Mai Chau is a mountainous village in the northwest of Vietnam, only 2 hours driving from Hanoi. The weather in Mai Chau is characterized by four distinct seasons. Spring in Mai Chau coincides with the flower blossom, creating an enchanting colorful environment. Spectacular waterfalls become excruciating in summer. While autumn and winter is the festive season of the local ethnic minorities. It's time for the Hmong, White Thai to prepare traditional hand-woven costumes and other household decorations to the sessional markets, exchanging for other necessities. In Mai Chai, you can experience staying stilt houses of the locals, enjoying exotic specialties of the hill tribes.

Weather

Located at the gateway of the Northwest region, the climate of Mai Chau is significantly influenced by the Northwest monsoon regime. The annual average humidity is 82%. Mai Chau climate has two distinct seasons a year. The rainy season lasts from May to October; the most concentrated rainfall is from July to September. The dry season lasts from November of the previous year to April of next year with a dry climate, with foggy days and freezing drizzle.

How To Get There

Mai Chau is about 140 km from Hanoi and about 60 km from Hoa Binh to the Northwest. So, from Noi Bai International Airport, it takes less than 4 hours to reach Mai Chai by car. 

Highlights

Ban Lac (Lac Village)

It is an ancient village traced back over 700 years ago. Residents here are mainly the Black Thai people, an ethnic group in Vietnam. They live mostly on agriculture and handicraft. 
 

Hang Chieu (Afternoon Cave)

Afternoon Cave is located on the top of the Pu Pa limestone mountain range. The cave had its name from the fact that during the afternoon, the sunlight shines straight into the cave, the rays make the splendor of the stalactite more beautiful

Culture

While traveling to Mai Chau, visitors will experience cultural and ethnic activities such as festivals to pray for the rain, pray for a staple crop. Many traditional games also attract a lot of international tourists. Ethnic culture in Mai Chau is also transmitted through conventional handicrafts. The long-established custom of making brocade products is continued until now. Clothes, footwear, handbags from the unique materials of local hill tribes become more and more popular thanks to the high quality and the exotic design. 

Best Time To Visit

There are two best times to travel to Mai Chau: around October - December and around March - April. Around October till December is wintertime, the weather is cold. Coming to Mai Chau this season, you will have the opportunity to see white plum blossoms in the corner of the sky. Between March and April, ethnic people organize many festivals with traditional music, parties with exotic dishes.