Pu Luong Ninh Binh The Trip 4 Days

7:00 Meet at the Opera house in Hanoi Old Quarter to board the VIP bus and start the trip to Pu Luong 10:30 You will have a stop in Thung Khe Pass for a spectacular view of Mai Chau Valley. The Thung Khe Pass flagpole, also called the Mai Chau Flagpole is the highlight of the entire mountain pass. During the stop, you can see the local stands selling typical products. Take a chance to try one of the local specialties, the “Com Lam”, sticky rice cooked in bamboo. 12:00 Check in the hotel in Pu Luong and have lunch. Free time to relax or enjoy the infinity pool. 14:30 You will meet the tour guide and start an Easy trek off the main road. You will visit a traditional local house from Thai minority to learn about their traditions.  The trek will go then down tracks through rice terraces and the Bang village. The amazing view of the mountain and the slopes covered by rice terraces is an enchantment. 17:00 Back to the Retreat. Free time to enjoy a cup of tea or a cocktail on the terrace or to enjoy a swim in the infinity pool. 19:00 Dinner in the Eco restaurant and assist to a traditional dances of Thai ethnic minority community. Feel free to experience the Bamboo clap dance.  21:00 Free evening to enjoy the peacefulness of the area before overnight.

7:00 – 8:00 Breakfast at Eco Restaurant 8:00 You will board the van to reach the starting point of the trek. On Thursday and Sunday, you will have a stop to the local Pho Doan market. You will then be dropped at the starting point. The trek will pass through a small dirt path, passing by isolated hamlet and through the jungle. You will arrive to the higher part of Hieu village contemplating some stunning views.  While going down to reach the waterfall, you will see some local houses.  Free time to enjoy the waterfall (swimming and water hiking depending on season) Hieu Waterfall is known as one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Pu Luong by its wild scenery. The waterfall is about 800m in length, with the stream falling from the top of the mountain, splitting into 2 branches flowing in 2 different directions and merging at the end of the stream.  12:00 Time to join the local house for a Garden to Table Lunch at the homestay of ethnic minority people  14:00 Board the car to reach the starting point of the afternoon trekking. You will first pass a hanging bridge over the Cham river. You will pass through Ba village and see old traditional houses.  After that, you will admire the ingenious agriculture system of the Thai ethnic minority, the bamboo waterwheels. Specificity of the Thai people, the waterwheels in Pu Luong are amongst the most impressive in Vietnam.  The day will end by a relaxing and tranquil bamboo boat ride. Adapted for tourism, the boat is kept in use by locals to navigate and visit other houses or to go to the fields. 16:30 Back to the Retreat to rest or to enjoy the infinity pool.  19:00 Dinner in the Eco – Restaurant and peaceful evening at the bar or by the pool 

7:30 – 8:30 Enjoy breakfast at the Eco-restaurant 8:30 Trek to Kho Muong Village & Bat Cave. The trekking will start by small alley nearby traditional Thai stilt houses until reaching beautiful view points of the infinity rice terraces. Arriving from the top of the hill, you will slowly see appearing the village of Kho Muong and understand how special is this place. After walking around the village, you will walk to the entrance the cave. Possibility to visit the cave (depending on weather conditions). Kho Muong village is located deep in the core zone of Pu Luong National Nature Reserve. Kho Muong is an unspoiled village, completely separate from other villages and less affected by humans, so it still retains the inherent poetic beauty. Kho Muong Cave, also known as Bat Cave, is located in the core zone of Pu Luong Nature Reserve. The cave belongs to the karst form in the limestone mountains. Its entry is wide with many large stalactites interspersed with boulders that have existed for about 250 million years.  11:30 Check out and lunch at Pu Luong Eco Garden the Mountain Retreat  13:30 Say goodbye to the fabulous Pu Luong Nature Reserve and start the journey to reach the Halong Bay on land, Ninh Binh  16:30 Before heading to the hotel, you will make a stop at Mua Cave. If climbing the around 500 stairs to reach the top is challenging, you will be rewarded by the most beautiful view of Ninh Binh valley and Tam Coc 19:00 Dinner in Trang An Ecolodge Resort