Mai chau trekking tours 3 days – 2nights – boat trip on Ma river
This trip to the Northwest highland of Mai Chau offers a balance of cultural and physical activity set amongst some northern Vietnam?s stunning natural landscape. We trek for one and a half days through villages in Mai Chau and overnight in a White Thai village where we have opportunities to observe the local lifestyle of these minority people. From the mountainous region of Mai Chau, we travel back to the nation capital, Hanoi.
Day 1: Hanoi – Mai Chau – Boat Trip on Ma River (L/D)
We depart Hanoi and head west towards Hoa Binh city where we stop for refreshments and visit Hoa Binh hydro station was built in the 1980’s. Leaving Hoa Binh we climb to towards the Mai Chau valley, about another two hours away to the White Thai village of Lac. Enjoy the stunning views while lunching on tasty local dishes cooked by the White Thai girls of the village. Afternoon we walk to the surrounding village then drive to Co luong harbor for the delights of a boat trip on Ma River for visit Ban En village. Trek along the river bank to where you will reboard the boat where boat to go back to the Lac village. Our hosts for this evening will be the White Thai minority people. While enjoying these people’s hospitality we find out a little more of their lives and cultures while socialising after the evening meal. Tonight’s accommodation in a stilt housewill probably be a little more rustic than you would be used to but nonetheless a lot of fun. Traditional dancing can be arranged as an extra.
Day 2: Mai Chau – Xa Linh (B/L/D)
Today we will visit XaLinh village- 60 km following the Hwy 6, the village of Black Hmong people. You will trek 2-3 hours though the mountains to see the daily life of the Hmong peole, tilling the fields, logging or herding buffalo. Have lunch cooked by a local White Thai woman from Lac village in Hang Kia village before returning to Lac village. Have dinner and spend other night in your stilt house in Pom Coong village.
Day 3: Van Village – Hanoi (B/L)
Following breakfast we embark on a lovely walk to Van village. We have the opportunity to spend some more time strolling around the hamlets and witnessing the beginnings of another day in rural Vietnam before we return to Hanoi. We enjoy lunch in Mai Chau before we drive back to Hanoi. Visit Muong village in Hoa Binh before the tour finishes at your hotel in Hanoi.
Included services
Transfer in air-conditioned vehicle
Pick up & drop off at your hotel in Hanoi
Homestay at a stilt house
English speaking tour guide
All meals as mention in the program (B- breakfast, L- Lunch, D- dinner)
All admission cost at places mentioned in itinerary
Isolated Mai Chau is a 139km trip from Ha noi and 66km further on from Hoa Binh. Though it’s not far, the trip from Hoa Binh to here takes almost two hours by motorbike due to the mountainous terrain.
Mai Chau is in a valley just over the biggest hump, about 10km from the Song Da river and only 150 metres above sea level. The village presents an idyllic rural valley that could easily charm you into staying longer than intended. Nestled between two towering cliffs and surrounded by emerald green paddies, it is an enchanting sight as you wind down the cliff side.
In spring Mai Chau is a bright, almost parrot-green and by autumn this green transforms into golden hues as the rice approaches harvest. Taking the time to watch these transitions of colour seems like a perfectly useful way to spend your time while there.
Beware that whilst a beautiful time of year, Mai Chau can become unbearably hot in June / July with little respite from the heat as electricity doesn’t come on until the evening.
Those bemoaning the dearth of truly budget accommodation in Vietnam will be happy to learn that this is one place you can stay for a song. The star attraction here is a ‘homestay’ in a stilt house in one of the two ethnic White Thai villages, Ban Pom Coong and Ban Lac. While both are run by ethnic minority families who have lived on and worked the land for generations, this is hardly like trucking into a Karen village in village in northern Thailand and staying in the spare room of someone’s house.
The ‘bare bones’ accommodation is purpose-built to give tourists the ‘homestay’ experience, while the watchful eye of the government makes sure they have western toilets, ample bedding, and sometimes even satellite TVs in the common rooms.
Ban Lac is the more developed of the two villages, with more gift shops and a busier nightlife — what there is of it — but there’s little to differentiate the accommodation on offer. The lodgings are mostly traditional stilt houses with large communal rooms where you can sleep on a mat laid upon a squeaky, split bamboo floor, for just about the same cheap price everywhere. The sleeps are really a loss leader — they make the real money off the food you eat, and the curios and textiles you buy. Not to mention, the liquor you drink. A typical charge is 150,000 VND / person for dinner, breakfast, and a bed although some are a bit cheaper. You could save ‘small money’ by eating in town, but family-style Vietnamese cooking is generally far superior to restaurant fare, and you wouldn’t want to miss out on the nightly group meals.
Despite this tourist-driven set-up, and the regular influx of visitors, the villages remain a relatively peaceful retreat, and it’s heartening to see how the influx of tourist dollars hasn’t changed the essential character of the locals, which we gauge to be as warm and easy-going as you please.
As far as eating is concerned, all guesthouses in the villages offer food at quite reasonable prices and varying standards. If they don’t live up to your expectations there is little option other than to track back into town to try the local restaurants. Be warned though you will struggle to find anything of outstanding worth there.
Mai Chau Trekking Tour 