Mai Chau is a beautiful valley 3 hours away from Hanoi. It has beautiful rice fields that you can cycle through, a waterfall you can bathe in, as well as hiking trails and caves.
Go Lao waterfall is just a 15 minutes drive away from Mai Chau towards the Hoa Binh lake.
Mai Chau is a valley full of rice fields, so one of the main things to do is to cycle through the rice fields. The paths are smooth, and they circle the whole area.
Sitting above the Mai Chau valley is the flagpole viewpoint from which you can observe the whole valley below. Many people come here to chill and enjoy the view.
Ba Khan is an area we stumbled upon while doing an extended ride along the Hoa Binh lake upon leaving the Go Lao waterfall.
We drove through the villages on the plateau there, and the whole area looked beautiful. The road is perfect for seeing a bit more of the local life.
Stop and enjoy the view of the Hoa Binh lake at one of the nice viewpoints on the way to Ba Khan. It’s enormous and reminds us a bit of Ha Long bay.
Your visit to Mai Chau isn’t complete without visiting Pa Co Market. It’s located between Mai Chau and Moc Chau, and every Sunday morning, it becomes a gathering point for the Hmong and Thai ethnic minorities.
Try some of the classical what we call “fried market pastries” or local fruit there, you will love it!
Lac Village is where you find stilted house homestays of the Thai ethnic minority. It’s also where you can see their traditional crafts and buy some souvenirs or enjoy some lovely home-cooked food.
There are many great places to eat in Mai Chau, but we especially recommend the "Three Sisters Shop" - Quan 3 Chi Em. It's a family restaurant with tasty, fresh, and affordable vegetarian food.