3-day Pu Luong Nature Reserve rafting & cooking from Hanoi

Silk cocoons become thread under your hands, and a buffalo cart carries you home.

This 3-day tour from Hanoi takes you through Mai Chau and Pu Luong Nature Reserve with an English-speaking local guide, covering trekking, cycling, silk-weaving, bamboo rafting, and a cooking class. You stay two nights in a homestay with private rooms and mountain views, and the price includes all entry fees, transport from Hanoi, and meals. The itinerary moves through terraced rice paddies, traditional Thai villages, and Cham Stream, with time to swim and relax between activities.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Hanoi to Mai Chau and Pu Luong

• Pick-up from Hanoi or Ninh Binh hotel
• Drive 3.5 hours to Mai Chau
• Lunch in traditional house in Mai Chau
• Rest or walk in Mai Chau alleys
• Cycling tour through Mai Chau valley
• Visit brocade production facilities
• Climb Chieu Cave for valley views
• Bus transfer to Pu Luong Nature Reserve
• Check-in and dinner at Pu Luong hotel

Day 2 — Pu Luong Silk Village and Rafting

• Pick-up from hotel to Lan Village
• Visit Thai household and silk weaving
• Visit Chieng Lau Village and waterwheels
• Trek 4km from Chieng Lau to Cham Stream
• Stop at traditional local house
• Bamboo rafting on Cham Stream
• Lunch on the boat
• Relax at Hieu Waterfall
• Explore local landscape and return to hotel

Day 3 — Pu Luong Market, Cooking and Return

• Pick-up and visit Bamboo Bridge over Ma River
• Cycle through Chieng Ai Village
• Visit local families and rice wine production
• Join cooking class and enjoy family meal
• Relax and ride buffalo cart
• Bus transfer back to Hanoi or Ninh Binh
• Arrival at hotel in Hanoi or Ninh Binh

The Experience

The tour picks you up from your Hanoi hotel at 7:00 AM and drives 3.5 hours to Mai Chau, the cultural heart of the White Thai people. After lunch in a traditional house, you cycle through the valley past brocade workshops and rice fields, then climb Chieu Cave—also called the Thousand Steps Cave—for views across the whole valley before heading to Pu Luong Nature Reserve for the night.

Day two starts with a trek through Lan Village, where you watch silk being pulled from cocoons and try weaving your own thread under an artisan's eye. You move on to Chieng Lau Village to see traditional farming and ancient waterwheels still turning, then walk 4 kilometers downhill to Cham Stream. There you board a bamboo raft and float through forests and rice fields for lunch served on the boat. Afterward, you can swim in the stream and visit Hieu Waterfall before returning to the homestay by late afternoon.

The final morning takes you to the Bamboo Bridge over the Ma River, then you cycle through Chieng Ai Village to meet local families, taste homemade rice wine, and join a cooking class where you prepare and eat a family meal. After lunch, a buffalo cart—the region's traditional transport—carries you back to the waiting vehicle for the drive home to Hanoi, arriving by evening.

What’s included

• Entry fees to all attractions.
• three meals daily (lunch and dinner on days one and two, lunch on day three from the cooking class).
• two nights in a private room at a homestay with mountain views.
• air-conditioned vehicle transport between Hanoi and Pu Luong.
• an English-speaking local guide throughout.
• silk-weaving instruction in Lan Village.
• the bamboo raft on Cham Stream with lunch served on the boat.
• and the cooking class and buffalo cart ride on the final day.

Good to know

Easy physical levelNot for pregnant travelersNot for back problemsInfants must sit on laps

Operated by Divi Travel

Is this one for you?Choose this if you want hands-on activities—silk-weaving with artisans, trekking, rafting, and cooking—rather than passing through villages by vehicle, and prefer staying in homestays where you'll interact directly with residents instead of a resort.

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Top questions

What's the difference between the homestay and the lodge options?

The homestay offers a private room with mountain views at the base price; upgrading to an Eco Lodge adds USD 20 per person, or an Eco Resort adds USD 35 per person, both with more amenities than the homestay.

Do I need to know how to swim or be fit to do the bamboo rafting?

The bamboo rafting on Cham Stream is a relaxing float through the landscape, not a whitewater activity, and swimming is optional—the itinerary notes it happens weather permitting, so you can skip it and still enjoy the raft ride and lunch on the boat.

What's included in the cooking class?

The cooking class on day three is held in a local family home in Chieng Ai Village; you prepare a meal together and eat what you cook as lunch, and it's included in the tour price.

How much time do I spend actually trekking versus sitting in a vehicle?

Day one includes cycling and a cave climb; day two has a 4-kilometer trek to the stream plus the bamboo raft; day three involves cycling and a cooking class—most of the tour is active, with vehicle time mainly on the first and last days for the Hanoi transfers.

Can I book this tour as a solo traveler?

Solo travelers can join; a single supplement applies depending on your accommodation choice—USD 30 for the homestay, USD 50 for the Eco Lodge, or USD 70 for the Eco Resort—and the minimum group size for departure is two people.

What happens if the weather is bad during the rafting or swimming?

Swimming in Cham Stream is noted as weather permitting, so it may be skipped on rainy days; the bamboo raft itself operates in light rain, though the guide will assess conditions for safety.