Mai Chau Pu Luong hiking and Ho citadel 4 days 3 nights

Our tour guide & driver will collect you from your hotel in Hanoi to begin the drive to Mai Chau with spectacular views around every bend. Upon arrival at Pom Coong village in Mai Chau, you can take a short walk or ride on a bicycle to visit the Thai people in the village before having lunch in a local home. After lunch, you will start trekking through the lush forests of Pu Luong Nature Reserve, walking amidst rice fields and mountains, and crossing small villages where we’ll get to see the traditional daily life of the locals all around us in this natural paradise. You’ll get an even closer look at this when we have dinner and spend the night in a homestay with Thai house style.

- A 5-7 km off the beaten track hike.

If you rise up early, you can enjoy the spectacular view of the sun rising from behind the mountains and shining down on the farmers as they begin another day of hard graft in the fields. If you like, you can even join the farmers in their morning activities to get a real feel of life in rural Vietnam. After having breakfast with the Thai people, you will begin a 5- 6-hour trek. The first stretch is hard with some steep climbs and some stream crossings, but it is worth as it the next stretch has glorious views of the valley, rice terraces, rich rainforests, and streams. You will stop for a picnic lunch on the way at Eo Ken Village. The trek will lead you to Kho Muong which is possibly the most beautiful village in Vietnam. You can stroll around the village and join the villagers as they go about their daily lives. You will have time to drink in the tranquil ambiance of Kho Muong and socialize with the friendly locals as you spend the night in the village in traditional Thai style eco – stilt house.

Night in homestay in Ban Bang Village.

A 12-15 km off the beaten track hike.

For your third day it’s time for another 3 hours of trekking, or around 5 to 7 kilometres. Starting with a nice easy stretch, giving you a chance to relax and connect with your surroundings, as well as warming you up for the challenges ahead.

You will have a chance to visit Pho Doan Market which is open on Thursdays and Sundays from 6 am to 10 am. It is a hub for trading goods and experiencing the local life of the Kinh, Thai, and Muong ethnic groups. Visitors can savor mountain specialties like Co Lung duck, mac khen, Doi seeds, wild bamboo shoots, stone snails, stream fish, wild rats, and fresh vegetables and fruits, while also finding souvenirs such as scarves and clothes.

You will join in trekking from Pho Doan Market to Hieu Village offers stunning views of clouds hovering over the terraced fields. Then back to your accommodation, in the afternoon you will have free time to discover the village by yourself

- A 5-7km walk.

Night in homestay in Bang Village

After breakfast, you will be picked up and transfered visit the Citadel of Ho dynasty in ThanhHoa. Ho Citadel is built out of stone only without mortar or glue in between slabs of stone. The citadel has a rectangular shape of 900m long and 700m wide with four gates opening to the north, south, east and west. The original citadel was composed of La Thanh outside, then bamboo hedge, water moat and citadel wall. Stones used to build the citadel were exploited from Thanh Hoa Province and the transport of stone to the site, the raising of stones to the right position...were simply miraculous. Ho Citadel was inscribed to the list of World Heritage by UNESCO on 27-June-2011.

Then, Back to your hotel in Ha Noi