Bamboo Rafting on Cham Stream

Where is Cham Stream in Pù Luông?

Cham stream is located in Chieng Lau village, Ban Công commune, Bá Thước district, Thanh Hóa province – about 170km from the center of Hanoi. The Black Thai ethnic people in the area discovered this stream because it is the largest stream in the region, formed by smaller streams flowing into the Mã River. Locals often go to Suối Chàm to catch fish and bathe. After being invested in and developed for tourism, Suối Chàm has become a popular destination for visitors to Pù Luông.

When is the best time to ride bamboo rafts and swim in Cham Stream Pu Luong?

The ideal time to experience bamboo rafts and swim in Suối Chàm Pù Luông is during late autumn (around August and September). At this time, there is little rain and the water is particularly clear, reflecting the beautiful scenery of the surrounding mountains on the water’s surface. Visiting Pù Luông and going to Suối Chàm in late autumn, tourists can swim in the crystal-clear water where they can see to the bottom and take stunning pictures.

When visiting Suối Chàm Pù Luông, you should avoid going around May and June. This is the season when the water rises high, making it unsuitable for bamboo rafting and swimming. In addition, visiting Suối Chàm Pù Luông allows you to admire the golden rice season across the beautiful terraced fields, attracting tourists to Pù Luông.

How to get to Chàm Stream, Pù Luông

When traveling to Chàm Stream, Pù Luông, visitors can go by bus or motorbike. However, it should be noted that there are currently no direct bus routes to Pù Luông, so you will need to use a motorbike. Specifically:

– By bus: From Hanoi, take a bus from Gia Lâm or Giáp Bát bus station to Thanh Hóa, then hire a taxi, motorbike, or motorbike taxi to Pù Luông, which is about 20km away.

– By motorbike: The most convenient way is to take a motorbike along National Road 6 towards Hòa Bình -> passing through the Lũng Vân valley (or Bản Lác, Mai Châu) -> arriving at Pù Luông. The distance is about 200km, and the travel time is approximately 4-5 hours.

The road through Lũng Vân is a small road with winding slopes resembling the terrain of the Northwest provinces, with majestic and pristine scenery on both sides. On the way to Pù Luông, Thanh Hóa, you will have the opportunity to admire the wonderful scenery, with clouds wrapping around the mountains or the misty morning fog in the valley. The distance is about 200km, with travel time on the winding road taking about 4-5 hours. Along the way, you will be able to enjoy beautiful views of nature and the magnificent mountainous clouds, and you can stop to take pictures.

Bamboo Rafting on Chàm Stream

Pù Luông Nature Reserve has a diverse forest ecosystem, with rivers and streams flowing gently all year round. One of the exciting experiences when visiting Chàm Stream in Pù Luông is bamboo rafting to enjoy the beautiful natural scenery of the surrounding mountains and forests.

Bamboo rafts are the daily means of transportation for the Thai ethnic people to catch fish on Chàm River. As tourism has developed, the form of transportation by bamboo raft has become popular among many tourists, especially foreign visitors. This mode of transport is very common in Chiang Mai, Thailand, and now you can experience it for the first time in Vietnam at Chàm Stream. Currently, there are services for renting bamboo rafts, with a tour duration of about 1 hour, and each raft can carry from 8 to 14 people at a cost of 50,000 VND per person. Tourists can not only paddle bamboo rafts and swim in the streams at Pù Luông, but also immerse themselves in the vast green landscapes of mountains and forests, with refreshing breezes and the sound of water flowing continuously day and night.