Mai Chau Guide, Tourist Attractions

Mai Chau is a district of Hoa Binh Province and Mai Chau is also the name of an idyllic valley in Mai Chau District. The Mai Chau Valley is home to several White Thai communities who inhabit houses on stilts and whose livelihood has been cultivating wet rice for several hundred years.

In the Mai Chau Valley, you can stay with a White Thai family and tune in their daily life. A cycling trip through the villages is a relaxing experience bringing you in closer communion with local inhabitants.

Rice fields in the valley

A road amid rice fields

If you are an active traveler, you may like to hike to the Chieu Cave which is located near the top of a mountain. From the cave, you’ll have panoramic views of the whole Mai Chau Valley.

A nice view of the Mai Chau Valley from the Chieu Cave

The Chieu Cave at Mai Chau

Mai Chau District has also a part in on the Moc Chau Plateau with elevation over 1,000m above sea level. Hang Kia Valley is part of this area which is home to the Red H’mong and which had been separated from the mainstream society until recently.

Wild landscape at the Hang Kia Valley

Clouds at the Hang Kia Valley

Hang Kia offers different trekking routes to the adventure travellers. You can take day treks amid the mountains, or you can trek through a forest from the Moc Chau Plateau to the Mai Chau Valley.

Transplanting rice at Mai Chau

Another interesting adventure in Mai Chau for those who love to stray from the well-trodden path is to cycle on a back road from Mai Chau Valley to the Go Lao Waterfall. The waterfall has the height above 15m and it is surrounded by wild forest.

The Go Lao Waterfall at Mai Chau, Hoa Binh

Nice mountains in the backdrop

The best time to visit Mai Chau is in late September early October when the rice turns into yellow colors. From November through March, it is nice with dry and cool weather in Mai Chau that helps those who love adventure activities. From December through February, the Hang Kia Valley offers peach and plum blossoms which provides you the background for great photographs.

flooded fields ready for growing rice