Vietnam’s Far North Exposure Tours

Itinerary in brief

Day 1: Hanoi - Tuyen Quang - Quang Binh (-,L,D)
 

- Depart at 08.00 from Hanoi with Lotussia Travel guide by vehicle for Tuyen Quang Town Ship via Viet Tri, Phu Tho which takes about 4 hours including some tea breaks and viewing stops along the way. The drive of this part offers lively scenery of the northern country side from the Red River Delta to the midland of Phu Tho province with palm forest and tea plantation on the hilly land.
- Arrive in Tuyen Quang Township at about 12.00, lunch break.
- Leaving Tuyen Quang at 13.00 for 2 hours driving uphill along the Lo River to Vinh Tuy.

 - Take a short break at Vinh Tuy before taking a back road to travel through the prosperous lowland of Ha Giang province. This region stretches for over 50km long, lying between the Chay and Lo rivers with dozens of beautiful valleys separated by low mountain passages and being homes to the Tay ethnic peoples.
- 16.00 stop for visiting Chi village consisting of nearly 100 wooden houses built on stilts in the traditional style of the Tay which lies at the center of a spectacular valley.
- 17.00 leaving Chi village for Quang Binh town let. Checking in hotel, freshen up and Dinner.
• Total driving is 306 km. walking for about two hours for sightseeing and visiting villages.
• Staying overnight Ha Phuong Guesthouse: Air-coned and clean room, private bathroom with hot shower, western toilet.
• Lunch & Dinner: Vietnamese set menu

Day 2: Quang Binh - Nam An - Quan Ba(Tam Son town let)(B,L,D)
 

- Breakfast and leaving Quang Binh at 08.00 and driving 12 km to My Bac Commune and spend 20 minutes to visit the communal market before walking around My Pac village, paying visit to local homes to discover the unique culture of the Pa Then ethnic peoples. There is opportunities to see Pa Then women making traditional brocade and costumes.
- 09.30: Leaving My Pac Village and driving 38 km for about an hour to Nam An. This is a special tip of the day! At the top of the mountain pass about 3 km for the main road, great view of the below valleys, the Lo river… opens wide and far. Nam An used to be a narrow and deep valley, built into a lake for water storage to run a hydraulic power plant and now has become spectacular lake with a peninsular for eco-tourist sport. The group will spend an hour walking around the lake to pay visit to a Red Zao village whose culture and living style is remaining as its was for hundreds of years. Lunch in a house built by the water and relax. Clients may swim in the emerald clear water or moving around the lake on bamboo rafts or boats.
- Leaving Nam An at about 13.30 driving 45 km to Ha Giang and then uphill 43 km to Quan Ba. Clients will enjoy stunning landscapes along the Lo river from Nam An to Ha Giang and then the real high mountains cenery for an hour from Ha Giang to Quan Ba. At about 16.00 arriving at Quyet Tien Commune locating near the top of Quan Ba pass at 1000 m above sea level. Here the group will spend an hours enjoying marvel of nature and paying visit to 2 villages: One is Lung Muoi village of the H’mong with traditional living style of the highlander ethnics and the other, Vinh Tien village of the Kinh peoples immigrated to the region in 1980s in a government project attempting to give local minority ethnic peoples an example about intensive farming so that they can learn better farming technique from these immigrants.
- Continue by road 6 km to the top of the pass for another stop to admire magnificent scenery of a the large valley which is surrounded by high mountains including Quan Ba town let. Then driving down hill to Quan Ba before it get dark. Check in hotel, freshen up and dinner.
• Total driving is 136 km. walking for about 3 hours for sightseeing and visiting villages.
• Staying overnight Tam Son Guesthouse: Air-coned and clean room, private bathroom with hot shower, western toilet.
• Lunch & Dinner: Vietnamese set menu

Day 3: Quan Ba - Yen Minh - Pho Bang - Dong Van (107 Km) (B,L,D)
 

- Breakfast, check out hotel at 08.00, the group will pay a visit to a village of the Zao ao dai(Zao with long dress) 6 km away from the hotel which is well located in a fabulous valley with perfect nature setting for a culture discovery of this ethnic group in the region.
- Continue by road 4C along the Mtem river which sneaks its way between 2 high mountain ranges for 16 km to the foot of yen Minh pass. Here the group will take a walk for about 30 minutes to explore a village of the La Chi ethnic, one of smallest ethnic groups with only over 3000 individuals in Vietnam. - Passing over Yen Minh mountain pass with several stops for stunning scenery of the surrounding area, paying visit to a small Red Zao village near the top of the pass before descending downhill to Yen Minh town let for early lunch break.
- Leaving Yen Minh at about 12.00, the road gets steeper heading the limestone highlands. Rock and rock everywhere along the two sides of the road. Rarely appeared some narrow pieces of land and these are real treasure of the region for the local peoples, mainly H’mong to grow corn for their staple food. In this hard highland, peoples learn the best value of soil and water! Out of imagination but a truly fact that the H’mong peoples get soil from these pieces to carry uphill in back basket to put it in rocky holes to grow corn. - After 27 km driving through lime stone highland, the group arrives in Pho Bang, the ancient market and town let of the H’mong famous for the traditional two storey houses with clay wall of the H’mong. Spend an hours walking around this charming town let. - Leaving Pho Bang and driving back 5 km then getting downhill to the bottom of a long valley for another stop to visit Lung Cam village, paying visit to several homes of the H’mong including a 70 years old house where the famous Vietnamese film: The story about Pha’s life taken.
- Continues driving towards Dong Van for 14 km and arriving to the Vuong family palace, known as the King of the H’mong. The site is recognized as national historical site for its unique architectural structure as well as of its charm. - The last portion 14 km of the road to Dong Van offers unforgettable memory of the nature magnificence. Arriving at Dong Van at about 17.00, check in hotel, freshen up and clients may take an easy walk around the old street of Dong Van and the market.
• Total driving is 107 km. walking for about two and a half hours for sightseeing and visiting villages.
• Staying overnight Rocky Highland Hotel: Air-coned and clean room, private bathroom with hot shower, western toilet.
• Lunch & Dinner: Vietnamese set menu

Day 4: Dong Van - Lung Cu - Meo Vac - Bao Lac (B,L,D)
Opt1: On week day:
 

- Wake up early, breakfast at 6.30 and depart at 7.30 for Lung Cu, 26 km from Dong Van for visiting the northern most commune of Vietnam, especially paying visit to the only Red Lolo ethnic village. If on Friday, clients will have chance to attend the local communal market here, where some hundreds of ethnic peoples from H’mong, Zao and Lolo ethnic gather once a week not only for shopping but also for socializing. - Driving back to Dong Van, having a short rest, check out hotel and leaving for Meo Vac.

Opt2: On Sunday:
 

- Breakfast and joining the local for the market. Dong Van Sunday market is the biggest and famous market in the region taken place every Sunday. Same as the market in Bac Ha, Lao Cai, local ethnic peoples for villages in the region wear their best traditional costumes to go to the market as joining a festival for meeting, socializing…
- Check out hotel at 10.00 and leaving Dong Van for Meo Vac.
- This portion of the road is famous for tough road but stunning landscapes of Ma Pi Leng pass. The narrow road winds its way on deserted and walled-up lime stone mountain sides up and down hill for 21 km. Take a long break at the top of the pass to pay visiting to a small hamlet of the H’mong built on rock, then stop at the monument awarding to the builder of the road to admire marvelous scenery before descending to Meo Vac town let for Lunch break.
- Leaving Meo Vac at 13.30 along the newly built road for 50 km through the remotest region of the far north. Stop at Niem Son commune for enjoying the beautiful scenery of the valley where the Nho Que river meets the upstream portion of the Gam river. Continue driving along this back road for 20 km till Ly Bon commune where it meets national road 34, turn left and follow road 34 along the Gam river to Bao Lac(Cao Bang Province).
- Arriving Bao Lac in late afternoon at about 17.00, check in hotel, freshen up and then take a short walk around this charming town. If on Saturday, the town will be lively with ethnic peoples coming downhill from remote villages for the market on Sunday morning. There is a chance to meet the Black Lolo peoples who live in very high mountain and always wear beautiful traditional costumes when come down for the Sunday market.
• Total driving is 155 km. walking for about two hours for sightseeing and visiting villages.
• Staying overnight Bao Lac Guesthouse: Air-coned and clean room, private bathroom with hot shower, western toilet.
• Lunch & Dinner: Vietnamese set menu

Day 5: Bao Lac - Tinh Tuc - Ba Be national Park (164 Km) (B,L,D)
 

- Breakfast, check out hotel and leave Bao Lac at 08.00. If on Sunday, the group will spend an hour here for joining local tribal peoples at the market place and leaving later at about 09.00.
- Driving 73 km along national road 34 to Tinh Tuc with some stops along the way for beautiful landscapes. Walking about half an hour to visit a small village of the San Chay ethnic peoples at Hung Dao Commune.
- Lunch break at Tinh Tuc and then leaving the national road 34 for the provincial road 212, passing over the 15 km long Golia pass with stop at the top for magnificent scenery of the lowland of Cao bang province.
- Continue driving for another hour along this narrow road and arrive at Na Khao commune in mid afternoon. Here the group will pay visiting to the Lanh village of the Zao Tien(Zao with coins).
- Then take the last portion 30 km of the road to the hear quarter of Ba Be national park in an hour. Check in hotel, relax and free walking to explore the beautiful nature of the famous nature reserve.
• Total driving is 152 km. walking for about two hours for sightseeing and visiting villages.
• Staying overnight at Ba Be National Park Hotel: Air-coned and clean room, private bathroom with hot shower, western toilet.
• Lunch & Dinner: Vietnamese set menu

Day 6: Ba Be Lake boat cruise - Road trip to Hanoi (B, L,-)
 

- After breakfast, the group will take a 45 minutes walk through the well protected forest of the park to the lake side.
- Boarding a boat for the 3 hours cruise around the lake, one of the largest natural lakes in Vietnam which is encircled by walled-up limestone mountains covered with thick forest. The boat cruise will be highlighted with the Fairy Pond, Dau Dang waterfall and especially part of the Nang river where the water pour to the lake.
- Arrive back to the head quarter of the park at 11.00, having an early lunch and then leaving for Hanoi.
- The whole afternoon is for driving 260 km for Hanoi along national road 3 via Bac Can and Thai Nguyen with some break along the way. Arriving in Hanoi at about 18.00 and the trip ends.
• Total driving is 260 km. walking for about one hour for, three hours boat trip.
• Lunch: Vietnamese set menu