Nestled on the banks of the Nam Song River, against an awesome backdrop of lofty limestone ridges and peaks, this small town 90 miles (150km) north of Vientiane, is the adventure capital of Laos. The wooded slopes, karst caves and broad, green river provide spectacular terrain for a range of different outdoor activities, from trekking and kayaking to climbing, mountain biking and – most famously – ‘tubing’ (drifting downstream on inflated tractor inner tubes).

Visits to the many, deep and convoluted show caves in the area provide more sedate excursions from Vang Vieng, whose superb scenery and quality accommodation makes it the obvious stopover on the journey between Vientiane and Luang Prabang.