Mai Chau Trekking Tour
Day 1: Hanoi -Maichau ( L,D )
8am: Pick up at your hotel in Hanoi and begin the road journey to Mai Chau, stopping at Man Duc for lunch. Visit Muong village where you can take an invigorating 2-hour walk. Then proceed to Mai Chau, making a few stops on the way to take pictures. Go on a short hiking tour around the beautiful valley and then enjoy a sumptuous dinner at a stilt house of the Thai minority. Overnight in the village. (A clean and comfortable mattress, blanket and pillow are provided.)
Day 2: Maichau Trekking ( B/L/D )
After an early breakfast, spend the whole day trekking. At 8am, transfer by car/van to Sam Khoe village, some 20 km from Mai Chau. Begin your trek through the villages, taking in the picturesque rural scenery. Enjoy a picnic lunch en route. The trek takes about 6 hours with a lot of stops along the way. Dinner and night in the village.
Day 3: Maichau -Hanoi ( B/L )
After breakfast, return to Hanoi. Arrive at your hotel around 12 noon.
Tour price includes :
- A/c private car/van as per program
- English or French speaking tour guide
- Entrance fees & travel permit
- Home stay arrangements in the Thai village
- Meals as indicated in the tour program (B = Breakfast; L = Lunch; D = Dinner)
Tour price excludes :
- Travel insurance
- Drinks & personal expenses
Mai Chau Valley
Mai Chau is located in Hoa Binh province, approximately 135km from Hanoi and 60km from Hoa Binh. From the top of Cun Mountain, one can admire the magnificent panorama of Mai Chau surrounded by a green valley and dotted with stilt houses. Many minorities, including the Thai ethnic group, live in Mai Chau.
Stilt houses border both sides of the roads. The houses are quite large with palm-leaf roofs and polished bamboo-slat floors. The kitchen is located in the center of the house and is in many ways the most important room, used for weaving the colorful tho cam - the material used by the Thai people to make their clothes - as well as for cooking. The windows are large and decorated with patterns. Each house also has a pond to breed fish.
The weekly Sunday market brings a lot of people into town. People from the various minorities living in the mountains come to Mai Chau market to sell their products, such as honey, bananas, corn, and tho cam made by skilled Thai women. The Sunday market is also the place where you can enjoy delicious Thai dishes and participate in traditional dances.
Mai Chau also serves as a base for trekking tours to the surrounding villages, which offer overnight homestays in the traditional houses of the H'Mong and Thai people.
Hoa Binh is a mountainous province located in the north of Vietnam. It is bordered by Son La to the west, Ha Nam and Ninh Binh to the east, Phu Tho and Ha Tay to the north, and Thanh Hoa to the south. The province is home to six minority groups, each with its own language, traditional literature and festivals.
The remote minority villages are attractive sites for tourists who love to sample the local specialty dishes, including rice cooked in bamboo and grilled meat. They also enjoy watching traditional Thai dancing, singing and musical performances featuring drums and gongs
