Hanoi – Tu Le – Mu Cang Chai 6 days tour

Airport reception and transfer to your hotel. Stroll through Hanoi’s Old Quarter and free time. Night at the hotel. (activities depending on arrival time)

After breakfast, start the adventure discovering Hanoi boarding a jeep. This is a special way to discover the city. You will pass through the Old Quarter and see the Long Bien bridge, historical one! Then back to the center (if week end, we will go to the train street for a café and see the train passing in the narrow alley) to pass in front of the main buildings as the war museum, Ho Chi Minh mausolea, Tran Quoc pagoda.

Local lunch

Take a walk in the Old Quarter to visit Ngoc Son pagoda to learn about the legend of “Sword lake”. Take a break to enjoy a Hanoi specialty, the egg coffee. Then continue walking along the lake to the Women Museum, unique museum of this kind in South East Asia. On the way back, pass by the opera house.  As a reward after the long adventurous day, enjoy a foot massage.

Free time to rest in the room before starting the evening food tour Try the local dishes walking and contemplating the active night life of the Old Quarter. (If you didn’t see the train street in the morning, you will go for a drink) Overnight in the hotel.

Departure at 8am from your hotel in Hanoi towards the North West of Vietnam by the Route 32 along the Da River (Black River). After crossing the river, you enter the Thanh Son (Phu Tho ) area where the huge tea fields are located on both sides of the road. You take a short break here to taste tea and stroll around the plantations.

Arrival in Nghia Lo at noon, province of Yen Bai, you have lunch in a local restaurant with specialties of the region, these are often traditional dishes of the Thais of the vast rice-growing valley of Muong Lo, the second largest rice-growing valley northwest, behind that of Dien Bien Phu.

In the afternoon, you leave the valley of Muong Lo and continue road 32 towards Khau Pha , the road gains altitude and crosses an area alternating settlement of Dao on the heights and Thai in the valleys. After 50 km, the road leads to the beautiful rice-growing valley of the commune of Khau Pha.

You arrive at your accommodation to relax in your bungalow. Possibility to enjoy the hot springs on site. Dinner and evening at leisure

In the morning, after breakfast, you pass the wooded pass of Khau Pha , one of the four highest passes in Vietnam towards the town of Mu Cang Chai. However, we do not stop at ̀ Mu Cang Chai but we advance a little further towards the village of Lao Chai where you will find yourself in a majestic valley surrounded by terraced rice fields extending to infinity. Here, you will have the opportunity to visit a H’mong family and meet a shaman. During the discussion with the shaman, you will better understand the Flower H’mong culture in Mu Cang Chai and their rice terrace cultivation.

In the afternoon, you go to La Pan Tan district. Its massive system of rice fields, which is on the National Heritage List, makes this district a dream destination for photographers, amateurs or professionals. Overnight in Mu Cang Chai

Transfer to Khau Pha after the breakfast. A day of immersion in local life, starting with an indigo dye or beeswax painting craft workshop (you can choose one of the two themes). These may be things that in other countries have gradually disappeared with the development of the modern world, but the people of Mu Cang Chai still maintain these traditional habits in their daily lives.

In the afternoon, you walk around and explore the Huoi bamboo forest Tieng Qoai . Starting from It Thai village, you go up to Xe Xang village then penetrating deep into the mountain, you will have the opportunity to meet Thai and H’mong families who still depend entirely on agriculture and forest products. Continue the hike to visit the natural forest of leaning bamboo then return to the starting point along the back of the mountain.

Dinner in a local homestay on site and then enjoy the folk musical performance of the Thai people with the traditional songs presented by the village musical group. Overnight with a local family

On the last morning in this idyllic valley, you can enjoy the fresh air in the village or get up early and take a walk to watch the sunrise over the valley and chase some beautiful pictures.

Board the car to come back to Hanoi. Have lunch on the way at ̀ the beautiful Xuan Son National Park. After lunch, take a walk into the park before returning to Hanoi. Return to Hanoi around 6:00 p.m. Tour ends