5 days Ha Giang and Ba Be Lake

Your guide will collect you from your hotel in Hanoi at 8am, beginning your journey to the stunning mountains of Ha Giang by travelling along Road No.2, where you will slowly see the scenery around you change from bustling metropolis to rolling countryside. Not far out of Hanoi, you will stop in Duong Lam Ancient Village, a site rich in history and culture, containing such sites as Mong Phu Temple and Mia Pagoda with its 287 statues and centuries old houses. Here we will enjoy a taste of rural life as we are served a home-cooked local meal for lunch, before continuing along the winding river from Duong Lam deep into the mountains of Ha Giang, marvelling at the spectacular views along the way. Once in Ha Giang City, we will check in to our local homestay and enjoy a home-cooked dinner.

As we set out from Ha Giang after getting our permit from the immigration office, your journey to Dong Van will be filled with spectacular landscapes in the form of a series of long passes. En route you will stop for lunch at the small and beautiful mountain village of Tam Son, before heading to the majestic “King of the H’mong Palace”, a fortress built by a local chief, Vuong Chin Duc, who allied himself with French forces against the Viet Minh. Built in the 1900’s, this palace was designed in the style of ancient Chinese architecture dating to the Qing era, and it was made from materials such as solid stone blocks, wood and terracotta tiles. Once you’ve finished at the palace, we continue on our journey until we reach Hoa Cuong Hotel in Dong Van at around 5pm, where we’ll have dinner at a local restaurant and stay for the night

You’ll start the day off with breakfast and a visit to the Dong Van Market, where locals come from all the surrounding villages to purchase and trade for essentials they cannot produce themselves. You will then climb a pass up to the French Fortress of Pu Lo, built in 1890 and evacuated in 1945, from which you can enjoy a spectacular view of the entire region. Once here, you will trek 7 km to Thien Huong village, a small hamlet located in the valley adjacent to the border with China. This village is inhabited by the Tay tribal people, whose culture you’ll get an intimate and up-close look at before we head back to Dong Van for lunch on a drive through the amazing Ma Pi Leng Pass, where the road will climb 10 kilometres all the way to the top, through a unique landscape of craggy limestone peaks and gaping valleys. As we descend back down into Meo Vac Valley we’ll reach Bao Lac village, where we will enjoy a local dinner and stay for the night.

After Bao Lac we will take you along our secret route, a gorgeous small road snaking through the valleys until it reaches the Tay village of Cho Ra, before finally reaching Ba Be National Park. Once we arrive we’ll first re-fuel by having a local lunch, then visit Hua Ma Cave and the traditional Tay village of Coc Toc, where you will be welcomed by Mr Linh and his amazingly friendly Tay family in their traditional silt house homestay. If you’re here when it’s hot, we recommend copying the local kids and going for a refreshing swim in the calm waters of Ba Be Lake, before enjoying dinner at the homestay where Mrs Linh specializes in local dishes, served on the river terrace if the weather permits.

Today is all about Ba Be Lake and the surrounding sights. First you’ll have breakfast at the homestay, before going to Bo Lu Quay by foot where you then board a boat and embark for your tour of the river and lake. On board you can decide yourself how to spend your time, whether it’s relaxing in the sun, wildlife spotting or swimming around the boat. As you float down the Nang River, take in the scenery dominated by forest covered karsts inhabited by all sorts of wildlife, and keep a special look out for the rainbow of butterflies that make this area their home. Eventually you will reach Puong Cave, which is replete with amazing stalactites and stalagmites, a result of thousands of years of erosion caused by the river passing over the karst rocks, and is also home to a several thousand-strong bat colony. After you’ve finished your exploration of all the lake has to offer, it’s time to head back to Hanoi, taking in the equally beautiful scenery along your return journey, before arriving at your hotel around 5:30pm.