Journey via Ha Giang, a lesser-known northern region adorned with breathtaking scenery featuring granite outcrops and limestone pinnacles. Find out about the Vietnamese hill tribes that live in Quan Ba, Yen Ninh, Lung Cu, Dong Van, and Meo Vac, each with their own unique traditions. View the stunning Cao Bang landscape and the Ban Gioc waterfall, which is located on the Chinese-Vietnamese border. Hike through Ba Be National Park, a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site with amazing lakes, waterfalls, and caverns, and take in the pure, fresh air.
DAY 1: HANOI – HA GIANG
You will leave from Hanoi at around 08:00 and take the road north towards Viet Tri and Tuyen Quang (Route No.2 ) through the Red River Delta region. You will stop for lunch at a local restaurant in Tuyen Quang Town, an area famous for green tea plantations. You will arrive in Ha Giang at around 18:00 where you will have dinner and spend the night with a Thai family in their traditional stilt house.
DAY 2: HA GIANG – DONG VAN – MEO VAC
Today you will encounter some spectacular landscapes. After acquiring a mandatory permit at the Immigration Office, you will begin your journey to Dong Van across a series of long passes. You will have lunch en route in the small but beautiful mountain town of Tam Son. Then, you will head to the majestic King of the H’mong’s Palace, a fortress built by a local chief, Vuong Chin Duc, who was allied with the French against the Viet Minh. The palace, built in the early 1900s was designed in the ancient Chinese architectural style of the Man Qing era. It was made from materials such as solid stone, wood and terracotta tiles. Arrive in Dong Van town in the late afternoon, check in hotel and rest after long journey. In the evening, discover Dong Van town by night. Overnight at hotel in Dong Van.
DAY 3: MEO VAC – BAO LAC – CAO BANG
If you are lucky, you will have chance to visit colorful weekly market locate right in the centre of the town ( open only on Sunday). Have breakfast at local restaurant. Then you are driven to Ma Le village of the White Hmong people where we walk about 8 km to visit and take photo of this mountain tribe people, keep walking to Thien Huong village to witness the local people do flax weaving. After that we are driven back to Dong Van town to have lunch before reaching the Ma Pi Leng Pass to admire panoramic of rocky mountain. From here we can walk to some remote villages to see Pu Peo, La Chi, White Hmong tribes. We arrive at Meo Vac in the late afternoon, you check in your hotel and relaxing at your hotel.
DAY 4: CAO BANG – BAN GIOC WATERFALL – CAO BANG
After breakfast at local restaurant. Depart to Bao Lac, we then continue snaking through the mountains, cross the river, and arrive in the village of Bao Lac, where we have luch and we take the mountain road Bao Lac – Cao Bang. Arrive in Cao Bang in the afternoon, check in hotel and relax after long journey from Meo Vac.
- Depart Caobang for Bangioc waterfall in the morning, it is 80 km only, but you will stop on the way many times to take photos and visit to villages of Tay and Nung people along the way, especially, we will stop at a black-smith village where you can buy some good knives or scissors for your kitchens. Arrive at Bangioc waterfall before lunch time and that is time for you to admire the wonderful scenery of this legendary landscape. This is 4th biggest waterfall along a national border line after Iguazu waterfall, Victoria waterfall, and Niagara waterfall. Lunch at a local restaurant.After lunch, we will visit Nguomngao cave, local people believe tigers used to live inside, they often heard crying of tigers “Nguom” and “ngao” so they named it after the sound echoed from the cave. This is a long and narrow cave with a river flowing inside, you can hear the sound of water flowing in the dark, during the wartime, local people sheltered here and the river supplied water for them to survive. Sometimes, in rainy seasons, the cave got flooded all over, so tourists could not come in.After visiting Nguomngao cave, we turn back Caobang city for staying second night at the hotel.
DAY 5: CAO BANG – BA BE LAKE
Say good bye to Caobang city, we leave for Babe national park. Enjoy nature along the way before stopping for lunch in Chora town, then we catch our boat to discover Babe lake in the afternoon, you can see Babe lake appears just like a great jade in the high mountains. Crystalline water of the lake will make you feel relax and calm down after a long driving.This afternoon, you will have whole time to discover Babe Lake, the biggest natural lake in Vietnam at a high elevation of 150 m above sea level. With a total area of 650 ha, all the water coming down from limestone cliffs, so it is really clean and fresh, you can go swimming at the middle of the lake if it gets hot, it is more than deep enough (15 to 30 meters deep) for you to jump down from your boat, so remember to bring swimming clothes with you if you wish to swim.Our boat trip is going to Nang river. This river is flowing through a huge mountain, creating a big cave that is Puong cave. You can see today this amazing cave with thousand of bats living inside.After visiting Puong cave, we go down Nang River in 1 hour to visit Daudang Waterfall that created when the whole Nang river comes down the high rocks.If we have time, we can visit to Aotien lagoon as well, Aotien means that Fairy Pond. Local people believe Fairies used to come down to this lagoon for swimming before because it located in an isolated lagoon of the lake that nobody knows about it.Dinner and home stay in Pacngoi village.DAY 6: BA BE – HANOI
Say good bye to the Host of our home stay, we walk inside Babe national park to enjoy scenery of the jungles and Babe lake from the high level, then, our car comes to pick you up to drive to Thainguyen for lunch at a local restaurant. After lunch, we will visit a nice museum in Thainguyen city, The Musuem of the Cultures of Vietnam’s Ethnic Groups with the showing of 54 Ethnic Groups living in Vietnam. Drive back Hanoi in the late afternoon, drop you at hotel, end trips.
- Accommodation in shared twin room with air-condition (AC) and private bathroom (Check in time: 14.00/ Check out time: 12.00)
- Meals as stated in the programme B= breakfast, L= lunch, D= dinner
- Transfers and tours with local English speaking guides in private air-conditioned vehicles
- All entrance fees, boat fees and / or cyclo fees as mentioned in the programme
- Drinking water and cold towels available on the vehicles
- International and Domestic flights (quoted separately, if requested)
- Surcharges for other language guides
- Surcharges for night-time services, especially applied for transfers with arrivals after 23:00 hrs and arrivals or departures before 06:00 hrs.
- Surcharges for Lunar New Year (TET) holiday, Peak season and Compulsory Gala Dinner (TBA at booking time)
- Personal travel insurance
- Personal expenditure, such as drinks, souvenirs, laundry, camera fees, communications, postage, gratuities etc.
- Meals and services other than mentioned in the programme
- Drinks with meals
- Visa
- Early check-in and late check-out at hotels, if not mentioned in the programme
- Tips
