Cloudy Northwest Vietnam Offroad Motorbike Loop Tour to Pu Luong, Ta Xua, Y Ty, Mu Cang Chai

In this morning, after having breakfast at hotel you’ll jump on your iron horse to ride along the dyke of Red River where you can have a chance to witness our peaceful & green villages with bamboo trees, gardens of flowers, paddies & local markets. Later on, you’ll turn your way to a very scenic road to get to Quan Son lake which is known as another Halong bay located to the West of Hanoi. We’ll spend more than 1 hour here to ride offroad a bit around the lake to see the magnificent beauties of the lake, mountains, islands & people feeding poultries or catching fishes.

After a short break by the lake, we’ll merge into the Ho Chi Minh trail to ride to Pu Luong Nature Reserve. We’ll have lunch at a local restaurant on the way.

En route, you’ll stop by to visit other spectacular destinations with jungles, waterfalls, streams, bridges & villages of Thai ethnic people.

The Pu Luong limestone landscape is an area of outstanding beauty, culture interest and high biodiversity value stretching from Mai Chau in the North to West to Cuc Phuong national park in the South East. It is blessed with rich forest, limestone panoramas, magnificent rice terraces, and breathtaking scenery. And established in 1999, Pu Luong Nature Reserve is primary tropical forest. This is also a living place of ethnic Muong and Thai people. Pu Luong means the highest peak of the village, in Thai language.

At around 17:30, we will get to Hieu hamlet located inside the Pu Luong Nature Reserve where you’ll be hosted by the locals with smiles & great foods.

Overnight at the local’s village (traditional houses on stilts)

Summary:

Distance: 160 km

Meals: Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Home-stay

We will be riding to Bac Yen town via Mai Chau with the stopover in Moc Chau and a ferry across the Da River.

Ta Xua belonged to Bac Yen district (Son La), is an attractive tourist destination to those who want to “hunt” beautiful and great clouds. The way to Ta Xua is quite difficult to go, but you will be satisfied by the beautiful landscape in here. In the season of cotton mop, the hillside is covered by the white cotton mops which are shine bright in the sun. In order to see the torrential clouds, you might have to wake up early, from 5 a.m to both “hunt” the clouds and welcome the sunrise.

Stay in guest house

Summary:

Distance: 160 km

Meals: Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Guest-house

In the morning, we keep motorbiking across Lung Lo pass before head up on Road 32.

During the First Indochina War, the 15km-long Lung Lo Pass, used by the Vietnamese resistance force to transport weapons, goods, and food during the Dien Bien Phu campaign of 1954, was heavily bombed by the French in order to sever the front lines from the rear. Lung Lo Pass, situated in the northern province of Yen Bai, was also recognized as a national heritage by the ministry.

After lunch, we ride through the Mu Cang Chai massif, almost as high as the Fansipan. From the top, it offers one of the most beautiful views of North Vietnam. The ride is challenging but very rewarding.

Terraced fields in Mu Cang Chai are beautiful all the year round. Visitors in March are treated to the sight of glittering ponds. Locals transplant rice seedlings from April to May. After that, all hills are covered by an everlasting green. The fields start to turn yellow with ripe rice from early September.

The fields are visible from virtually everywhere in the district as they expand over 2,200ha, including around 500ha in Che Cu Nha, La Pan Tan, and De Xu Phinh communes. The terraced fields in these villages were recognized as a national heritage in 2007 by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Mu Cang Chai is at its most beautiful in September and October when the rice ripens. In addition to the rice ripening season, many tourists like to visit Mu Cang Chai in May and June, when the local farmers irrigate their fields. At that time, the terraced rice fields are like giant mirrors sparkling under the sunlight.

Overnight in a hotel.

Summary:

Distance: 210 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

We motorbike straight toward the main Fansipan Mountain range. There is also the option for a very challenging back route which takes us through several river crossings. The massive mountain range dominates the road until finally, we must make a splendid climb up from Binh Lu and up to the top of the highest road pass in Vietnam (Tram Ton Pass).

Located at an altitude of 2000m, Y Ty is covered by the clouds and fog all year round and the sun rarely lights enough all day. Y Ty is famous for the zigzag roads, the peaceful valleys, the twinkling terraces under the yellow sun lights, the small simple houses of the ethnic people, the colors of the old jungle, and the clouds in harmony with mountains. Coming to Y Ty, you drop in on Muong Hum Market. Like other highland markets, the market in Y Ty also brings the cultural colors of the ethnic minority people in the northwest. This market sells all types of handmade products, clothes, jewelries, handicrafts, featured food, fruits, etc.

Furthermore, you should also visit Hong Ngai Hamlet, Sin Chai Hamlet and Lao Chai Hamlet with the special architecture of Mong ethnic people; sightsee the nice impressive road A Lu in the rice harvest, and especially “hunt the clouds” in Y Ty. It’s interesting to sightsee the beautiful sunrise and sunset on the cloudy sea in the early morning and in the early evening.

Overnight at homestay

You will be passing A Lu, Ngai Thau, Amusung where you will witness beautiful terrace rice fields. Get up the Lung Po flag tower overlooking the Red River coming into Vietnam land and the water border. Crossing into Lao Cai Province at over 2,000m the views looks out over the main range for miles and miles, before we descend to the mountainous Sa Pa valley.

Sa Pa is located in Lao Cai Province, north-west Vietnam, and 350 km north-west of Hanoi, close to the border with China. Sapa is famous both for its fine, rugged scenery and for its rich cultural diversity. French used to consider Sapa as Summer Capital of Northern Vietnam in the early decades of the 20th century. Its naturally gifted beauty keeps attracting more and more people to spend their vacation there since then. Particularly, the place is the foremost choice for honeymoon couples!

Overnight in Hotel.

Summary:

Distance: 110 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Hotel

Take our motorbikes down from Sapa to Lao Cai City and then have a coffee-stop on the bank of Nam Thi river, which is Vietnam – China border. Enjoy your coffee while taking the view to China. Get on the road, take a ride to our Dao friends’ village of Vu Linh, which by the side of Thac Ba lake, the biggest man-made lake in Vietnam.

This artificial lake has an area of 23,400 ha and 1,331 islands and hills with diverse ecological environments. The water in the lake is blue, clear, and imprinted with the reflections of the surrounding ancient forest. The thousands of hills and islands feature caves such as the Hum, Cau Cuoi and Bach Xa. We take the boat ride, 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.

We will have an unforgettable dinner with the hosts, whose are really big drinkers and they party every day. The welcome is exceptional and we hope you will survive.

Summary:

Distance: 200 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Home-stay

After breakfast, we ride southeast on Highway 2 and then branch off to the sleepy town of Phu Tho. We follow the edge of the Red River along the dike, almost to the point where it merges with the Black River after which they flow together to Hanoi.

By now we are very much in the lowlands of the delta plains and the north’s main agricultural areas. Harvest time here is a sea of activity. Crossing the Black River by a bridge, we pass Vu Linh Motorbike tours to Hanoi through Son Tay and then return to Hanoi on the highway. We should be back to Hanoi before rush-hour (4 pm) because traffic’s getting busier and busier.

Summary:

Distance: 180 km

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch.