This new tour by Footprint is a multi-day village-to-village trek with home-stays and visits to Cuc Phuong National Park. This tours supports a community based tourism initiative by the local ethnic minority villages and Spanish NGO, Fundación Promoción Social de la Cultura. Added highlights include a visit to an animal rescue centre, river raft trip, and a waterfall visit.
Pick-up at your hotel is at 7:00 am. Drive 90 km by mini-van to Ninh Binh, and arrive at Cuc Phuong National Park before noon, after visit the Animal Rescue Center and learn about the park's biodiversity and variety of endangered species. Our long trek (18 km) begins here through the local rain forest. Picnic lunch is served on the way. Late afternoon arrival at a village and our homestay of the Muong minority people. Dinner and free time to talk with the host family. Overnight at the stilt home.
Wake-up, eat, and final preparations complete by 7:00 am. Our morning route will take us from Khanh village, to a short river raft trip along the Buoi river, to Thach Lam commune where we begin our 12 km (~3.5 hours) trek. Trekking highlights include: a meandering river, houses on stilts, rice paddies, and a waterfall. Picnic lunch at a local home at Thuong village then more afternoon trekking (3-4 hours) until we reach tonight's homestay. Dinner at the Muong family home. These homestays are a product of a community based tourism project between the village and Spanish NGO, Fundación Promoción Social de la Cultura.
Early wake-up as we plan our departure for 7:00am. A quick motor taxi ride (~ 7km) for village-to-village trekking (3 – 3.5hours). The highlights of our trek will be experiencing the beauty of both Ngoc Son Ngo Luong & Pu luong Nature Reserves and the everyday life and culture of the Muong people. This is a wonderful trek via a dried river then down hills to Hieu village. But it could be a difficult trek too if the weather turns bad.
Have a picnic lunch under the shade of forest trees, then continue our wonderful trek down to Hieu village in the afternoon. Take short rest then we visit the beautiful water fall near the village then back to the homestay for dinner and overnight at a Muong homestay.
Morning departure at 8:00 am. Another day of village-to-village trekking for a route is about 8 km (~3.5 hours). Short pause for lunch at a local food stall in town then we will begin our ride back to Hanoi. Finish our trip at your hotel around 5:00 pm.
