Hidden Trails from Hanoi

Highlights

  • Trek through the hidden gems of Pu Long
  • Picnic lunch in the nature reserve
  • Enjoy a traditional dinner with the host family
From £388 (Depending on group size)
  1. Choose date!
  2. Select time if there are different times shown
  3. Select number of people
  4. Check availability
Request Availabilty

What you'll do

Overview

Intermediate Hike through the most beautiful parts of Vietnam's Northern mountains plus a deep interaction with Thai culture and traditions. Head from Hanoi to Man Chau and then to the hidden trails of Pu luong.

Drive to Man Chau then hike through the Pu Luong nature reserve. Arrive at the Thai stilt Homestay, where the condition is very basic and will give you the opportunity to connect with the local culture, as you will stay with a family of an ethnic minority and receive your dinner from them. Day 2 is a combination of trekking through beautiful countryside and visiting small mountain villages.

Hanoi - Mai Chau – Pu Luong

Depart from your Hanoi hotel at 8:00 AM transferring to Mai Chau on our spectacular 4 hour drive. Upon arrival at PoomCoom village in Mai Chau, we take a short walk to visit the ethnic Thai people then lunch will be served.

At 1:00 PM, take a short car ride in about 1 hour before we set off for our hiking through the beauty of Pu Luong nature reserve, the trek is intermediate level and requires some walking up hills but it’s worth your hike as we will see many spectacular views of villages and terraces.

Arrival at the Thai stilt homestay in the late afternoon. Free time to rest and shower, then a traditional dinner with our host family.

Trekking Distance: about 9 km (3 hours)

Trail Difficulty: 3/5

 

Hidden Trails of Pu Luong

Waking up early today is recommended as your chance to witness more local activities in the morning. After having our breakfast, we say good-bye to our host by around 8.00 AM for our good hike ahead.

More trek today through hidden gems of Pu Luong including beautiful view of valleys, nice terraces and peaceful villages. 

We stop for a picnic lunch then continue our trek through some beautiful villages to reach Hieu village in the afternoon. You are free to stroll around the village to interact with the locals and visit the beautiful waterfall nearby. Back to the homestay for dinner and overnight at homestay.

Trekking Distance: about 12 km (5 – 6 hours)

Trail Difficulty: 3/5

Hieu village – Pho Doan – Hanoi

Your last day here at this beautiful nature reserve and friendly villagers so take the chance to explore around on your own or with our guide around the village.

We will then take an easy walk in about 1,5 hours to the town-let of this nature reserve where you van is waiting for us.

We will have lunch at one of the local restaurants before taking a scenic drive back to Hanoi to arrive around 5pm.

Trekking distance 8km

Trekking difficult 2/5

What's included

Included

  • Transfers
  • Picnic lunch
  • Accommodation
Your local host

Nguyen Tuan Linh

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I was born in Vietnam up in the rural areas of the tea country and growing up I developed a passion for the outdoors and just exploring the unexplored. I worked for my grandfather, in the rice fields in the Phu Tho province. And as I grew, so did my curiosity for the world, bringing the ambition of working to discover the world.

At 19, I took my first footsteps in following my dream, and travelled to Hanoi to study tourism at university and to learn English.

With a dream of becoming a professional tour guide, I continued studying tourism and spent three years working in the tourism industry as a tour guide for a number of travel companies in Hanoi. Responding to the travel aspira... Read All

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I was born in Vietnam up in the rural areas of the tea country and growing up I developed a passion for the outdoors and just exploring the unexplored. I worked for my grandfather, in the rice fields in the Phu Tho province. And as I grew, so did my curiosity for the world, bringing the ambition of working to discover the world.

At 19, I took my first footsteps in following my dream, and travelled to Hanoi to study tourism at university and to learn English.

With a dream of becoming a professional tour guide, I continued studying tourism and spent three years working in the tourism industry as a tour guide for a number of travel companies in Hanoi. Responding to the travel aspirations many international travellers seek, I sought out off-the-beaten-track places to show visitors, and approached many ethnic minority villages to arrange visits there too. I gained expertise in everything from giving travellers tips on how to get around the country, to itineraries ideal for business travellers.
The combination of volunteering, environmental protection and sustainable tourism development gave me the idea of forming my own tour company and have been doing this ever since.

What inspired you to work in travel? 

The one thing that sticks out as being the main inspiration has to be the country I grew up in, Vietnam.When I was working as a tour guide, I would ask people where they were going and it would always be the main tourists places. So I realised there was so much that people were not seeing and I wanted to change that.

I also love travelling myself, the people you meet, the stories you hear, and the things you learn are just fascinating. So I wanted to share this passion with others.

What makes your experiences special? 

Finding off the beaten path experiences has always been a passion of mine. I always make sure the experiences I offer are truly authentic, that you can’t find anywhere else.

All of our partners are local people living in and around the places that we visit. We make annual trips to all of our destinations to research and re-verify the quality of service provided, as well as spend time training and teaching the people how to best run accommodation and other services for visitors. When staying in luxury hotels, we always pick ones situated near nature, and the homestays we work with work exclusively through us, ensuring that we offer unique experiences through our partners that you can’t find with anyone else.

What our travellers are saying...

Emails to and from the company when organising and booking were friendly and helpful. The sights were absolutely stunning, every day there were several Wow moments. We had a guide and driver and a large van for just the 2 of us, so we were very comfortable. Accommodation was good, hotels on a couple of the nights and 2 nights at homestays. All meals were included and they catered well for hubby who doesn’t eat meat. We really enjoyed our trip

Bianca

We did a 2 night 3 day trek to Pu Luong with homestays and plenty of walking. Our guide, Huy, did a great job looking out for our safety, providing insight and information and generally creating a fun time. Our driver was safe and friendly too! The homestay with Mr. Nam was a true highlight and the scenery was amazing! If Sapa is a little too far or too touristy this trip is for you!

Lydia

This trip was an excellent adventure from someone who usually likes to do their own thing. From the moment we left Hanoi my friend and I knew it was the right tour company for our style of travelling which is laid back and relaxed .... we were given interesting local information, saw some amazing scenery, ate different types of food, and most importantly had lots of fun and laughs along the way.

Debra

Join our community

Get off the beaten track and support local communities that you visit.

Sign up for inspiriation for your itinerary, new experiences and special offers.