Lung Van in Vietnamese means the Valley of Clouds in Van Son Commune, Tan Lac District of Hoa Binh Province. Lung Van was also the name of a commune which was consolidated into the Van Son Commune nowadays.
Travel Guide to Lung Van Valley, Hoa Binh
Overview
The valley of Lung Van is on an elevation of about 1,000-1,200m above sea level with cool climate all year and with amazing clouds occasionally. Lung Van is in the heart of the ancient land of Muong Bi, the highest of the Muong people’s lands in northern Vietnam.
And Muong Bi originates from the Muong language: Muong means land and Bi is the name of a tree which the Muong people took shelter after a disaster in a Muong legend in ancient times. Apart from Muong Bi, there are other Muongs: Muong Vang, Muong Bo, Muong Thang, Muong Dong...
Weather and Climate, Best Time to Visit
1/ Summer
Summer is from May through August. Lung Van has cool temperatures (20-25oC) with some days with beautiful clouds. It may rain quite often in July – August. Late June and early July is a good time to have photos of the golden rice terraces.
2/ Autumn
Autumn is from September through October with beautiful clouds often. It rains each time there is a typhoon or before each spell of the early winter winds in northern Vietnam.
3/ Winter
Winter is from November through February with cold temperatures (10oC) and without rain mostly. There are peach and plum blossoms in January and February.
4/ Spring
Spring is from late February through March with lovely weather. And April is the transitional time with dry days and bright sunny days.
Things to do in Lung Van
1/ Hiking Co Tien Mountain
2/ Trekking U Bo Peak
3/ Forest trekking
5/ Muong Cultural Performance
How to get there
Lung Van is 130km southwest of Hanoi. From Hanoi follow Route 6 to Muong Khen (Tan Lac, Hoa Binh), proceed to Phong Phu (Tan Lac, Hoa Binh) then turn left into the provincial route of 440 for 20km then it is Lung Van. The first leg of the journey has good road conditions while the second leg is not so good or bad in the rainy season. The landscape gets beautiful once you go out of Hanoi. The road is mountainous from after Muong Khen.
