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Northern Vietnam mountain 9 day adventure offers you off the beaten track
journeys through Vietnam's stunning north. In 9 days you will trek through the
mountains and valleys surrounding northwest encountering local ethnic
minorities, drive through the breathtaking landscapes and visit the magnificent
heaven gates, the trip will take you to Thac Ba lake, Mu Cang Chai rice
terraces, Sapa villages, Bac Ha markets and Ha Giang. It is considered the
mountain paradise that is home to many ethnic minorities. This is the chance to
explore many minority ethnic groups of H'mong, Dzay, Nung.
Day 1: Hanoi - Yen Bai - Thac Ba lake (L,D)
Start the tour at 8:30 AM. We will head up to the northeast of Hanoi on the dike
road along the Red river, the 60 km winding dike road offers a safe and
interesting motorbike ride because it runs through some rustic villages on the
river bank with rice fields around, after around 2 hour motorbike ride from
Hanoi, we will have a interesting motorcycle ride on the mountain roads through
some bustling town and then we will finish the ride at around 4:00 PM in Vu Linh
village – the village of the Dzao people who stay closely to the Thac Ba lake.
Leave the bikes and have boat trip touring on the lake if time and weather
permits. ThacBa lakecovers an area of 23,400 hectare, comprising 1,331 islands
and hills with a diverse eco-system, our boat trip to discover the lake. Jump
into the clear water to wake yourself up. We spend the night at Vu Linh eco
resort.
Day 2: Thac Ba - Nghia Lo - Mu Cang Chai (B,L,D)
Say good-bye to your host, then drive to Muong Lo, and the town of Nghia Lo, the
second largest rice field inNorthwest Vietnamand the homeland of the Thai ethnic
people. Thai people first came here to grow rice and build their traditional
wooden houses of iron and bamboo around 700 years ago. Take a short 2-hour walk
around the village to discover Thai ethnic culture and the daily life. We have
lunch and Nghia Lo and follow the mountains of Hoang Lien Son and winds through
the rice terraces. Stop to start your hike and enjoy the beautiful scenery.
Don't forget to take photos on the way before reaching the village of the Thai
and H'mong ethnic minorities. People here are dressed in traditional costumes
and will welcome you with open arms. The locals here still retain their
traditional lifestyle, customs and habits so this is a good chance to learn more
about the culture. We continue to drive along the mountainous road with
spectacular scenery along the way. Stop at Nga Ba Kim for a short break.
Stunning landscapes full of terraced rice fields, mountains, clouds and wooden
stilt houses, make up a heaven of peace and simple happiness. Be warmly welcomed
by locals in their traditional costumes, see the H'mong women working their
looms and say hello to the passing children and you will find yourself drawn in
by the land and the people here.
Night and dinner at Mu Cang Chai home stay.
Day 3: Mu Cang Chai - Than Uyen - Sapa (B,L,D)
Have breakfast and continue trekking a half day to explore more the ethnic
village around Mu Cang Chai, the amazingly beautiful land with magnificent
terraced fields such as Che Cu Nha, La Pan Tan and De Xu Phinh.
We continue our trip to Sapa via Than Uyen. We will go through Lai Chau province
blessed with mystical mountain, beautiful rivers and streams. Visit minority
villages en route, we have lunch in Than Uyen. Enjoy the landscape on O Quy Ho
pass - the highest pass in Vietnam (2070 m). Stop for photos opportunities and
enjoy the fresh air. From here, you can see Fanxipan Mountain, "the Roof of
Indochina" with ist 3143m peak soaked in clouds. Arrive in Sapa at noon and
visit colorful ethnic markets and Sapa old town with its remnants of the French
colonial era.
Day 4: Sapa trekking (B,L,D)
After breakfast at hotel, we set out on a trek down to Lao Chai village to visit
a settlement of the Black H'mong ethnic people, with a picnic lunch along the
way. Moving on from here through the valley, the next stop will be at Ta Van
village, home to Dzay ethnic minority people, which is said to be the most
friendly one in this mountainous area. Pressing on again to Giang Ta Chai
village of Red Dzao tribe, you will get a chance to see amazing scenery and a
beautiful waterfall as you go. In the afternoon, you will return to Sapa Town,
to have time to discover Sapa Market.
Day 5: Sapa - Lao Cai - Bac Ha (B,L,D)
After breakfast in Sapa, you leave Sapa Town for Bac Ha to join the Sunday
Market with local people (if Sunday). Bac Ha is very photogenic, and is
considered one of the most wonderful and colourful markets in the far north of
Vietnam where thousands of local people in their traditional attire buy and sell
products from the area, including a live animal section. In the afternoon, we
will take a pleasant walk to Ban Pho village, home to the Flower H'mong people.
This is a great opportunity to interact with the friendly locals and have a
pleasant walk amongst tribal villages.
Day 6: Bac Ha - Xin Man - Hoang Su Phi (B,L,D)
Leaving Bac Ha we set off on a full day journey through Xin Man to Hoang Su Phi.
Have your camera at the ready, because the road between Bac ha and Xin Man
features a unique and beautiful landscape, plus a fantastic market in Can Cau
located right in the heart of mountains. After Can Cau, we proceed along the
Chinese border to the remote and seldom-visited province of Ha Giang. The rough
but scenic route traverse a dense jungle before crossing over a pass and
dropping down to Xin Man. This day is a real challenge for our driver as we
travel by winding roads with many uphill and down hill drives. Along the way we
may encounter the Nung, Tay, Red Dzao, Dzao Ao Dzai, La Chi and Co Lao, just
some of the many hill tribe groups who have settled there. We pass by Xin Man
with many villages of H'mong, Nung along the way and 100-km up and down mountain
passes with amazing landscape of mountainous rice paddies. Then we continue
along the Lo river to Hoang Su Phi.
Day 7: Hoang Su Phi - Quan Ba - Dong Van (B,L,D)
After breakfast, you will take a drive to Dong Van Karst Plateau. On the way,
you will have a chance to see a beauty of Pac Sum pass, Heaven Gate, Fairy
Mountain in Quan Ba, looking down the Tam Son town from above. Stop at Yen Minh
for lunch then continue driving to an old famous house Pao’s House. Then visit
the residence of the Vuong family (Palace of Hmong King). And continue taking a
drive to Dong Van town. Visit ancient houses, depart for Lo Lo minority village,
trekking to Flag tower on the top of Lung Cu Mountain about 1km, view ancient
valley from the top.
Arriving in Dong Van in the early afternoon, we visit the Dong Van Old quarter,
lined with houses of one or two hundred years old, enjoy more of the ancient
atmosphere of Dong Van. The rest of the day is through remote and beautiful
countryside of Dong Van where we pass through several villages along tracks used
by the local people.
We are rewarded with a brilliant back of picturesque valleys covered in rice
paddies. The H’mong and Hoa people, who are the local ethnic minorities, exhibit
their friendliness through their colourful clothing and warm hospitality. We
spend the night in Dong Van.
Day 8: Dong Van - Ma Pi Leng pass - Meo Vac - Bac Me (B,L,D)
This will be an unforgettable day! Starting with a visit to the market in Dong
Van (Sunday morning), where the locals shop for all their home cooking supplies,
clothes and homewares. We then climb a pass up to the French Fortress of Pu Lo,
which was built in 1890 and vacated in 1945, The views from here of the entire
region are truly spectacular. We then continue onward on a climb of 15 km up to
the top of the Ma Pi Leng Pass, through a maze of lime huge peaks, which look
almost like ‘stone forests’, and canyons the like of which you will not see
anywhere else in the world. We then head down into the valley of Meo Vac before
winding through the mountains and across the river to arrive in the village of
Bac Me. We will have lunch on the way then take the rugged mountain road through
Lung Ho - Mau Due and Du Gia. At this point you will have some free time to
relax, rest and unwind. Arrive in Bac Me in the late afternoon we check in the
guesthouse and have dinner.
Day 9: Bac Me - Ha Giang - Hanoi (B,L)
After breakfast we pack our bags and say "goodbye" to the hosts, we take a walk
in the morning around the village to observe the local lifestyle and immerse
yourself in the tranquil mountainous scenery. We jump on our car for an 1 hour
drive to Ha Giang where we spend 1,5 hour trekking to Truc Son village, you will
visit the ancient house of over 200 years old that is the only one surviving
through the large fires and remains intact until today, you can learn more about
the traditional architectural character of the Dao house and make our way to the
main road. On the way, you can relish the peace and tranquility of the
mountainous region. Return to Hanoi via Tuyen Quang, lunch en route. Arrive in
Hanoi around 18:00 and drop off at hotel.
TRIP ENDS |
