Pu Luong Nature Reserve is an ideal destination to enjoy the tranquility and immerse in nature. It impresses tourists with pristine primeval forests, immense terraced rice fields, the Thai people’s traditional stilt houses, and the peaceful pace of life. Which are featured spots in Pu Luong Nature Reserve you should not miss? Let’s find out detailed information with Handspan Travel Indochina!

In this article, Handspan focuses on the attractions below.

Don Village (Ban Don)

Don Village in Pu Luong 

Don Village is among the spots in Pu Luong Nature Reserve you should not miss.  The village is located in Thanh Lam Commune, Ba Thuoc District, Thanh Hoa Province. Most people here are Thai ethnic people who live mainly on rice planting and traditional weaving. The village’s climate has the featured characteristic of the mountainous areas’ climate, which is cool and mild all year round. Let’s see how attractive Don village is!

Vast terraced rice fields

Don Village is the most beautiful in May, June, September, and October when it comes to the harvesting season. Visiting Don Village at this time, you will find yellow ripe rice fields and local people cropping in the areas. Also, you will have a chance to join rice harvesting and cropping with local people. 

Terraced rice fields in Don Village

Impressive traditional stilt houses and friendly local people

Coming to Don Village, you will be amazed by Thai people’s traditional stilt houses. These houses lie along the foothills, outstanding with a roof made of palm leaves. Besides visiting the house, you also have a chance to make friends with the Thai locals who are incredibly enthusiastic about introducing their culture, life, and traditional dishes. In addition, you can join the campfire night, drink Can wine, and exchange culture with Thai dance and folk songs. 

Stilt houses in Don Village

Majestic scenery surrounded 

Don Village is located at the foot of the Pu Luong mountain range with breathtaking scenery. Staying on the stilt house, you can admire natural waterfalls, primeval forests, and wild and majestic rocky mountains. 

Stunning landscape in Don Village

With all these above characteristics, Don Village is indeed one of the worth-visiting spots in Pu Luong Nature Reserve. Let’s come here and have your own experience!

Kho Muong Village

Among the spots in Pu Luong Nature Reserve, Kho Muong Village is also an ideal place to escape from the city’s hustle and bustle. Although the road leading to Kho Muong Village is extremely winding, it’s worth driving. 

Kho Muong Village

Reaching the village, you will be amazed by the charming and unspoiled beauty of the scenery here. The Thai people’s stilt houses are surrounded by endless rice fields, forests, and undulating mountains. Kho Muong Valley is a fairly flat area, about 280ha wide, where 60 households of Thai ethnic group live. Along the valley, there is a stream that provides the natural water source for living and planting. 

Stilt houses in Kho Muong Village

Besides admiring the scenery and experiencing local people’s life, visiting the Kho Muong Cave (Doi Cave) is also an attractive thing to do in Kho Muong Village. Walking through the large rice fields to the trail's end, you will reach the Kho Muong Cave, which belongs to the karst form in the limestone mountain. When you get deeper inside the cave, you will see more stalagmites in different shapes formed 250 million years ago. As the road to the cave is quite hard to go, it is better if you wear climbing or sports shoes. 

Kho Muong Cave

Stalactites inside Kho Muong Cave

Son - Ba - Muoi Villages

Son - Ba - Muoi Village area

Son - Ba - Muoi are three highland villages in Lung Cao Commune, Ba Thuoc District in Thanh Hoa Province. This area is also known as the Cao Son area, located on the Pha He, Pha Chen Mountain peak, at 1200 meters above sea level. Therefore, it is pretty isolated from other spots in Pu Luong Nature Reserve and has not been influenced by modern architecture from the outside. Below are some exciting experiences in Son - Ba - Muoi Villages you may not want to be missed. 

Admiring the magnificent landscape

Passing through steep and winding slopes, you will catch up with the pristine and majestic scenery of high mountains, and primeval forests with a diverse ecosystem. Especially in September and October, the area becomes more stunning with yellow rice fields. Indeed, the wild and majestic beauty of nature has blended harmoniously with the ancient, simple, and peaceful atmosphere of the villages. 

The path leading to Son - Ba - Muoi 

Rice fields in Son - Ba - Muoi villages

Cao Son peak

Learning about the rustic life of the locals

The Black Thai people have gathered in this area for a long time. Son village has the largest population of more than 100 households, the remaining two villages have about 30-50 households each, with a total of about 1,000 people. Due to the isolated location, the life of local people in Son - Ba - Muoi villages is quite idyllic. Coming here, you will have a chance to make friends with the locals, stay around the fire stove to talk with them, and try local specialties.

Children in Ba village

Local specialties in Son - Ba - Muoi villages

Hieu Village

Hieu Village, located in Co Lung Commune, Ba Thuoc District, is also among the spots in Pu Luong Nature Reserve with intact beauty. Coming to Hieu Village, you can feel the tranquil scenery of the Thai traditional stilt houses combined with the rice fields, palm hills, and primeval forests. 

Hieu Village 

The village is famous for the Hieu Waterfall and Hieu stream, which originate from a cave in the limestone mountain range of the Pu Luong - Cuc Phuong National Park. Surrounded by a large primary forest, the waterfall has fresh air and a pleasant climate all year round. Climbing and wading the stream for an hour, you will reach the waterfall’s peak. From here, you will see the waterfall falling from the top of the mountain, splitting into 2 branches flowing in 2 different directions and merging at the end of the stream. Right outside the foot of the stream, there is a natural pool where you can swim and soak in nature. 

Hieu Waterfall

Hieu Waterfall

Muon Waterfall

Muon Waterfall, also known as Mo Waterfall, is located in the Dien Quang Commune, Ba Thuoc District, 500 meters above sea level. This majestic waterfall with 43 different levels is created from the stream flowing through the mountain slopes. Surrounding the waterfall, there is a beautiful cave system with three caves: Mong Cave, But Cave, and Ben Bai Cave. Inside these caves, you can find many stunning stalactites hanging down in all shapes and sizes. 

Coming to the Muon Waterfall, besides admiring the scenery and immersing yourself in cool water, you will also have a chance to meet and talk with the local Muong people here. Let’s visit their traditional stilt houses, learn brocade weaving, and enjoy Can wine and Muong culinary culture!

Pu Luong Peak

If you are a trekking lover, Pu Luong Peak is no doubt one of the amazing spots in Pu Luong Nature Reserve. The peak is 1700 meters above sea level, taking you about 5 to 6 hours to reach. From here, you can admire a panoramic view of vast silver fields, forests, and quiet stilt houses. Besides, you can do overnight camping and adore beautiful dawn in the peak. 

Trekking to Pu Luong peak

The most suitable time to climb the peak is from October to February of the next year. At this time, the climate is extremely cool and dry, which is ideal for watching the cloud and the ripe yellow rice fields. 

Pho Don Fair

If you come to Pu Luong Nature Reserve on Thursday or Sunday, you may not want to miss the Pho Don Fair. The fair is located in Lung Niem Commune, Ba Thuoc District, Thanh Hoa Province.

Pho Don Fair

Pho Don fair is the place to exchange, buy and sell products of the Kinh, Muong, and Thai people. They come from surrounding communes in Ba Thuoc District and in Tan Lac, and Lac Son districts of Hoa Binh Province as well. 

Visiting Pho Don Fair, which opens from 06.00 a.m. to 11.00 a.m., you will catch up with many stalls. The goods are various from brocade costumes to Can wine, wild vegetables, insects, fresh fruits, etc. Especially, the brocade costume stalls are always attractive to tourists.

Brocade costumes stall in Pho Don Fair

Indeed, Pho Don Fair is an ideal place to learn about the cultural beauty of the highland people. Let’s come here and enjoy the crowded atmosphere!

In conclusion, Pu Luong is always an appealing place to appreciate nature. Hope that with the information of the top 07 spots in Pu Luong Nature Reserve above, you have had a good preparation for your trip. For more information about Pu Luong, please refer to our article: Pu Luong Nature Reserve Travel Guide - Things to know before your trip. 

Below are some available tour packages to Pu Luong Retreat you may want to refer to.

From The Mountain to Ha Long Bay

Mai Chau Valley vs Pu Luong Reserve

Northern Vietnam Unveiled: 8-Day Nature & Culture Expedition