Hoa BinhMai Chau is about 2 and a half hours away from Hanoi, suitable for weekend trips.
Mai Chau is a small town located in a valley between limestone cliffs, 135 km from Hanoi. Mai Chau attracts domestic and foreign tourists thanks to its natural beauty, cuisine and typical culture of the Thai and Muong people. The 48-hour itinerary is suggested through the experience of photographer Pham Tu and the reporter VnExpress.
Day 1
Morning and afternoon
Travel from Hanoi to Mai Chau, time about 2,5 hours. Convenient route along Thang Long Avenue - Hoa Binh Expressway, passing through attractions such as Cao Phong, Tan Lac, Thung Khe Pass.
After arriving at Mai Chau town center, continue to Hang Kia - Pa Co valley, about 40 km away. These are two communes located next to each other, surrounded by rocky mountains, still preserving many cultural features and traditional crafts of the Mong people such as hand-weaving, brocade embroidery, indigo dyeing, and beeswax painting. Hang Kia - Pa Co is also home to a sky gate, visitors who climb to the sky gate can immerse themselves in the sea of floating white clouds.
"The sea of clouds at Hang Kia is lower than visibility so it feels like you are standing on the clouds," Mr. Tu said.
Compared to other famous rattan hunting locations in Vietnam such as Ta Xua, Y Ty, Ha Giang, Hang Kia - Pa Co is "quite peaceful, not many tourists, you can easily choose the shooting angle to capture everything." the majesty and poetry of nature," Mr. Tu added.
From November to April is the ideal time to hunt clouds in Hang Kia - Pa Co. Clouds are often abundant and beautiful from 11am to 4am. If you are not lucky enough to see clouds, visitors can sit on the top, sip a cup of coffee, admire the scenery and take photos. Fee 5 VND.
Lunch at Pa Co. Tourists should choose a catfish hotpot for about 120.000 VND to 150.000 VND per person or in the Pa Co market area there are also many other dishes such as bun cha, vermicelli noodles.
Night
Return to Lac village and have dinner here. On average, each meal costs from 100.000 VND to 200.000 VND per person, served in groups (photo). Tourists should choose a full range of typical local dishes such as grilled chicken, grilled Ban pork, stir-fried buffalo meat with bamboo leaves, stir-fried beef with sour bamboo shoots, bamboo-tube rice, and mustard greens.
The food tray costs about 1 million VND for 7-8 people in Mai Chau. Image: Linh Huong
Overnight in Lac village in budget motels. Private rooms range from 300.000 VND to 500.000 VND per night, with attached bathroom. Collective stilt houses (with numbers) for 10 to 20 people cost about 1 million to 1,2 million VND per night, with shared toilets.
In addition, if tourists have the means, they should choose to stay in resorts such as Mai Chau Ecolodge, Mai Chau Lodge, Mai Chau Hideaway Lake Resort, Mai Chau Mountain View Resort, Sol Bungalows Resort, prices range from 1 million to 3 million VND per night. Avana Retreat, in Bao La commune, is a high-end resort, located about 30 km from Mai Chau town center, with room prices from 5 million VND per night.
Day 2
Morning
Have breakfast and drink coffee in Lac village center. Breakfast in Mai Chau does not have many special dishes. Visitors can choose from vermicelli, vermicelli, pho at some small restaurants in the village or Western food such as bread and fried eggs.
Stone and Tree Coffee Shop in Ban Lac. Image: Linh Huong
Beautiful coffee shops that you can refer to include: Shaking Tire Coffee, Iced Coffee and Trees, Sol Cafe & Lounge, Canh Dong Coffee, Hua Tong Coffee.
Take a stroll around Mai Chau town on the tram service. There is currently an electric car service to take tourists to visit villages of Mai Chau such as Lac village, Pom Coong village, Nhot village, for 400.000 VND for a trip with 8 people or 600.000 VND for 12 people. Visiting time depends on the needs of visitors, usually a trip takes 2-3 hours. The car can stop anywhere, wait for passengers and continue the journey.
"Tram drivers are usually local people, quite knowledgeable about history and life in the area, so they are also tour guides," Mr. Tu said. Visitors can also choose to go to certain destinations according to their own requirements. The price of the electric car is per turn, 10.000 VND per person.
In addition to riding the electric car, visitors can cycle around Mai Chau town. Image: Pham Tu
Noon
Moving back to Hanoi, on the way stop to visit some highlights of Hoa Binh such as Thung Khe Pass (with White Stone Pass - one of the famous check-in spots for young people), buy Cao Phong oranges as gifts. .
Lunch in Hoa Binh city. Along Da Giang Street along Da River, there are many restaurants.
Note that Mai Chau starts to get hot from late March to early April, but the evenings are still chilly. Visitors need to prepare appropriate clothing.
Alternative choice
The schedule for days 1 and 2 can change depending on demand because clouds usually only appear in the morning and Pa Co market only opens on Sundays. The market sells local products and brocade of the Mong, Thai, and Muong people. If you have more time, visitors can go to some other spots such as Mu waterfall, climb Chieu cave and Mo Luong cave, rent rafts to row along the stream around Lac village or ride a bicycle to explore the locality. Visitors can also take a boat ride on the Da River lake bed.
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