Location: In Chieng Chau Commune, Mai Chau Ditrict, Hoa Binh Province, about 135km from Ha Noi and 60km from Hoa Binh City.
Characteristics: The village is famous for the beautiful natural landscape and unique cultural features of Thai ethnic group.
◊ Beautiful Natural Landscape
Mai Chau is a little valley surrounded by green mountains and dotted with lakes, paddy fields, rivers and houses on stilts of the Thai people from above Mai Chau looks like a huge green stadium with green mountain slopes and terraces. The main road snakes its away amid rice paddies, lakes and houses leading to the Ma River further in the background. Upstream and downstream Ma River, a cruise offer spectacular sceneries of a different world that’s like no others: bamboo forests, secret valleys with crisscrossing pipes bringing drinking water to different households and all encircled by evergreen mountains.
◊ Experience Local Culture of Thai Ethnic Group
Mai Chau Valley is a very good place for people who like to have a real homestay with local people and do some activities such as walking from village to villages or take a bike trip along the village road through the wet rice fields, discovering Mo Luong Cave or simply sitting on the house-on-stilts to enjoy the peaceful and quiet atmosphere of the village. The majority of the population in Mai Chau Valley is the White Thai people. Lac and Pom Coong villages are typical of Thai communities. The houses are built on stilts, 1.5m above the ground, having bamboo floors and roofs made from Goi or May leaves. The area under the traditional house is usually reserved for livestock. But nowadays this area at some houses has been arranged into a souvenir shop flaunting items such as shawls, dresses, bags, purses, brocade cloths and multi-colour cloth balls skilfully made by Thai. In some houses, the visitors can witness local women diligently working at a loom, weaving colourful brocade fabric. Also, a visit to a local hamlet is not complete without trying the famous can wine (wine drunk out of a jar through pipes) that is made from sticky rice, hinh ho leaf, meo leaf and ginger that fascinates any visitor.
An overnight stay at one of the stilt houses in Mai Chau will be enlivened by folk dances and songs that are accompanied by gong music.
