Hoa Binh Travel Guide

Hoa Binh is located approximately 80-140km from Hanoi , depending on the destination, and serves as the gateway to the Northwest region. It impresses visitors with its diverse landscapes, including rivers, lakes, mineral springs, national parks, and the unique cultural identity of the H'Mong, Muong, Dao, and Thai ethnic groups. In recent years, Hoa Binh has further solidified its appeal with the emergence of numerous resorts catering to the current trend of relaxation and wellness.

Hoa Binh Lake is one of the largest artificial freshwater lakes in Vietnam since the construction of the Hoa Binh hydroelectric power plant. Photo: Doan Manh

Which season is the most beautiful in Hoa Binh?

With its vast area and numerous scenic spots, Hoa Binh offers diverse experiences for visitors in any season. Hanoi residents typically prefer summer in Hoa Binh due to the cool weather at many destinations like Mai Chau and Thung Nai. May and June are particularly appealing for the golden rice paddies in Mai Chau, while May to August showcase the crystal-clear waters of the Da River in Thung Nai. Visitors should also not forget to visit the Kim Boi hot springs in winter or Lung Van in spring, when flowers bloom and mist blankets the Muong ethnic minority houses nestled on the mountainside.

Move

From Hanoi, tourists can take a bus from My Dinh, Giap Bat, or Yen Nghia bus stations for around 60,000 VND one way. Limousine buses offer more privacy and comfort, costing from 220,000 VND one way. Some suggested bus companies include Mang Kien, Xuan Trang, and Anh Dung, which drop off passengers at resorts in Mai Chau. For tourists who prefer to drive themselves, the route to Hoa Binh is easy to find and scenic. The most popular and scenic route from Hanoi is via the Hoa Lac Expressway directly to Hoa Binh (new Highway 6). Another route is to turn left onto National Highway 21 after the Hoa Lac Expressway and go through Xuan Mai (old Highway 6). Depending on the destination, tourists can choose the most suitable route. For motorbikes, the most suitable route is to go straight along Nguyen Trai Street (Hanoi), through Ha Dong, and then along National Highway 6.

Hotels, resorts

Hoa Binh province boasts many beautiful and popular accommodations, concentrated in Mai Chau, Kim Boi, and Luong Son districts. In Mai Chau district, the secluded Avana Retreat in Panh hamlet, Bao La commune, attracts many tourists. Accommodation prices here start from 4 million VND per night on weekdays and 6 million VND per night on weekends or holidays.

Rice harvest season at Mai Chau Ecolodge. Photo: Resort

Mai Chau Ecolodge in Na Chieng, Na Phon attracts tourists with its rustic charm, nestled beside rice paddies, perfect for viewing the golden rice fields. Overnight stays start from 1.1 million VND per night. Mai Chau Hideaway, located on a peninsula in the middle of Hoa Binh Lake, boasts abundant green spaces. Prices range from 1.6 to 3.6 million VND per night during the week, and from 2.2 million to 4 million VND per night on weekends (Friday-Saturday). Not far from these two resorts is Bakhan Village Resort, situated on a hillside with views of the green valley and Hoa Binh Lake. Accommodation prices here start from 1.1 million VND. Kim Boi district is famous for its hot springs, making its resorts suitable for all four seasons. Serena Resort Kim Boi, located in Khai Doi hamlet, Sao Bay commune, draws inspiration from the beauty and culture of the Northwest region and is built using stone, wood, bamboo, and thatched roofs, creating a close connection with nature. Here you can find Japanese-style Onsen baths, or indoor hot spring baths... Room rates start from 1.8 million VND per night. Tourists can check out VResort in Kim Boi.

Koi pond at Satoyama resort.

In Luong Son district, the Fragrant Grass Hill Resort in Ram hamlet, Cu Yen commune, is a recommended option for tourists. It features modern, luxurious villas nestled on lush green hills. Amenities include outdoor swimming pools, hot tubs, and traditional Dao ethnic herbal baths. Satoyama Village, also in Cu Yen commune, opened earlier this year. The resort is built in a Vietnamese-Japanese style and features a sauna and Japanese-style Onsen hot spring baths. Accommodation prices start from 2,000,000 VND per night.

Where to play

Hoa Binh boasts 177 scenic spots and historical relics. Below are some suggestions for places to visit by region and the most famous attractions. In Mai Chau , the first attraction is Thung Khe Pass, also known as Da Trang Pass, located on National Highway 6, between Tan Lac and Mai Chau. This is originally a limestone mountain, formed by road construction. It is also frequently covered in clouds, creating a hazy landscape like a snowy winter. Visitors should only come here on sunny days to take beautiful photos and avoid traffic hazards.

To learn about local culture, you shouldn't miss Bản Lác , home to hundreds of stilt houses, some up to 700 years old. It also boasts endless rice paddies and stilt house homestays. Bản Lác is about 3km from Mai Châu Ecolodge and can be explored by bicycle. Gò Lào Waterfall , also known as Gò Mu Waterfall, is not far from Mai Châu Hideaway and Bakhan Village Resort. The waterfall is about 20m high, with white water cascading down, and large rocks forming the lake below. It's very cool to swim in the waterfall this season, so you can take a stroll in the cool air and take photos with the white water. If you're visiting Mai Châu in a large group, you shouldn't miss a trip to Hòa Bình Lake, Ngòi Hoa Bay, Ao Tiên, and Bà Chúa Thác Bờ Temple. The boat dock is located at the end of Suối Lốn village.

Kayaking on Hoa Binh Lake. Photo: Mai Chau Hideaway

Lung Van commune in Tan Lac district attracts tourists with its cool weather and mystical misty scenery. Located at an altitude of 1,200 meters above sea level, it preserves many cultural and architectural features of the Muong people. In spring, visitors can admire the lush green forests and blooming peach blossoms. Lung Van is also an ideal cloud-watching spot from February to April. At this time, white clouds drift lazily over the terraced rice fields, creating a mesmerizing landscape. Thung Nai , also known as the "miniature Ha Long Bay," is located on the road before entering Hoa Binh City. Here, visitors should rent a boat to admire the scenery of the Da River, taking in the large and small islands on the clear blue lake. Bring snacks and a mat to sit on while enjoying the view. Note that you should clean up trash before going and take precautions against the sun as this is an open area without trees. The Ba Chua Thac Bo Temple is located in Vay Nua commune, Da Bac district. The temple is situated on the shore of a large lake in the middle of Hoa Binh Lake, behind which lies a vast system of stalactite caves. In 2009, Thac Bo Cave was recognized as a National Scenic Monument. The temple is dedicated to two female generals: Mrs. Dinh Thi Van, a Muong woman, and a Dao woman, who in the past helped King Le Loi with military supplies and boats to cross the Thac Bo waterfall and advance to Muong Le, Son La, to suppress the rebellion of Deo Cat Han. After their deaths, the local people bestowed upon them the title of "Ladies of Thac Bo" and erected a temple to worship them, believing that they would bless the people of the region with favorable weather and abundant harvests. From January to March each year, many festivals are held here. Visitors offering incense will go to Thung Nai wharf, then rent a boat to reach the temple. The itinerary is sequentially visiting the Trinh Temple and the Chua Temple.

On the road from Thung Nai back to the city, you can come across several banana, orange, and corn orchards. Among them, a Cao Phong orange orchard on the right attracts travelers with its gently sloping hillsides and juicy oranges. Oranges cost 20,000 VND/kg. You can buy them as souvenirs and then freely take photos in the orchard. The Hoa Binh Hydroelectric Power Plant in Tan Thinh is a historical landmark of Vietnam and a symbol of Hoa Binh City. Currently, the entrance fee is 20,000 VND for visitors only to the outer area. If you want to visit the technical area and machinery, you can buy a ticket for 50,000 VND. Another stop when visiting the city is the statue of President Ho Chi Minh on Ong Tuong Hill. From the left, visitors can enjoy a panoramic view of the city. To the right, you can admire the majestic hydroelectric power plant from above.

Hoa Binh hydroelectric power plant. Photo: Trung Nghia

Specialty

Hoa Binh Lake offers many delicious specialties, including various fish species such as catfish, carp, tilapia, and grass carp. Grilled fish skewered on bamboo sticks over hot charcoal is a popular delicacy found on the way to Thac Bo Cave. Small fish like the "tieu" and "ngao" are cleaned, gutted, seasoned with salt and pepper, and then grilled. The fish is then served on green banana leaves, accompanied by young "sấu" leaves, "mơ" leaves, and betel leaves. The fish meat is firm, sweet, and fragrant with the aroma of charcoal grilling and a hint of banana and bamboo.

Chicken cooked with sour bamboo shoots and dổi seeds is also a specialty of Hoa Binh. Fresh bamboo shoots are harvested from the forest, chopped, washed, and salted for natural fermentation. The bamboo shoots are light yellow, fragrant, and free-range. The chicken usually chosen for this soup is free-range chicken, which is firm and fragrant. After cleaning, it is chopped and stir-fried with onions and lard until firm. Then, the chicken is simmered with sour bamboo shoots and dổi seeds, which have a distinctive pungent and aromatic flavor. Buffalo meat cooked with lồm leaves , a specialty of the Muong people, is also very popular. Buffalo meat is roasted, scraped clean, and then braised until tender. When the meat is relatively cooked, it is cut into smaller pieces and put into an earthenware pot to simmer thoroughly. Lồm leaves, which have a sour taste, are crushed and mixed with broken rice to simmer together with the buffalo meat. The heat is maintained until the broken rice swells and thickens. The buffalo meat, after being simmered until tender, absorbs the sour flavor of the lồm leaves and the fragrant aroma of the rice, making it easy to eat.

Roasted pork from Hoa Binh. Photo: Hoa Qua Son

Fermented pork offers visitors a unique experience of enjoying both herbs and the taste of the forest. The dish is meticulously prepared and combined with various forest leaves. All are readily available and easily sourced, and each leaf is considered a valuable medicinal herb beneficial to the body, such as cinnamon leaves, jackfruit leaves, and betel leaves. The initial impression upon arriving at a Muong home is that a tray of fermented pork with a basket of leaves is served. When eating, you must wrap the meat in the leaves with your hands, chewing slowly – it's rich, fragrant, sweet, and very unique. Hoa Binh's wild boar meat is lean with little fat, crispy, and sweet. The pork can be boiled, roasted, or grilled on skewers. Visitors can enjoy it with Hoa Binh's famous sticky rice cooked in bamboo tubes, fragrant and chewy because it's made from mountain-grown glutinous rice. These specialties can be found at Muong Kitchen or Hoa Qua Son restaurants in Kim Boi. In Mai Chau, you can find them at Hop Thuy restaurant in sub-district 2 or at restaurants within the Mai Chau Ecolodge resort. Cao Phong Oranges: On the road from Thung Nai back to the city, you can come across several banana, orange, and corn plantations. Among them, a Cao Phong orange orchard on the right attracts travelers with its gently sloping hillside and juicy oranges. Oranges cost 20,000 VND/kg. You can buy them as souvenirs and then freely take photos in the orchard.

Orange trees begin to yield fruit in late October, and depending on the flowering time, the Cao Phong orange harvest season can last until April of the following year. Photo: Trung Nghia

Lan Huong

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