MAI CHAU HOMESTAY AND TREKKING TOUR

*BRIEF ITINERARY:
Day 1: Hanoi – Mai Chau Homestay
Day 2: Mai Chau Trekking Tour to Van Village
Day 3: Mai Chau – Van Village – Hanoi

Day 1 – Mai Chau Homestay And Trekking Tour: Hanoi – Mai Chau – Homestay Tour In Hang Kia Village (-/L/D)

After breakfast, we depart Hanoi for Hoa Binh province and the town of Mai Chau. This scenic drive takes around three hours. Along the way, we pass fields of tapioca and sugar cane as well as rice paddies. After lunch in a traditional stilt house of the Thai people, we drive for one hour to Sa Linh Village to begin our trekking. The verdant and rugged mountain scenery combined with the colourful local population makes this an unforgettable experience. Today we walk along gravel tracks and small paths, used by the locals. Our destination for this evening is Hang Kia village, home of the H’mong Minority people. Here we stay overnight as the guests of an H’mong family in a traditional longhouse, situated in a picturesque valley of peach orchards.

Day 2 – Mai Chau Homestay And Trekking Tour: Maichau Trekking Tours To Hang Kia Village – Van Village (B/L/D)

Today we get well and truly off the beaten track as we trek through the tropical rain forest, using the local tracks and passing through cornfields as we descend into Mai Chau Valley. Along the way, we encounter the local villagers as they go about their daily business: whether it be tilling the fields, logging or herding buffalo. The trek usually takes around 7 hours and is quite steep in places. Lunch will be provided en route, and weather permitting; we will have a picnic near a babbling brook at the foot of the valley.

From here we pass through several White Thai villages, and are sure to attract attention as this part of the country receives very few visitors. We arrive at Van village by late afternoon and will have time to walk around this charming little village, enabling us to understand a little more about how the people live.  The village is home to the Thai people, and tonight we will be their guests in one of their traditional stilt houses. There, we will be toasted as honoured guests and will be able to sample some of their homemade rice wine!

Day 3 – Mai Chau Homestay And Trekking Tour: Maichau – Van Village – Trekking Tours To Xam Khoe – Hanoi (B/L/-)

This morning we trek for a couple of hours passing through several more Thai hamlets. We walk on the valley floor and are surrounded by rice paddies and beautiful scenery. At the small village of Khoe, we meet up with our waiting vehicle and drive back towards Mai Chau. Lunch is again provided in Lac Village and there is also the chance to do a little souvenir shopping before we return to Hanoi.