Route 13 is the most important highway in Laos. It begins at

Boten Boten is a town in Laos in Luang Namtha Province. Boten is on the China–Laos border. It is opposite the Chinese town Mohan. While Boten is part of Laos, most of its inhabitants speak Mandarin Chinese as their native language. The main curren ...

in northern Laos at the Chinese border. It connects the city of

Vientiane Vientiane ( , ; lo, ວຽງຈັນ, ''Viangchan'', ) is the capital and largest city of Laos. Vientiane is divided administratively into 9 cities with a total area of only approx. 3,920 square kilometres and is located on the banks of ...

to Luang Prabang in the north and roughly follows the line of the

Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annual ...

down to the border with

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

. The road then continues at National Highway 7 in

. Route 13 passes the

New Laos National Stadium The New Laos National Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Vientiane, Laos that was built in 2009. It is used mostly for football matches. It hosted the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2009 Southeast Asian Games. Overview Upon completio ...

Vientiane prefecture Vientiane (or ''Viengchan'', Also known as ''Vientiane Prefecture'' or ''Vientiane Municipality'') ( Lao: ນະຄອນຫຼວງວຽງຈັນ, ''Nakhônlouang ViangChan'') is a prefecture of Laos, in the northwest Laos. The nationa ...

and all three international airports in Laos Vientiane Airport, Luang Prabang Airport, and Pakse Airport. Between Boten and Nateuy a 20 km segment of Route 13 is part of the Kunming-Bangkok Expressway, (

Asian Highway The Asian Highway Network (AH), also known as the Great Asian Highway, is a cooperative project among countries in Asia and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to improve their connectivity via h ...

AH3). From Nateuy to Vientiane, Route 13 is part of

AH12 Asian Highway 12 (AH12) is a route of the Asian Highway Network, with a length of 1,195 km (747 miles) that runs from AH3 in Nateuy, Laos, through Muang Xay, Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, Vientiane, Nong Khai, Udon Thani, Khon Kaen, Na ...

and from Vientiane to the border of Cambodia,

AH11 Asian Highway 11 (AH11) is a road in the Asian Highway Network running 1567 km from Vientiane, Laos to Sihanoukville (city), Sihanoukville, Cambodia connecting AH12 to AH1 and continuing to Gulf of Thailand. This international highway connec ...

. It roughly parallels to Vientiane-Boten Expressway. Route 13 passes through the cities of Vientiane,

Vang Vieng Vang may refer to: People Vang is a common surname among Hmong Americans, including *Vang Pao (1929–2011), Lieutenant General in the Royal Lao Army and a leader of the Hmong American community in the United States * Ka Vang (born 1975), writer ...

, Phoukhoune district where is intersection of Route 7 (Laos), and Luang Prabang. The road is mostly paved, though the pavement is in poor condition at places, it is relatively narrow with sharp curves and there are no markings or lighting on the road everywhere. Several daily buses run from Vientiane to Luang Prabang, taking 8–10 hours.Travel in northern Laos
/ref> File:Laos Route N13.jpg, N13

Milestone A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway line, canal or boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks; or they can give their position on the route relative to so ...

from Chinese border at Boten File:Oudomxay.JPG, Laos Route N13 at Muang Xay File:RueVangVieng2011-b.jpg, Laos Route N13 at Vang Vieng File:NR13S, Laos.jpg, Laos Route N13 at Pakxan File:Savannakhet1.JPG, Laos Route N13 at Savannakhet

References

{{Highways in Laos Roads in Laos Mekong River