Unique Northern Vietnam Off-road Motorbike Tour to Taxua, Ngoc Chien, Lai Chau – 8 Days

Start our motorbike tour by leaving Hanoi on a weaving dyke-road running along the Red river to Trung Ha Bridge to avoid the heavy traffic on the main roads, then we’ll follow the National Highway 32 passing extensive farming lands comprising a sea of paddy fields split by tree-lined roads punctuated by limestone karst scenery till we reach Thanh Son for lunch.

After lunch at a local restaurant, we’ll head to Phu Yen town via nice dirt tracks through spectacular tea hills.

 When we get to Phu Yen, the true challenge begins. We’ll embark on a vertical mountain trek with our bikes, a tough feat even on dry and sunny days, the track can be from 8 to 18 kilometers long (depending on your demand) with chilling and breathtaking scenery pushing us forwards all the way. We’ll get to our destination at a clearing right beside the “dinosaur backbone”.

Ta Xua is a mountain range in the Bac Yen district in Son La province. At the highest point of 2865 meters, the Ta Xua peak is the tenth highest peak in Vietnam. The three most important peaks form a line that looks like the “backbone of a dinosaur“. It is a real off the beaten track destination for adventure travelers.

If time permits, we also try some dirt-track experiences to get deeper into remote villages around to see how the locals live & work otherwise it’s our time for beer, and relaxation amid this remote and pristine nature’s playground amid the clouds.

We overnight in a house-on-stilts of the H’Mong people.(homestay in the village)

Summary:
Distance: 210 km
Meals: Lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Homestay

On this day, after having breakfast at the homestay at 8.00 we begin the ride at about 9.00. The landscape in the morning ride is decorated with spectacular group clouds since this area lies 1500-2000m above sea level and surrounded by many ranges of mountains. There are many nice spots for picture taking in the first 30 kilometers. We keep riding through winding roads and beautiful rice terraces to Nghia Lo town via Tram Tau. There are chances for you to stop to see green rice fields formed by hard-working local Thai people before lunch in Nghia Lo.

In the afternoon, the wheels are going to take you to a beautiful village called Tu Le, which is famous for producing one of the best sticky rice strains in Vietnam. FYI, sticky rice plays an important part in Vietnam’s agri-based culture, it appears in almost every family’s meals on our traditional holidays. Steamed sticky rice, salt,… are common offerings that we Vietnamese dedicate to our ancestors following our belief in veneration of the dead.

The highlight of today’s ride is Khau Pha pass, one of the four highest passes in Vietnam, we will stop at the top of this pass for an incredible view to Tu Le valley before heading to our homestay.

Ngoc Chien, where we stay tonight is a village located at an altitude of about 1500-1800 meters above sea level, blessed by nature with very fresh and unspoiled scenery. Coming here, visitors are immediately mesmerized by the beauty of terraced fields and lovely stilt houses of the local Thai community here. Nature really favors Ngoc Chien when bestowing this place with beautiful scenery and scenes of natural hot mineral springs. Hot water in Ngoc Chien has an average temperature of 50 – 70 degrees Celsius, suitable for visitors to relax and relieve stress effectively. And a special treatment we are delighted to offer you at the accommodation tonight is a nice homestay with a hot spring in here, imagine spending your time in a hot spring after 3 days of offroading, you won’t be disappointed!

Summary:
Distance: 160 km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Homestay

After saying goodbye to Ngoc Chien, we continue our journey at 8 o’clock. Along a river we ride through small villages, stop by at a hydropower dam for pictures, we stop for a coffee in It Ong town after 40 kilometers of riding. The first highlight of the day is a ride straight through a cave to a small village, hills and farms. Rice fields and mountains lie everywhere on the way today. In the afternoon, we will ride to the historic Pha Din pass, In local language, Pha Din means “heaven and earth”, also a reference to the height of its. There is a story that to decide where the border between Son La and Dien Bien should lie, a horse race was organized. Two horses and riders started from opposite sides at the bottom of the pass and raced to the top. The border demarcation is said to be where they met at the top. Whether the story is true or not the border is actually quite very close highest point although Son La province does have a larger portion of the pass. This pass witnessed extraordinary efforts and achievements of Vietnamese military at the time of the famous Battle of Dien Bien Phu.

We spend the night in a hotel tonight in Tuan Giao, a peaceful small town.

Summary:
Distance: 160 – 180 km
Meals: Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Hotel

We leave at about 9 o’clock today, in the morning, we ride through isolated villages of Thai and H’mong people, where we can see peaceful rice fields, where kids playing with water buffalos, after 40 kilometers, we stop by a beautiful spot for a scenic view down to Muong Ang valley. When we arrive Dien Bien Phu city, if time permits, we will pay a visit to the A1 hill (which is called “Eliane 2” by French military), where the last charge of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu happened. On May 7^th -1954 this hill marked the ultimate victory of Vietnamese military against French colonizers, this victory after that leaded to the collapse of the French colonial reign in Indochina. After this short history tour, we get back on our bikes to ride on a remote road to Muong Lay, hills, mountains and local tribes await us on the road.

After having lunch, a detour on a dirt track is ahead of us, it’s time to tight up our gears for some memorable challenges. What’s waiting for us are verdant fields, panoramic sight, goat tracks that wheels of cars can never touch…

This night we stay in Muong Lay, a nearly forgotten town lying silently beside the mighty Da River. Before 1990, this place was a big city with a population of 90000 people, due to some natural events and new government plans at the time, it became a small and peaceful town until today. Muong Lay is also a home to many different hill tribes of H’mong, Tay, Thai, Dzao, Muong living together.

Summary:
Distance: 170 km
Meals: Lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Hotel

In the morning our ride will be alongside the mighty Da river, Da river is one of the longest river in Vietnam on which located 5 important major hydropower factories of the nation. The river will follow us for 70 kilometers more before saying goodbye to us in Phong Tho, from here, we come back to mountains and forests.

After a light lunch, we head to O Quy Ho, another famous pass of Vietnam with spectacular view. And when you feel the air getting cooler, see the mist coming from the mountain ranges, that’s when we arrive in Sapa, where we spend the night. Located at the altitude of 1600 meters above sea level, Sapa is famous for its cool weather, breathtaking scenery and culture diversity with 6 different tribes of people living together. This is also a big town comparing to other destinations on the tour so you can spend your time here for casual entertainment activities like bars, pubs… We stay in a hotel for this night.

Summary:
Distance: 180 km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Hotel

We have two options for the distance today, a short ride of 100 kilometers and a longer one of 180 kilometers.

With the first option, you have more time to relax in Sapa or do a cable car trip to Fansipan mountain-the highest mountain of Indochina. Depart at 10 or 11 o’clock down from Sapa to Lao Cai City, we will stop at an interesting checkpoint near Vietnamese – Chinese border where you can see China right beyond a river and enjoy a nice coffee, it’s 30 kilometers from Sapa. From here. We head to Road 70 before turn to Bac Ha on Road 153.

The second option offers you a different route with longer distance. From Sapa we follow Road 43d through Lao Cai city to Muong Khuong province, where we can see rice fields surrounded by majestic limestone mountains. From Muong Khuong we roll on the winding road 153 through small villages and plum farms to Bac Ha.

Challenging offroad and dirt tracks are available for both two options.

Long touted as the weekend alternative to Sapa, this small highland town doesn’t have the same dramatic location of its more illustrious neighbour, but it is calmer when Saturday comes. Comparing to 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.

Overnight in hotel.

Summary:
Distance: 100-170 km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Hotel

We begin riding today at about 8 o’clock after breakfast. If we’re lucky enough to be here on Sunday, then we should visit Bac Ha periodical market, a unique event of the town. Bac Ha Market is considered as the largest and most colorful market in the area. On weekends, throngs of villagers from the surrounding hill tribes walk to the market to purchase and exchange food, animals, clothes and household goods. The Bac Ha Market sees the attendance of variety different ethnic groups including Flower H’mong, Phu La, Black Dao, Tay and Nung minorities, who gather together to buy and sell their own products (ranging from everything made from hand-embroidered skirts to all manner of 4-legged animals) that cannot be found elsewhere. That’s why the market is frequently very crowded and bustling.

After leaving the market, we head to road 70 to our destination today-Vu Linh village near Thac Ba lake. Roaming on a backroad alongside Chay river, we stop by for lunch in Yen The, a town that’s famous for gemstones industry, especially ruby.

When we hit our homestay, have a cold beer to cool down and then we take a boat ride in Thac Ba lake, 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, who are really big drinkers. The welcome is exceptional and we hope you will survive.

Summary:
Distance: 180 km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Hotel

After breakfast we cruise 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 dyke, 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 Da River by bridge, we pass through Son Tay and then return to Hanoi on the highway.

Distance: 160km
Duration: 6 hours
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

End Of Services

Note: The itinerary above is very brief, and motorcycle tours are always flexible, therefore, depending on your riding experience, your demands and weather conditions, your tour guide will choose the most suitable roads for you. So please don’t hesitate to discuss with the guide about your needs every day on the trip since we want to bring you the best service that we can.