The rice terraces
Between limestone peaks.
NKSTTSSHNVN — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wakada111 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Staffan Scherz from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam — CC BY 2.0 · Milomaskirovka — CC0
Pu Luong is a nature reserve in the limestone mountains of northwest Thanh Hoa province, about 178 kilometres from Hanoi, close to four hours by car. Set up in 1999 over 17,662 hectares, its name means big mountain in the Thai language, and its forests connect through two limestone ridges with Cuc Phuong National Park. Between forested peaks lie valleys of rice terraces and villages of the Thai and Muong peoples, with wooden houses on stilts and bamboo water wheels lifting water from the streams into the fields. Rare species live in the forests, among them a langur, but visitors mostly come for the scenery: the terraces are green in summer and gold before the harvest in September and early October. Pu Luong is a place to stay, not to rush: a night or two in a family homestay or an eco-lodge, with walks between villages and to small waterfalls such as Hieu. The roads are narrow mountain roads, so come by car with a driver or a shuttle from Hanoi.
Between limestone peaks.
Lifting water to the fields.
In houses on stilts.
Northwest Thanh Hoa province, about 178 km from Hanoi
At least one or two nights: the drive from Hanoi takes about four hours, and the best of it is walking between villages and fields in the morning and evening.