Pu Luong & Moc Chau & Mu Cang Chai
The northwest of Vietnam is full of spectacular landscapes drawn by terraced rice fields and many ethnic minorities live there.
The Mai Chau valley is located in a superb region surrounded by impressive limestone formations, rice terraces, thick jungles, dotted with small villages with wooden houses on stilts.
The Pu Luong National Park is a true setting of nature and is only a three-hour drive from Hanoi. Walk or cycle in beautiful natural settings.
Moc Chau is full of tea plantations and is also known for cheese production.
The Mu Cang Chai region is famous for its fabulous rice terraces and H’mong villages.
Destinations
Questions & Answers
Tips for Pu Luong
Pu Luong Nature Reserve is located about 150 km from Hanoi, it is the residence of the White Thais.
The best period for this region of Vietnam is from April to early November and it is better on weekdays.
The rice harvest is carried out twice a year, the first in June and the second towards the end of September.
The landscapes are very varied with jungle, forest and vegetable plantation.
Many small rivers cross this province and allow you to swim in the cool water of the waterfalls in summer.
You can continue your journey by directly going to Tam Coc, Ninh Binh, without going back to Hanoi.
The market of Pa Co
Every Sunday, the Hmongs of Moc Chau and the Thay of Mai Chau go to the Pa Co market to sell their handmade products.
The products are very diverse; sometimes they sell a pig, a cow or a chicken, a few newspapers, or things they have done… and there are many stalls with many colorful brocades
In this market, typical of northwestern Vietnam, little has changed over the years. It is an opportunity for mountain people to discuss and drink wine together. Not that they have a lot of time, but life is hard in the mountains and when they drink wine, they have a good time together. They are very emotional and open and alcohol is the bridge that connects them.
The products are very diverse; sometimes they sell a pig, a cow or a chicken, a few newspapers, or things they have done… and there are many stalls with many colorful brocades
In this market, typical of northwestern Vietnam, little has changed over the years. It is an opportunity for mountain people to discuss and drink wine together. Not that they have a lot of time, but life is hard in the mountains and when they drink wine, they have a good time together. They are very emotional and open and alcohol is the bridge that connects them.
Ethnic minority: the White Thais
The Thai people in Vietnam have a common origin with the Thai groups of southern China, Laos, Thailand and Burma.
Their ancestors are from the Bach Viet group living in southern China and northeast Vietnam.
During the first years before Christ, under the oppression of the Han people, the majority people of today’s China, part of the Thai people migrated south.
Then, their origin Mai Chau is clarified following the discovery of a book of annals in the village of Mai Ha of the valley of Mai Chau. It is the genealogical book of the Ha Cong family that dates the arrival in Mai Chau at the end of the 13th century.
Thus, the ancestors of the Thai people in Mai Chau followed the Red River and the Black River to settle in present Mai Chau and other regions around 700 years ago.
