faint-hearted, as roads endlessly twist and turn through towering mountain ranges and serpentine river valleys. By contrast, most northern towns are functional places, rebuilt after wholesale bombing during the 20th-century Indochina wars.

But visitors aren't in northern Laos for the towns. It's all about the rural life. River trips are a wonderful way to discover the bucolic scenery at a more languid pace.