Pioneers of Low Impact
Activity: Buffalo Tours
Location: Mai Chau, Hoa Binh province
Tip: Cyclists should be in good condition
Award-winning Buffalo Tours pioneered low-impact treks and cycle trips in Mai Chau. Volunteer projects and homestays build authentic cultural exchanges between visitors and villagers.
Finding the right balance
Finding the right balance
The experience: Buffalo Tours began taking tourists off the beaten track in the mid 1990s, providing those searching for an authentic experience with two-way cultural exchanges at local communities. Since then, Buffalo Tours has established a tight bond with grass-roots residents and ethnic minorities.
Buffalo Tours specialises in private and or small-group nature tours to ensure a low-impact experience. Their trekking and cycling expeditions enable travellers to see Vietnam’s stunning scenery by day and immerse themselves in its culture with homestays at night.
As the frontrunners in responsible tourism to Mai Chau, Buffalo Tours offers exclusive expeditions to this fascinating hilltribe region located in the northwest highlands just 135 kms from Hanoi. Biking and trekking trips are available, and both present a balance between culture and adventure.
Buffalo Tours’ six-day hilltribe “Discovery Trek” roams the mountainside, stopping at six villages inhabited by ethnic minorities including the White Thai, Hmong, Muong and Zao. Trekkers experience local cuisine and spend their night in stilt houses in the isolated villages of Hang Kia, Van, Xo, Poong Cong and Nahn.
The venture starts 135 km northwest of Hanoi
The venture starts 135 km northwest of Hanoi
More strenuous, but a great way to absorb Vietnam’s northern mountains, is Buffalo Tours’ four-day cycling journey to Mai Chau. Tours kick off in Hanoi with an 80-km jaunt to Hoa Binh town. The next day’s steep 65-km leg lands in Lac for the night’s stay. After visiting a handful of ethnic hamlets, day three’s ride heads downhill to Van for an overnight in a stilt house. The final stint is the toughest, but wraps up with a relaxing support vehicle cruise back to Hanoi.
Buffalo Tours was also the first travel company in Vietnam to offer volunteer travel programmes, combining a placement at a grassroots projects with excursions throughout the region. The company continues as a leader in volunteer projects in Vietnam.
In recognition of Buffalo Tour’s achievements, the Pacific Asia Travel Association presented company CEO Tran Trong Kien with its 2007 “Face of the Future Award” for his positive contribution to local communities in promoting sustainable tourism practices.
How it helps: Since opening up Mai Chau to tourism, Buffalo Tours has been instrumental in conserving the local hilltribes’ cultures. Tourism has enabled villagers to remain in the land of their ancestors and continue age-old traditions such as weaving and farming while generating income through homestays. The alternative is moving to urban areas to work in factories and shops.
Buffalo Tours homestay development in the Mai Chau region has educated the locals on the concept of sustainable tourism and how it improves their local economy. Villagers are encouraged to charge on a per-night basis, sell their handicrafts to visitors, preserve their ethnic dress and take pride in their traditions. Buffalo Tours also explains Western culture to the villagers and why foreign travellers are interested in Vietnamese hilltribes.
Buffalo Tours educates clients prior to their trips with pre-departure fact sheets and responsible tourism guidelines that cover cultural, social and environmental issues. Further, 100% of Buffalo Tour guides are locals and trained on environmental protection in areas where they take tourists trekking. They also receive cultural training on the ethnic minority tribes they visit with their groups.
Food is purchased and produced for the treks by the local communities. Buffalo Tours has long-standing relationships with these suppliers and ensures their hygiene and environmental practices meet sustainable standards. The company also assists Mai Chau communities with recycling efforts, and provides crops and water buffalos for farming, water wells and composts for waste.
Once a year, Buffalo Tours operates medical treks to the Mai Chau region to treat hilltribes. Both local and international doctors embark on house calls and take local/traditional medicine and treatments into consideration.
Independent studies by NGOs have confirmed that in the Mai Chau region, local communities are satisfied with the contribution Buffalo Tours is making to their lives. The company’s efforts and donations (US$50,000 in 2006) have contributed to poverty reduction, better labour conditions and better farming techniques. The contributions have also built schools (with World Expeditions) and have given hope to a region stricken by poverty.
Contact and booking information
Buffalo Tours
94 Ma May Street, Hanoi, Vietnam
Tel: (+84) 510 910742
Fax: (+84) 482 69370
E-mail: susannah.newell@buffalotours.com
Web: www.buffalotours.com
Map: Marker indicates Mai Chau not where the Buffalo Tours is exactly …
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