Experience the local lifestyle of ethnic minority people in lesser-known communities around Mai Chau and Van Ho Districts of Son La Province. For those seeking seclusion and relaxation peppered with biking and soft hiking, mellow Mai Chau fits the bill.

Explore a new trekking route, currently known only to locals, that snakes from Hang Kia on a descent from 1,400 metres down to 350 metres above sea level to the remote corner of Mai Chau.

Set in an idyllic valley hemmed in by hills, the Mai Chau area is a world away from Hanoi’s hustle. The small town of Mai Chau itself is unappealing, but just outside the patchwork of rice fields rolls out, speckled by tiny Thai villages where visitors doss down for the night in traditional stilt houses and wake up to a rural soundtrack defined by gurgling irrigation streams and birdsong.

The villagers are mostly White Thai, distantly related to tribes in Thailand, Laos and China. Most no longer wear traditional dress, but the Thai women are masterful weavers producing plenty of traditional-style textiles. If you choose to begin your tour on a Saturday, then you will have the opportunity to visit to the Sunday Market in Pa Co, where you will see local people come to exchange goods wearing their beautiful traditional dresses.

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