The mighty Mekong in the west and the Annamite Mountains in the east offer natural borders with Thailand and Vietnam respectively, while Laos also shares borders with China in the north, Myanmar in the northwest and Cambodia in the south. With over half of this landlocked country's 236,800sqkm densely forested, and 70% of it mountainous, it is hardly surprising that a profusion of rare flora and over 1,200 species of wildlife finds a home beneath its tropical canopy.