Northern Vietnam mountain bike tour: Cycling Can Cau and Bac Ha markets (3 days)

The 3-day mountain biking is customized for small group tours, family travel or holidays with kids. The cycling tour starts and ends in Lao Cai province. You either take the overnight train from Hanoi or hire a private vehicle to get to Laocai. You mostly cycle on paved roads with lots of uphill and downhill bicycle ride. You have also the opportunity to pedal on single tracks, offroad biking trails to visit remote ethnic villages. Visit the Can Cau market, open on Saturday morning and the Bac Ha market is only open on Sunday morning. This 3-day biking tour can be extended with a  short trek to Sapa or an overland tour to Ha Giang province.

Itinerary:

Day 1: Arrive Laocai. Start cycling (L,D)

Arrive early this morning, you will be greeted by Lotussia Travel team at Laocai train station and transferred to a local restaurant for breakfast. After having breakfast, you will start out from Lao Cai by cycling on good flat road leading towards Bac Ngam. You pass by peaceful countryside of the Red River valley. Villages and rice fields are all along the way. You arrive in Bac Ngam by noon, where you stop for a picnic lunch.

In the afternoon, you will have a long and sometimes steep ascent to the final destination of today,
Bac Ha. Should you feel tired from riding the bike, your jeep will pick you up and give you a lift to
Bac Ha. You will check in a hotel, where you will stay for the next two nights. A cold drink, a shower
and a tasteful dinner will complete this day, and make it one to remember.

Day 2: Visit Can Cau market & Continue cycling (B, L, D)

Today is time for a special market experience: the Can Cau market. The road between Bac Ha and
Can  Cau  is  hilly  but  extremely  beautiful.  The  ride  will  take  you  around  1  and  half  hours.  The
products on the market are interesting, as well as the groups of ethnic minority people represented
make  the market an unforgettable experience. You will spend all  the morning  to walk around  the
market exploring its magnificent chaos. You will have picnic lunch on the way.

In the afternoon, you head back to Bac Ha. You will be able to take a nice ride to Ban Pho village of
Flower Hmong and Nung minorities, which is nearby Bac Ha. The villagers grow vegetables and fruit
trees. One of the most famous fruit of the area is plum. You will be able to visit a local house, where
you might have chance to taste a cup of corn wine, another famous product of the village. You will
spend another night in the hotel

Day 3: Cycling & travel back to laocai train station (B,L)

After having a morning coffee, you  take a  short walk  to visit  the old castle of  the  former Hmong
King. From  there you can have a view over  the  town. You will  then visit this huge market with its
colorful array of ethnic minority people such as Flower Hmong, Phu La, Black Dao, Tay, and Nung
who gather to buy and sell. After spending the whole morning exploring the market, your lunch will
be served in a local restaurant.

You will then start out from Bac Ha by cycling downhill to Bao Nhai, where we get on a boat to have
a cruise on the Chay river. It is a perfect way to finish your trip by sitting in the boat exploring the
life at  the  riverbank. Your  jeep will wait  for you in Coc Ly and  take  to Lao Cai Railways Station  to
reach  the  train back  to Hanoi. End of Lotussia Travel service.


Contact Lotussia Travel for more details.