Why come here
Pu Luong protects a lowland limestone forest, which is globally rare, and the people farming inside it have terraced the valley floors and hillsides for centuries. Bamboo water wheels still lift water into the paddies. It looks staged and is not.
Mai Chau, the flat green valley on the way in, is the easier half: Thai stilt villages, level cycling and a place to sleep before the walking starts. Together they give you two to five days that need no flights and no early starts.
What to do
- Village-to-village trekking on paths that are still the local road
- Bamboo water wheels turning on the Cham river
- Nights in Thai and Muong stilt houses, eating at the family table
- Flat, easy cycling through the Mai Chau valley
- Waterfalls and river pools to swim in between walking sections
- Rice terraces green from June and gold at the end of September
- Small eco-lodges with infinity pools looking over the valley, if you want the soft version
When to go
Two windows are best: May and June, when the terraces are flooded and reflect the sky, and late September into early October at harvest. July and August are hot, wet and slippery. December to February is cool, dry and clear but the fields are bare.
Our trips that go here
Plan a trip here
Tell us your dates and we will build Pu Luong & Mai Chau into a route that works with the rest of your trip.