About Go Lao Waterfall (Thác Gò Lào)
The Go Lao Waterfall (Thác Gò Lào) is perhaps the signature waterfall attraction of the Mai Chau District, a countryside area that features lots of rice terraces and stilt bungalows not too far from Hanoi.
It features a main drop that’s said to be about 20m tall (I’ve also seen it said to be 30m tall), but its limestone underbelly also made the water fan out wider than it was tall.
Our visit happened during the tail end of the Dry Season in mid-April 2025 so the main drop of the waterfall took on more of a segmented side-by-side characteristic.
It was also during that visit that we shared this place with a large group of young Vietnamese visitors who were busy playing in the water or taking pictures to share on the socials.
That made me think that the Go Lao Waterfall was also more of a play waterfall in addition to being quite photogenic (as you can see from the photos on this page).
The waterfall was fed by a combination of two streams – Thung Cang and Phieng Sa (though the former seems to be the main stream), so it has longevity as evidenced by our Dry Season visit.
Bordering on the hamlets of Go Mu and Go Lao, the falls may also go by the name of Go Mu Waterfall as well as Ba Khan Waterfall.
Experiencing The Go Lao Waterfall
Our visit was pretty straightforward as we pretty much pulled up to a local village cafe (with lots of motorbikes parked there at the time of our visit; see directions below).
Then, we paid 10k VND per person to someone from that cafe collecting the modest fee for visitation.
From there, she pointed out the way down to the Thac Go Lao Waterfall, which was down a short descending path just beyond a restroom facility (no toilet paper though).
Once at the bottom of the path, we could take pictures of the waterfall from just downstream of it, or we could keep going along the path to a mild rock scrambling spot to get right up to the plunge pool.
The scrambling part was rough enough that my Mom opted not to do it, but it didn’t pose too much of a problem for the younger, more nimble visitors.
It definitely felt pretty cool around the waterfall thanks to its spray, which helped to offset the somewhat humid climate during our mid-April visit.
When all was said and done, our short hike and interaction with the waterfall pretty much lasted about 45 minutes.
A Nice View Of The Go Lao Waterfall
However, before we left the Go Lao Waterfall for good, we had our driver continue down its access road for about another 400-500m.
That was where there was a small roadside lookout peering back at the context of the waterfall.
From here, we were able to not only see the main waterfall and the surrounding structures and people for a sense of scale, but we also saw lower tiers that I bet most of the people down there didn’t even know about.
Therefore, this waterfall definitely had more to it than what a typical visit up close would entail.
Indeed, if you do take the time to visit the Thac Go Lao Waterfall, do complete the experience by taking a moment to enjoy this view!
Authorities
The Go Lao Waterfall resides in the Phuc San commune of the Mai Chau District in the Hoa Binh Province, Vietnam. It may be administered by the local hamlet of Go Lao. To inquire about current conditions, you may want to try the Vietnam National Tourism Authority website.
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