Thakhek is a town in south-central Laos on the Mekong River and facing Nakhon Phanom across the river in northeastern Thailand. It is the capital of Khammouan province. The city has many French colonial style official buildings, villas and shop-houses. Construction of the Third Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge, linking Thakhek to Nakhon Phanom, started in 2009 and is expected to take three years.

The least visited of the Mekong towns Thakhek capital of Khammuoan province, 360km south of Vientiane, still lies in the shadow of Savannakhet and has yet to develop much of a tourist infrastructure. For many visitors the town is simply an entry point into Laos from nearby Nakhon Phanom in Thailand. It is, however worth an overnight stop and suing as a base from which to explore the craggy karts formations in the nearby Khammuoan Limestone conservation area the highlight of which are the Mahaxai caves.