Destination “Pù Luông”

Fairy scene between Northwestern mountains and forests

EXPERIENCES

You are invited to visit paradise amidst the jungle, to listen to the murmuring trickle of clear streams winding ‘round lush green mountains, where the bright dawn rays pierce the old forest. The terraced fields are golden yellow in the harvest of April-May and September-October. Pu Luong is a year-round destination, each season has its own wild and majestic beauty. Touch authenticity in Vietnam’s best-kept secret.

The paradise amidst the jungle

“Explore a safe haven in the shadow of an exalted mountain inspired by the poetry of nature, a fairy tale between the Northwestern mountains and forests.”

Destination “Pù Luông”

Pu Luong is about 170km from Hanoi, so you can easily get there by car on the HCM highway in 4 hours, or 80km only, about 1hour 30 minutes from Tho Xuan airport, Thanh Hoa. If you make the journey you will enjoy a very suitable 3 day 2 night stay in Pu Luong.

If you have more time, you can combine the vacation to Mai Chau and Pu Luong for 4 days and 3 nights. Pu Luong itself is an interesting destination and is temperate all year round with clear skies and two harvest seasons when rice is ripe and water is poured, from May to June and September to October. Capture the life of the wild mountains and forests.

Indeed, Pu Luong is one of the few primeval forests with extremely diverse and undisturbed fauna and flora. The weather is calm and the temperature is mild, making it a destination for many nature lovers. When in Pu Luong, you also have the opportunity to learn first-hand about the unique cultural features and customs of Muong and Thai ethnic people currently living here.

Foreign tourists like to choose the beautiful and diverse routes of Hoa Binh – Mai Chau – Ninh Binh and Cat Ba – HaLong Bay for 6-8 days. Or a Northwest arc from Sapa – Dien Bien – Lai Chau- Mai Chau- Pu Luong – Ninh Binh – Halong Bay for 2 weeks if you have plenty of time to explore the depth of history, majesty of nature, and wealth of ethnicities in Northwest, Vietnam.

Nature

No one remembers violence and stillness in the nature of the Northwest better than the war poet Quang Dung. “Still the fierce majesty radiates from the towering peaks, reaching sky high; it emerges from the winding roads between thousands of mountains,  and coincides with steep slopes.”

The way that poet Quang Dung describes it is really awe-inspiring because his verses, just as music or paintings are considered to be great, are masterpieces of ink.

“Up a steep bend /  the depths / Pigs, smoke, alcohol, guns are the smell of the sky / a thousand feet up a thousand feet down / Whose house rains on far away from the sea”

The Northwestern mountains are a place containing countless things that captivated the romantic souls of the Tay Tien boys and now are for travelers from all over the world, to explore, dream, and touch the wilderness.

People

Each ethnic group has different dress, customs, cuisine, and architecture. The palette of each of these small communities has created the diversity of the whole land, a unique attraction of people.

The scenery of Northwestern nature also carries features that overwhelm any visitor. Only in the Northwest can visitors admire the terraced fields that captivate people during the ripeness of harvest or the mirrors of the wet season.

Moreover, it is the warm welcome of the indigenous people, whoever you are, that draws you in. The people are always ready to host you, they invite you to come in and raise a cup of corn or rice wine. In the cold weather, gathered together by the fire, sharing a cup of wine, all distance and geography disappears.

Culture

The Northwest is not only a majestic, wild, and poetic land with vast forests and terraced fields, but also holds a store of folk cultures which are formed, preserved, and developed from thousands of generations.

When it comes to the folk culture of the Northwest, we must recognize it from many aspects: its values, its indigenous origin, its daily life, customs,  and practices.

These aspects ​​have formed and gradually affirmed the folk culture of the peoples of the Northwestern region which is very diverse and rich in types of performance and modes of transmission.

The far northwestern region also contains many wonders of folklore. Each village, each land area, holds a custom that no matter how much you go and see, it is difficult to describe, and can only be felt in the land, people, nature, cuisine, and culture. Northwest in general and Thai culture in particular.

Cuisine

Rice trays in Pu Luong often have specialties such as grilled fish, roasted chicken, grilled Co Lung duck, grilled pork, boiled egg, sour bamboo shoot soup, or stir-fried bamboo shoots with a plate of pickled delights. Especially the Co Lung duck dish, it’s ready-made duck, outdoor grilled, some herbs, and a little beer. What more could the night call for? The duck is savory, tender, and fragrant, and grilled over charcoal.

Com Lam is a very simple dish with a characteristic flavor of the Northwestern mountains. The combination of the texture of sticky rice with the aroma of bamboo and cork creates the attractive aftertaste of Pu Luong.

Not only is food in Pu Luong delicious, there is also a spicy wine that is essential to Thai ethnicity. The wine is made from cassava yeast and mineral water, so it has its own flavor without being mixed with any other alcohol. Pu Luong wine is an indispensable drink in every meal of Thai and Muong people in Pu Luong.