Things to Do in Pu Luong - Thanh Hoa
Pu Luong Tourism
The name Pu Luong means "the highest mountain peak" in the Thai ethnic language. Pu Luong Nature Reserve is located just 130 kilometers to the northwest of Thanh Hoa City and is a part of both the Ba Thuoc and Quan Hoa districts.
Pu Luong-Thanh Hoa, which spans an area of more than 17,600 hectares and is home to a diverse array of flora and fauna, awes visitors with the beauty of its primary forests, rice terraces, and ethnic minorities' peaceful way of life.
Pu Luong Thanh Hoa from above
Pu Luong tourism is a new form of tourism development in Thanh Hoa province, contributing to both preserving nature and promoting tourism and the economy. It is a brand-new, alluring location for tourists who love the outdoors and want to travel to new places.
Son Ba Muoi (in Lung Cao Commune) and Pu Luong Peak are the two primary potential locations that have been transformed into resorts (1700 meters high in Thanh Son Commune).
In addition, numerous well-known sights nearby, including Ban Lac Village in Mai Chau, Cam Luong Angelfish Stream, Cuc Phuong National Park in Ninh Binh Province, and the Citadel of the Ho Dynasty, are worthwhile visits (Thanh Hoa Province).
Pu Luong in ripe rice season
All of them have come together to form a desirable travel itinerary for both domestic and international visitors from all over the world.
Pu Luong Climate
Pu Luong has a distinctive climate similar to mountainous provinces in the north of the country and is situated in the mountains of the northern Vietnamese province of Thanh Hoa, close to the Lao border.
It is located in the Pu Luong Nature Reverse, which is surrounded by several tall mountains and dense forests, causing Pu Luong to experience seasonal weather changes. In general, Pu Luong has a tropical rainforest climate, which keeps it significantly cooler and more pleasant than the nearby cities or towns, even during the hottest summer days.
Pu Luong is proud of its beautiful rice terraces, so there are two opportunities to take in their breathtaking beauty.
Enjoy breakfast in Pu Luong with the view of terraces
May to June
This is the beginning of the locals' new crop, and all of the rice terraces will be filled with water, reflecting the sky, the clouds, the towering mountains, and the surrounding greenery. At sunset or sunrise, landscapes are even more breathtaking.
September to October
It’s the harvest season in Pu Luong, which is a wonderful time to see the multi-layer terraced fields' glorious yellow covers, as well as the festivals and other special events that the locals hold and their joy.
How To Get To Pu Luong
There are two main ways to get to Pu Luong, which is 160 km from Hanoi.
Public transportation
If you use public transportation for the transfer, there are no direct routes to this place because of the need for transit stops along the way, it is not advised if you are unfamiliar with local transportation.
Travelers can drive to the center of Bac Thuoc from the capital city of Hanoi (Cang Nang town). After that, take a taxi to complete the final 20 kilometers.
Pu Luong farmer
Private vehicles
A private vehicle (motorbike or car) is the most common way to visit Pu Luong Thanh Hoa.
Follow National Road No. 6 from Hanoi to Hoa Binh Province. To get to Pu Luong, you can either go through Lung Van Cloud Valley or Ban Lac Village Mai Chau. Although the Lung Van Valley's road is relatively narrow, with crooked passes and slopes, the surrounding scenery will undoubtedly catch your attention when you first see it.
Riding in Pu Luong
Several cloud layers covering the mountain ranges and an early dew layer floating in the valleys will be visible for you to admire. The road is completed in four to five hours.
Following completion of the Pu Luong itinerary, you should travel back to Hanoi via National Road No. 6 and 15C, stopping at Cam Luong Angelfish Stream along the way.
Although it is a little further, it is safer, and you have the opportunity to take in more captivating scenery. Visit the diverse flora and fauna of Cuc Phuong National Park if you have the time.
Must-See Places When Traveling To Pu Luong
Kho Muong Village
Kho Muong is a very pristine and undeveloped valley that can be visited on the way to the majestic Pu Luong peak. It is one of Thanh Son commune's highest and most challenging villages. However, there is great potential for natural conditions and cultural traditions to develop community tourism.
Kho Muong is a valley located deep in the core zone of the Pu Luong nature reserve. It retains its natural, wild and poetic qualities because it is less impacted by human activity. However, the journey there is not simple. The rough terrain presents a challenge to many visitors who enjoy exploring this area.
Local dancing in Pu Luong
Kho Muong showed up with stunning beauty when looking down. The houses on stilts are located close to the foot of the mountain in the fields of rice, corn, and cassava. Surrounding the village is a vast green field of mountains and forests.
Visitors can enjoy the natural beauty of Kho Muong, learn about Thai culture and customs, immerse themselves in a simple life, and savor the local cuisine made with ingredients from the mountains and forests, such as "Com lam", a mannequin with banana flowers, bitter soup, and corn wine.
Kho Muong Cave
Kho Muong Cave is one of the caves discovered in Pu Luong Nature Reserve that has an attractive beauty. The limestone stalactites formed about 250 million years ago. The river and stream system that flows in the cave is a common feature of the Kart rocky areas, which creates a connection between the valley and the flow of the streams.
Hiking in Pu Luong
Kho Muong Cave has another name, Bat Cave. Because it is the home of many kinds of bats, at least four of them have been found at different times around the year. Going deeper into the cave, visitors will be able to see and admire stone blocks and stalactites with strange shapes. Such as human figures, trees, and beasts full of different colors, blurry, all appear very vivid and unique.
Entering a deep corner in the cave also has a wide open field that looks like a natural volleyball court. This is one of the highlights of the Kho Muong cave.
Don Village
Don Village is the home of Thai ethnic people, with a population of 285 people. About 2 years ago, domestic and foreign tourists came to Don village more and more. Ban Don has peaceful space and wild scenery, typical for terraces stretching endlessly and groups of houses located quietly along the hill foot.
Enjoy local food in Pu Luong
More impressively, tourists will have a chance to learn about the local traditional weaving. But also enjoy the specialties of indigenous people, such as bamboo shoots, grass ducks, wild pigs, hill chickens, especially the scenery and hospitality of the local people.
From Don Village, you can have a walk or take a vehicle to visit other attractions in Ba Thuoc District, such as Hieu Village and Kho Muong Village.
Son Ba Muoi Village
Son Ba Muoi is 3 upland villages of Lung Cao commune. It is about 130 km northwest of the city center and is considered a miniature Sa Pa due to the year-round temperate climate, the average temperature in the year is from 18 – 22°C.
However, for its height, the weather is so cold in winter that sometimes snowfall when the temperature goes down to -1 or -2°C. In summer, it is cool in daylight but a little cold at night.
Pu Luong landscapes
Son Ba Muoi is also known as Cao Son. It is situated on top of the majestic Pu Luong - Cuc Phuong mountain circuit, parallel to the Pha He and Pha Chien mountain ranges. Cao Son is located next to Hoa Binh's Ngoc Son-Ngo Luong Nature Reserve and is a part of the core zone of Pu Luong Nature Reserve.
In particular, Son Ba Muoi is relatively isolated from the outside so far. There are many traditions of ancient Thai people, and the stilt houses still retain the traditional mark, clearly showing the peculiarities not affected by modern architecture from the outside.
Hieu Village
Hieu is a Thai village located on the bank of the Hieu stream. It originates from the Pu Luong Peak. The village consists of more than a hundred rooftops scattered along both sides of the stream. Every time there is a beautiful waterfall, the floor roofs are thicker, creating a waterfall scene – a beautiful house on stilts.
Farming in Pu Luong with the locals
Both streams from the beginning of the village to the end of the village are only about kilometers. But there are 5 waterfalls, every waterfall is beautiful. Therefore, the people in the village called all the waterfalls the Hieu waterfall and loved to call that stream “Hieu stream”.
Doan Town Let Market
Doan Street is the name of the market from the French colonial period in Lung Niep commune, Ba Thuoc district, Thanh Hoa province. This is the place to trade goods and meet the people of Kinh, Muong, and Thai ethnic groups in the communes around the region with people in Tan Lac and Lac Son districts … Hoa Binh province.
Visit the local market in Pu Luong
What makes the market for tourists is the culture of buying and selling goods with equal value. Sometimes, they do not trade in money, for example, a chicken can exchange for two dozen eggs with a bunch of vegetables so that both sides feel comfortable and happy. Just “a belly” is buying right away, rarely seeing the price, demanding.
Read more: 6 Reasons why you should visit local markets in Vietnam
Muon Waterfall
Located 100 kilometers far from Thanh Hoa city, following National Highway No. 217 toward the highland, tourists will see Muon Waterfall, also known as Mo Waterfall, which means "exciting and dreamy" in Vietnamese. It is 500 meters high above the water level, originating from the mountain peak at a height of 300 meters.
The flow arrives at a large valley, from which goes down to the hillsides, creating many succeeding grades of water like the white terraces.
Experience the waterfall in Pu Luong
Going through these 43 grades at different sizes and heights with stone, water, and forest trees, the stream falls out to Dai Lan river, then contributes to the Ma Giang river. Tourists can climb on these grades of the waterfall safely thanks to the typical stone features.
In addition to admiring the natural beauty of the landscape, tourists will listen to the story of love related to the attraction, meet the locals, and learn about the lifestyle and culture of the area. They are all warm-hearted and welcome tourists to come and have an excellent experience here.
Best Things To Do In Pu Luong
Let Asia Private Travels provide you with the best things to do in Pu Luong-Thanh Hoa!
Stay with the locals in a stilt house
There are only a few accommodation choices like hostels, hotels, or resorts in Pu Luong as tourism is under development here. Thus, it is best to stay in a homestay with Thai or Muong people.
Most of their houses are stilt ones with thatched roofs and wooden floors raised by several pillars and used for multiple purposes, from eating, playing, and working to worshipping ancestors.
A wide range of homestays in Pu Luong
Staying in a local people’s house grants you a chance to witness their daily lives, try the foods and drinks, know how they make a living or do religious rituals. During harvest time, you could also take part in their parties or festivals that last from morning until night.
Cycling around the ethnic village
With many biking trails, Pu Luong enables travelers to discover the town in its most authentic way. Idyllic valleys, unique terraced rice fields, and romantic mountains are the rewards for eager cyclists. Moreover, you can see Thai and Muong farmers plowing with their water buffaloes when you are on a bike.
Travelers will be thrilled at the spectacular water wheels used to move water to the rice fields.
Farming in Pu Luong
Check-in on Pu Luong mountain peak
Also known as "the paradise among the mountains", the full-range scenery of Pu Luong is much more impressive, with dew surrounding it all year.
When you get up early in the morning, have a look through the window, and you will see clouds floating at the peak of the mountain, even in front of your eyes. Everything combines so well that you may get a feeling like in your dream, nothing moves, just the quietness of the landscape exists.
Enjoy food with the local people
If you are a challenge lover, conquering the peak at 1700 meters high is the most exciting experience in Pu Luong Thanh Hoa. It takes about six to eight hours to peak in excellent weather conditions.
However, it is worth it when you can admire the outstanding landscape of mountains and forests together with spotting stilted houses and terraces in the valley on the mountain foot.
Enjoy the feeling of fighting yourself to complete the challenging mission. Moreover, you can have a simple camping party and get there overnight before going down the next day.
Kayaking and rafting in Cham River
The rainy season is the best time for kayaking and rafting in the Cham River. You can appreciate beautiful landscapes in a slow rhythm and understand local farming life along the river’s banks.
Eating some traditional Thai cuisine.
Because Pu Luong has developed tourism recently, restaurant services have not met current demands. Instead, you will have meals at your homestay prepared by the owners. If you love kayaking, please don't miss Halong Bay's must-do list, we assure you will like it!
Homestay in Pu Luong
The menu will be up to your choice. However, there is local rice or sticky rice presented with some other specialties on a giant leaf tray. The meal is typical of the Thai minority's food, such as grilled fish, bamboo-tube rice, bitter bamboo shoots, roasted piglet, and Can wine.
Useful tips when travelling to Pu Luong
To have a perfect journey, tourists should have careful preparation before traveling to Pu Luong:
1st tip: Walking/sport/ climbing shoes bound to your feet comfortably and absorbently. Remember to check weather conditions before going to the forests.
2nd tip: Bring medicines, sunblocks, antifungals, and insect repellents for a forest discovery journey.
3rd tip: Fill up the tank before reaching Pu Luong.
4th tip: If the reservations are not available at that time, you can even ask to stay in a local house. They are all warm-hearted and welcome you to come and discover their lovely homeland.
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