3D2N - Mai Chau Pu Luongfrom fertile valleys to pristine jungle

Duration

3 days 2 nights

Tour Type

Mini Adventure

Group Size

8 Persons

Tour Guide

1 English-speaking local guide

Northwest Vietnam

Mai Chau Pu Luong from fertile valleys to pristine jungle

Pu Luong Nature Reserve is all about nature and deeply rooted ethnic cultures. This trip offers a wide array of natural sceneries: jungle, terraced rice fields, forested limestone mountains, rivers, cascades, and natural pools. It is beautiful and the local hospitality of Thai people is recognized throughout the country.

Get ready for an unforgettable trip. And because we are some kind of perfectionists, we will harmoniously balance the rhythm of the tour with a stage in Mai Chau Valley.

Enjoy the daily life in Mai Chau with local people

Highlight

Fantastic landscape with endless mountains, fertile valleys, and pristine jungle
Remarkable trekking to remote and wondrous ethnic villages
Amazing motorbike trip to hidden Tat Nang waterfall
Soaring in Phu Mau natural hot spring
Staying in our homestay with a great view to Na Phon rice field
Friendship, warmth and hospitality of Thai people

Cycling through the rice fields in Mai Chau

Destination	Mai Chau
Included	Meals as specified in the program (B-breakfast, L-lunch, D- dinner) Accommodation as mentioned in the program The service of English speaking guide in Mai Chau Travel in an air-conditioned vehicle with an experienced driver Dyeing workshop Bicycle (simple ones, without gear shift and suspension) Motor-taxi with experienced rider Bamboo rafting in Pu Luong Activities as mentioned in the tour program Water, tea and local fruits All entrance fees
Excluded	Hotel in Hanoi Beverages, guide gratuities and personal expenses Camera fees (if any) Insurance VAT and other taxes Surcharge in peak season (Christmas & New Years)
Travel with Car

What to bring

Sun & rain gear (including sunscreen and brimmed hat)
Warm clothes in winter (mid-November to early March)
Insect repellent
Trekking & cycling shoes/sandals
Swimsuits
Dry bag for your digital devices
Daypack for hiking
Toiletries, towel and flashlight
Original passport

Details

Meal: Lunch, BBQ dinner | Accommodation: Village stay at our traditional house -on-stilts 7:30. Departing from the DCT Responsible Travel office (17 Cau Go), we'll leave the city behind and pass through a craggy, mountainous landscape to Mai Chau valley. We arrive at Mai Chau around 10:30, where we will be welcomed by our hosts and enter a world of new customs and traditions.

Welcome by White Thai women

11:00. Following a tour briefing we will cycle to Na Phon village through the rice fields, along narrow lanes until we reach a weaving workshop. We will learn there the White Thai traditional weaving, dyeing, and embroidery techniques and experience a hands-on natural dyeing workshop hosted by a Thai lady. The products that you make are yours to take with you along with fond memories of time spent with beautiful people.

Join local weaving workshops in Mai Chau

*We support 2 local weaving workshops in Mai Chau, one is the workshop of Mrs. Xuyen, an artisan who until now been weaving ancient details of White Thai. The other is the Hoa Ban Social Protecting Center, created in 2008 to support disadvantaged and disabled women while maintaining the traditional handicraft customs of the White Thai ethnic group in Mai Chau, Vietnam. Both workshops are for promoting sustainable textile fabrics and products with high quality, environmental, and social values. 1:30. Returning to our homestay we will enjoy a lunch of Mai Chau specialties delicately prepared by your host family. In the afternoon, we’ll hop on bicycles and start cycling. There are many beautiful cycling trails in Mai Chau Valley which take you through quaint villages, rice and cropping fields. Along the way, you can stop anytime to catch beautiful moments of nature or talk to a friendly villager.

Cycling through the rice fields in Mai Chau

4:00. Back at our homestay, there is enough time for you to chill out in the reading corner or to walk around Na Phon village. In the evening enjoy a BBQ dinner prepared by your hosts with their amazing cuisine skills before going to bed in the peaceful atmosphere of the village. With ‘Village-stay’ experience, your overnight accommodation is provided by a local family in their traditional house-on-stilts. There’s no private room and you’ll sleep on the floor in a large communal area. The sleeping corner is set up with a single mattress (thin, but adequate), blankets (ditto), pillow, and mosquito net. The restroom is equipped with a toilet bowl, hot and cold water, and a shower, a few steps from the main house.

Meal: Breakfast, lunch, dinner | Accommodation: Village stay at our traditional house -on-stilts 8:00. We leave our hosts after breakfast and drive East for about 50 km before entering the Pu Luong nature reserve (depending on the group size, we will arrange a car or motorbike/ easy rider for you). Along the way to Pu Luong Nature Reserve, you will make a stop to visit a chopstick workshop. You will see how bamboo is transformed into these essential dining utensils.

Pu Luong Nature Reserve

10:30. Arrive at Kho Muong village. Explore the mysterious Kho Muong cave before returning to the village for a delicious home-cooked lunch with a local family at noon. 2:00. After a delicious lunch, we will say goodbye to the Kho Muong people. You’ll then head to Bang village for 1.5 hours trekking on a single trail through Thai villages and rice terraces. 3:30. Be ready to head to Cham Stream, where you can cool off with a swim in the freshwater.

The waterwheel - The skillful technique of Thai people in using water power to irrigate fields

Continue the journey by stopping at the waterwheel to see the skillful technique of Thai people in using water power to irrigate fields. 5-5:30. End of the trip in Pu Luong, return to Mai Chau. 6:30. Arrive Mai Chau and relax after an active day before dinner. Dinner and overnight at our homestay.

Meal: Breakfast, lunch | Accommodation: Not any

Wild swimming in Tat Nang waterfall - Mai Chau

An exciting day to discover around Mai Chau valley. Our local guide will take you on the back road to reach a hidden waterfall and hot spring stream. Start with an early breakfast at 6:30, then get on a motorbike behind our experienced rider to Thạt Nàng waterfall. Hiding behind the terraced paddy fields, Tat Nang Waterfall flows all year round. It is a water source for the paddy fields and food for thought for far-away visitors. Stop for a snack here and swim. Or you can skip swimming until we reach Phụ Mẫu hot spring and soak your body in this wild hot spring.

Soak your body in Phu Mau wild hot spring

12:00. Lunch at our friend's Thai family in Chieng Xuan village. After Lunch, we will head back to Mai Chau. On the way, stop at Hoà Bình Lake, formed during the construction of the Hoa Binh hydropower plant; the lake is called Halong Bay on the mountain thanks to its stunning views of the jade reservoir. 4:00. Arrive at Mai Chau and have tea before saying goodbye to your host, then head back to Hanoi and arrive at around 7:30. End of the trip