Mai Chau

The small town of Mai Chau lies in a picturesque valley of the same name, featuring a bucolic setting of a towering limestone walls, patchwork quilts of rice paddies, and traditional long house villages. Not far from Hanoi (about a two and half hour's drive), Mai Chau offers some of the most spectacular scenery in Vietnam with a myriad of traditional hilltribes, mostly Tai and H'mong, scattered around the area. Much has change in many places in Vietnam, but not much is very different in this remote area. In the winter, Mai Chau is a pleasant and far less touristed alternative to Sapa (which may also socked in with fog and exprience freezing temperatures in winter).