Covering an area of 236,800 square kilometres Laos is about two thirds the size of Germany. In the West the country borders on Thailand and Burma, in the North on China and Vietnam, in the East on Vietnam and in the South on Cambodia. Laos is the only Southeast Asian country without direct access to the sea. Most of the country is mountainous, and where there are no mountains one meets with highland plateaus.

Laos' main artery is the Mekong, which for more than 1,800 kilometres - almost half of its entire length - passes through the country or forms the boundary between Laos and Thailand.
 

Photo: The Mekong - Laos' main artery is the Mekong which for more than 1,800 kilometres - almost half of its entire length - passes through the country or forms the boundary between Laos and Thailand.