Immense North Vietnam motorbike tour to Ha Giang

We start our Motorbike tour by riding on to dyke roads following Red river to Thac Ba lake. See beautiful countryside, rice and green tea fields.

Then we turn to the little road to Vu Linh village, where populated by Dzao ethnic minority by the side of Thac Ba lake, very friendly people and the welcome is exceptional.
Home-stay in Vu Linh

Summary:
Distance:  180 km
Meals: Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Home-stay

After breakfast, we take the boat ride on Thac Ba lake, the biggest man-made lake in Vietnam. Stop by an island for swimming and discover the particularities of this area: the way villagers paddle their boats, the exotic and odd animals living around, the quiet and peaceful beauty of this huge lake, the lifestyle of the Dao among the thousands of islets.

Back to home-stay for lunch. Get on the road, take a half-day ride through palm forest all the way to Luc Yen and stay in a family in the Tay territory. It’s a great home stay and the hosts are very welcoming.
Home-stay in Luc Yen

Summary:
Distance:  80 km
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Home-stay

Motorcycle to get out to Road 70 up north to Khanh Hoa T-junction, turn to Road 153 to Bac Ha. This small highland town fills up to choking point on Sunday morning, when visitors flood in to meet the Flower H’mong at the morning market. Compared with Sapa, tourism is still in its infancy here and during the week the town has a deserted feel. Bac Ha is a good base to explore the surrounding highlands. Around 900m above sea level, it is noticeably warmer than Sapa.

One of Bac Ha’s main industries is she manufacture of alcoholic home brews (rice wine, cassava wine and corn liquor). The corn hooch produced by the Flower H’mong is so potent it can ignite! Bac Ha is the only place in Vietnam where you’ll find this particular moonshine; there’s an entire area devoted to it at the Sunday market.
Overnight in Bac Ha.

Summary:
Distance:  140 km
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Home-stay

After breakfast, beautiful motor ride on the track to Xin Man and Hoang Su Phi on many small; back roads with scenic mountain views. Xin Man is right on the border between Vietnam and China. It is, as of this writing, well hidden and completely surrounded by wild mountains and forests. There’s a single road from Xin Man to Hoang Su Phi.

Hoang Su Phi is among the most untouched area of Ha Giang Province of Vietnam. The area was separated from the mainstream society until very recently. Passing Hoang Su Phi, we will be charmed by the pristine beauty of the wild mountains and the authentic culture of the local ethnic groups which include: the Nung, the Flower H’mong, the Tay and the Ha Nhi People…
After lunch, join the main road heading up to Ha Giang City, where we stop for the night and apply for a permit.

Summary:
Distance:  200 km
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Hotel

After getting the permit for motorbike tour in border areas at Ha Giang’s Immigration Police, we ride on small challenging mountain roads (but incredibly beautiful) on the land of colorful mountain hill-tribes.

Head up the Ma Pi Leng Pass. Here is yet another amazing place, with cloudy mountain ranges and the poetic Nho Que river winding off in the distance.

It is really difficult to find the exact words to describe Ma Pi Leng Pass, located between Dong Van and Meo Vac, near the northernmost tip of Vietnam, as a painting of astonishing beauty and magnificence that captures the eyes of all viewers and nature lovers.

Ride on a zig-zag track until reaching Vuong Family’s Residence, 14 kms before Dong Van.
Vuong Family was considered the King of the Hmong People in Dong Van, Ha Giang. Their residence was built in the scenic valley of Sa Phin with Chinese architecture. The whole house was built out of wood and rock only. The rocks for the buildings were imported from China. Vuong Family Residence is a masterpiece of man work in the valley of heavenly beauty of Sa Phin.

This is a remote area and we can meet the hard-working local people here. It is inspiring to see how they survive as they manage live in the rocks. When we reach Dong Van Town we will have some extra time to wonder the ancient streets lined with H’mong homes of clay bricks and tiles roofs built centuries ago.

Summary:
Distance:  160 km
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Hotel

The road is still under construction and tracks what make the ride relatively long in spite of few kilometres. The landscape is among the most beautiful of Vietnam, and the slow tempo is only more appreciable.

We motorcycle across the wild regions of the mythical province of Ha Giang, Meo Vac is included. It shares the border with Dong Van District of Ha Giang Province and Bao Lam District of Cao Bang Province. Meo Vac has most of the terrain in the Rock Plateau of Dong Van and above 1000m above sea level.

Meo Vac has a harsh climate in the winter which is from November to April with dry and freezing cold weather. It is inhabited by different ethnic minorities including the H’mong, the King, Tay, Dzao…Most ethnic groups have maintained their culture untouched from the outside world.

In the afternoon, we stop for the night at Bao Lac, the ethnic crossroad of Northeast Vietnam. Many other ethnic groups on the two sides of the border meet at the market every Sunday.

Summary:
Distance:  80 km
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Hotel

Beautiful motor ride down to Bac Kan Province. Few passes from where you can dominate the area. The road is easy but there are many blind curves before we turn to Ba Be lake (inside Ba Be National Park).

Ba Be National Park is an abundant bioreserve area containing the world’s only fresh-water karst lake and several rare species of fauna and flora. Ba Be lake – The biodiverse 10,048ha park – home to 1,268 species of flora and fauna, a series of caves and a gigantic fresh water lake – was established in 1992 by the Vietnamese Government to preserve forest ecosystems in the northeast.

Ba Be is home to over 3,000 people from the ethnic minorities of Tay, Nung, Dao and Mong, who live in 13 villages within the park. The Tay people have inhabited Ba Be area for centuries and make up 58 per cent of the population within the park’s boundaries.

Motorcycle into Bac Ngoi village, which is located inside Ba Be National Park. Our home-stay in Tay’s family is right by the side of Ba Be lake with wonderful and peaceful view.

Summary:
Distance:  140 km
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Home-stay

Half-day boat-ride on the lake to the other side, where we can explore Dau Dang waterfall on Nang river. As one of the 27 ASEAN heritage gardens, Ba Be has the potential to attract nature lovers with its 450ha natural fresh water lake, and 553 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish.

According to a survey from the Viet Nam Institute of Geo-sciences and Mineral Resources, over 11,000 years ago, an earthquake caused a collapse of the subterranean Nang River, creating a natural dam which led to the formation of Ba Be Lake.

Lunch in a village near by Dau Dang waterfall before back to home-stay. Get on our bikes and take a half-day ride on countryside to Na Khan. This Nung’s village is in middle of nowhere.
We have last experience on the trip to share the meals and house with locals.

Summary:
Distance:  80 km
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Home-stay

Easy motor ride in the morning, passing peaceful villages and rice fields before reaching very busy road in the afternoon. Traffic is getting worst and worst on Road 3, the way back to Hanoi, so we should be back before rush hour.
Finish our trip around 4 pm

Summary:
Distance:  160 km
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

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