Located in the west of Hoa Binh, bordering Moc Chau district of Son La, Mai Chau valley is the top destination of many young people who love the natural beauty as well as the culture of the mountainous ethnic minorities.
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1. Time to travel to Mai Chau
Mai Chau is suitable for traveling in all seasons of the year, you can refer to the beauty of Mai Chau in each season of the year below:
November – February: Winter, the air is cold, peach and plum flowers bloom in a corner of Mai Chau.
March – April: The weather is cool and pleasant, the season of Ban flower
May – August: The climate is also quite cool, there are no flowers but there are plums and peaches for you to pick. In early September, there is Independence Day, the period when thousands of domestic and foreign tourists come here. 2. How to get to Mai Chau?
Mai Chau is about 140km far from Hanoi and 60 km far From Hoa Binh to the northwest, to move to this highland district of Hoa Binh, you can choose to go by motorbike or by bus to Mai Chau.
By private vehicle
From Hanoi to Mai Chau you can follow 2 routes:
- Route 1: Center of Hanoi – Nguyen Trai – Ba La (Ha Dong) – Xuan Mai – National Highway 6 – Thung Khe Pass – Tong Dau Crossroads – Mai Chau
- Route 2: Hanoi Center – Tran Duy Hung – Thang Long Boulevard – Xuan Mai – National Highway 6 – Thung Khe Pass -Tong Dau Crossroads – Mai Chau
By bus
From Hanoi, visitors can catch the bus at My Dinh and Giap Bat bus stations (with a ticket price of about 100,000 – 120,000) to Tong Dau junction and then take a motorbike taxi to the town about 5km away.
Some bus company to Mai Chau:
HOANG THAO (My Dinh – Mai Chau) – Phone: 0914 688533 – 0218 386829
HA LOAN (My Dinh – Mai Chau) – Phone: 0912490679
HOANG KIM (Hoa Binh – Mai Chau) – Phone: 0975 996706
3. Interesting places in Mai Chau
Thung Khe Pass
Belonging to National Highway 6, Hoa Binh province, Thung Khe pass has an altitude of about 1,000m above sea level. Here, visitors can enjoy the rustic dishes sold by the roadside such as boiled corn, boiled sugarcane, lam rice dotted with sesame, … Moreover, you can zoom in on the whole valley at the foot of the pass from the top of Thung Khe pass, here is known as one of the most beautiful places to see the scenery in Hoa Binh province.
Mai Chau flagpole
Passing through Thung Khe pass, before going down to Tong Dau intersection to go to Mai Chau center, there is one point that you cannot miss, it is the Mai Chau flagpole. In the past, this area was just an empty space where you could enjoy the whole view of Mai Chau from, later this area is poured into concrete and erected with a flagpole as a small symbol for you to write down the beautiful moments when coming to Mai Chau.
Lac village
Lac village is more than 700 years old, the people in Lac village are mainly Black Thai who live from one generation to the next, with the main occupation of upland rice cultivation and brocade weaving. This place is like a gift from the mountains and forests for those who love peace and quiet to immerse themselves in the green and spacious space of Hoa Binh.
Currently, Lac village has nearly 30 spacious and airy homestays to stay for tourists. Every house on stilts in Lac village is tall, spacious and clean, keeping the ancient architecture. Inside each house is fully equipped with blankets, cushions and pillows that are folded neatly.
Pom Coong village
Coming to Pom Coong village, you will surely be amazed by the beauty of the vast fields.
Mo Luong Cave
Located in the Pu Kha mountain range of Mai Chau town, about 2 km by road from Lac village, Mo Luong Cave is an ideal tourist destination for those who love to explore and find strange feelings when coming to Mai Chau. Mo Luong Cave also has another name given by the White Thai people as Bo Luong. Bo Luong means big water mine. Mo Luong cave consists of 4 main caves, famous for the system of stalactites forming many unique shapes. During the resistance war against the French, this place used to be the meeting base of our army and people. After finishing the journey to explore Mo Luong cave, at the last cave, visitors will admire an underground spring flowing into a nearby lake.
Chieu Cave
Chieu Cave is located on the top of the Pu Kha limestone mountain range. The name Hang Chieu was given by Mai Chau people, because every afternoon, the sunlight shines directly into the cave, the rays of light add to the splendor of the stalactites, creating a beautiful scene like a fairyland.
Van village
From the center of Mai Chau town, follow the asphalt road of National Highway 15 stretching straight between the terraced fields about 1km to Van village. Although not as busy as Lac village, Van village is impressive with terraced fields on both sides of the road to the village. The local people are quite friendly and hospitable.
In addition, the village also has a park that grows yellow canola, white cabbage and other flowers. At the beginning of the village, there is a Van village guesthouse built next to the field. If you have the opportunity to stay here, you will be able to watch the sunrise in beautiful terraced fields.
Thai Museum
Here is a gallery to store ancient Thai artifacts which Mr. Kien has collected for 10 years to show his love for his deceased wife. Currently, all the antiques have been transferred and stored at the Van cultural house. Coming here, you will admire the antique objects of the Thai people throughout hundreds of years of development, the priceless sets of antique coins, which are carefully collected and preserved.
Go Lao Waterfall
This is a small waterfall in Phuc San commune, about 15 km far from Mai Chau. From Tong Dau junction towards Moc Chau, you will easily find the way to the waterfall. The way down to the waterfall is the earth steps built by people. If you go in the rainy season, it will be quite slippery. You can park your car at a homestay right in front of the waterfall and climb down.
Ba Khan
Ba Khan is a commune of Mai Chau located along the hydroelectric lake, stretching from Phu Cuong through the foot of Thung Khe pass. Passing Go Lao Waterfall about 15 km more will come to Ba Khan. This is also the watershed area of the hydroelectric lake, you can rent a boat to go around the lake. Boat rental price is about 300,000 VND – 350,000 VND/hour. Here is still quite wild and tourism is undeveloped.
Hang Kia – Pa Co
Hang Kia – Pa Co is located in the valley between four rocky mountains, covered by clouds all year round, is a unique cloud hunting spot in Hoa Binh. This place not only has beautiful scenery like a fairyland but also contains many unique cultural features, becoming an ideal destination for tourists who love to explore.
Pa Co fair market
Pa Co market is nearly 40km far to the north of Mai Chau town, located between the centers of 3 communes: Hang Kia, Pa Co (Mai Chau) and Loong Luong (Moc Chau, Son La). From the center of Mai Chau town, you can travel by motorbike or private car along Highway 6 to get here. The market only meets on Sundays every week from early morning, this place is not only a place to buy and sell goods, but also a meeting place for people in the highlands. The market sells everything from agricultural products, livestock, fabrics, brocade products, agricultural tools to household appliances, electronics, music records, cosmetics…
4. Means of transportation in Mai Chau
Walk
Lac village and Pom Coong village are close to each other, walking around the village is the fastest way to discover a beautiful and peaceful Mai Chau, but if you want to go further, it won’t be enough time.
Bicycle
Bicycles are increasingly being chosen by tourists because they can go further than walking and be friendly to the environment.
Tram
Currently, you can choose the tram service to walk around the village. The car is quite slow and with a relatively cheap price for one person, if you want to rent a full trip to go further (visit nearby villages), you can also negotiate directly with the driver.
Motorcycle
For some remote locations such as Thung Khe and Ba Khan passes, bicycles or trams are not convenient and take a lot of time. At this time, you can rent a motorbike to move around for convenience.
5. Mai Chau’s specialties
Lam rice
This is probably Mai Chau’s most famous dish. People choose the typical rice of the mountains with the small and elongated grain, when ripe, it gives off a fragrant aroma. This dish is young bamboo tubes filled with rice and be grilled on the fire, served with sesame salt, grilled pork…
Sticky rice
Coming to Mai Chau, enjoy the sticky rice made by Thai women, you can feel all the deliciousness. The type of rice which is chosen to make sticky rice is the type that Thai people grow on terraced fields in Mai Chau valley.
Muong pork
Muong pig, also known as underarm pig, man pig, “small” pig, … is a type of pig with long body, pointed snout, small ears, thin legs, long and stiff hair, raised in natural conditions. In the forest, they only eat trees and grass, not industrial foods, so the meat is firm, lean, low in fat, delicious and has a natural sweet taste when eaten.
Bitter bamboo shoots
Bamboo shoots are a specialty of this land of Mai Chau and are always available in the house because people often go to the forest to pick up bamboo shoots to pickle or dry to eat gradually. There have been many tourists saying happily when enjoying this dish, they named the bitter bamboo shoots “Love” because when you first enjoy it, you will see the bitter taste, but after swallowing it, you will find its sweet.
Wild bees shuffle sour bamboo shoots
Wild bees are not easy to find, so if you want to enjoy dishes made from wild bees, you should go to Mai Chau at the end of summer. Wild bee hives as big as a small basket are brought back by the people in the village to both make medicine and process specialties.
Hill chicken
Hill chicken is a type of chicken that is raised naturally in forests and hills, the meat is extremely delicious and unique that no other chicken breed has. To enjoy the best of hill chicken, it should only be boiled to be firm and crispy, dipped with salt and pepper mixed with lemon leaves, and the sweet broth is served with hot rice.
Sour marinated meat
The “squat” marinated meat is mainly made of burnt meat and skin from buffaloes and cows. Crushed galangal, roasted rice powder and meat mix well, put in a sealed crockpot for a few days, then can be used.
Floating leaf water
The water of the leaves has acrid taste, both with the smell of traditional medicine and herbal medicine, and the strong smell of forest leaves. Floating leaf juice is very good to drink, stimulates digestion, increases the body’s resistance.
Mai Ha Wine
Mai Ha wine is distilled from leaves, this wine is mainly used to soak medicine, very good for heath.
Sour marinated stream fish
This is an indispensable dish in the Thai New Year’s rice tray. Around the 8th – 10th lunar month, Thai people have to go to the stream to catch “Pa Vá” fish (looks like a carp but the body is smaller) to clean and cut into pieces and mix with salt, spices, dried chili powder, garlic, ginger, lemongrass leaves, rice ear and a little wine. Marinated fish is put into a sealed bamboo shoot tube, waiting for half a month then can be used.
6. Where to stay when traveling to Mai Chau?
Collective stilt house
There are 2 famous tourist villages, Lac village and Pom Coong village, where a lot of households provide accommodation services in the form of tourist stilts, each person has a compartment (with full blankets and pillow).
There are many options such as Nà Chiềng Homestay, Minh Tho Homestay, Eco Homestay, Little Mai Chau Homestay, Mai Chau Countryside Homestay, La Maison De Buoc…
