The 8-day mountain biking tour is arranged in the north-eastern Vietnam, taking to the less travelled places of Ha Giang and Lao Cai provinces. The cycling trip begins with a overnight train trip from Hanoi to Lao Cai where you start your adventure holiday with a visit to the Bac Ha market, is open on Sunday morning only. You cycle up and downhill, using single tracks and dirt roads biking trails to enjoy the wild beauty of nature and to experience the rich ethnic culture. Taking this cycling adventure tour, you have the opportunity to cycle through the remotest hilltribe villages including Ta Cu Ty village, Nam Dan village, Khau Rom village, Nam Choong village, Ho Thau village, Nam Son village, Nam Khoa village. Most of the nights are spent at local home (homestay) offering the real life experience. This mountain bike tour is customized for active, intrepid, adventure cyclist travelling in small group tours. The tour is provided with experienced English-speaking biking tour guide, private vehicle for transfers and support, homestay, food, trek bikes and cycling gears.

Itinerary:

Day 1: Hanoi - Lao Cai

20:00: You will be met up with Lotussia Travel team at your hotel in Hanoi and transferred to Hanoi railway station for night train up to Laocai. Train ??? Departure at ??? (to be advised). Overnight on the train.

Day 2: Arrive Lao Cai. Visit Bac Ha Sunday market. Cycle to Ban Pho village (B,L)

Arrive Laocai early this morning. You will be greeted by Lotussia Travel local team and transferred to a local restaurant for breakfast.

8:00: We will leave Lao Cai for a road transfer to the Bac Ha Sunday market. The Bac Ha market on Sunday takes place right in this charming town. Enjoy about 2 hours joining the local ethnic peoples such as H’mong, Zao, Tay, Phu La…experiencing the festive atmosphere and lively activities as well as understanding of the regional spiritual life.

Check in hotel and have lunch.

In the afternoon, warming up for aprox 2 hours by cycling 12 km up and downhill around the Ban Pho Valley.

Overnight in Bac Ha.

Day 3: Bike Bac Ha – Can Cau – Ta Cu Ty (B,L,D)

The trail today runs mostly through populated valleys which featured of terraced rice paddies and cornfields on steep hills sides as well as chances to meet local tribal peoples such as Flower H’mong, Zao and Tay.

After breakfast, we start biking from hotel following the motor way for about 3 km to the center of Lau Thi Ngai Commune. We will cross the stream by suspension bridge and then enjoy an easy ride on a single dirt track along a stunning valley for 4 km before challenging 5 km up steep hill trail to Lung Phin village. We will visit this village and follow the motor way again for 2,5 km and then to another single dirt track, passing through several small hamlets of the H’mong peoples to Can Cau market place.

We will arrive at Can Cau at about 4.00 pm. Stop biking and then transfer by road for 45 minutes to Ta Cu Ty. Check into a local house for dinner and overnight.

Day 4: Bike Ta Cu Ty village – Ban Ngo – Nam Dan (B,L,D)

After breakfast, we will cycle along a single track which form a half circle around the Ta Cu Ty mountain range and is a combination of short lose rocky part and dirt trails with some stream crosses. We will bike through several villages and hamlets of the Nung, H’mong and Zao ethnic peoples.

Lunch break at Dan Khao, a newly settled-down village.
After lunch, we continue cycling along the same track for 9 km on high elevation of Ta Cu Ty range to home stay at Nam Chien Village where a short stop will be made for us to visit the interesting rock fields with messages of the ancient peoples carved on many big rocks at Nam Dan Village.

Arrival at home stay at about 3.00 pm. Dinner and overnight in the village.

Day 5: Continue cycling Nam Dan – Nam Nhung – Khau Rom – Nam Choong village (B,L,D)

After breakfast, we leave home stay in Nam Chien at about 08.30 am.

We continue our bicycle tour following the good motor way. We bike through thick rain forest from home-stay over the Gio Pass to the southern side of the. We then turn left to a single dirt track and cycle mostly downhill through tea farms, terraced rice paddies, bamboo forest, passing some isolated hamlets of the Zao and H’mong ethnic of Nam Nhung and Khau Rom Villages.

We continue our bike through a suspension bridge and cross the Nam Ly River to the sounthern bank.  We take the single dirt track and bike uphill through Phieng Lang and Quang Thuong Villages of the Red Zao and then to Nam Choong Village.

Arrive at the Nam Choong local tourist site near the hot mineral spring at about 5.00 pm. Dinner and overnight in the village.

Day 6: Cycling Nam Choong – Cao Son – Ho Thau Commune – Ho Xan Village. (B, L,D)

We begin the day by biking along a narrow single track from Nam Choong to the center of Quang Nguyen Commune. We then follow a single dirt track biking gradually uphill along the Nam Ly River and through the Trung Son Village.

Challenging down and up very steep trail to cross the upstream of Nam Ly River to the other bank. Bikes may have to be carried for about 30 m.

We then follow a larger single track and bike uphill to Chien Thang Village and then cycle gradually downhill to the center of Ho Thau Commune. Bicycle trip will be uphill for 4 km to Ho Xan Village of the Red Zao and Nung ethnic.

We arrive to homestay at Ho Xan Village at about 4.30 pm. Dinner and overnight in the village.

Day 7: Biking Ho Xan – Nam Son – Nam Khoa – Panhou ecolodge (B,L,D)

Cycle along a single dirt track almost downhill for 12 km from Ho Xan Village Via Sin Chai Village to Nam Son Bridge. Take a short rest by the river. Then we cycle the large road up steep hill to the Nam Khoa Heaven Gate. This part offers stunning scenery of thick rain forest with narrow terraced rice paddies on steep hill sides.

Lunch will be provided en route.

We bike downhill along another large single dirt track to the Junction of the Nam Khoa River. Scenery features with small villages of the Zao and the Nung surrounded by tea farms, plantation and terraced rice paddies stretching along 2 sides of the valley.

We turn left and then follow a very narrow single dirt track winding its way up and down on steep hills sides to Thong Nguyen Commune. Follow the narrow motor way to the Panhou eco lodge where we will spend the night.

Day 8: Panhou Thong Nguyen eco lodge – Ha Noi (B,L)

Breakfast and check out the Panhou at 08.00. Enjoy a full day drive to  Hanoi. Lunch will be provided in a local restaurant along the way. Arrive in Ha Noi at about 06.00 pm. Trip ends.

Contact Lotussia Travel for more details

The 5-day mountain bike tour is arranged in Lao Cai province, northern Vietnam taking to such travel places as Sapa, Bac Ha, Can Cau, Si Ma Kai, Muong Khuong. Begin the 5-day cycling adventure with an overnight train trip from Hanoi to Lao Cai. Arriving in Lao cai, you start the tour cycling uphill until you reach Sapa town. After spending one night in Sapa, you continue your bicycle holidays biking downhill to Laocai, using offroad, single dirt biking trails. The next days you cycle to Bac Ha and Can Cau where you may have the opportunity to visit either the Bac Ha market, open on Sunday, the Can Cau market on Saturday. The biking trail from Can Cau to Si mai kai offers great views with lots of stops en route to visit hill tribe villages. The last day you cycling from Muong Khuong back to Laocai where you take the overnight train to get back to Hanoi. Travel this 5-day cycling adventure, you mostly cycle on paved roads with up and downhill ride. The tour is ideal for individual travelers, small group tours and those seeking a challenging bicycle tour to the northern Vietnam.

 Itinerary:

Day 1: Arrive Laocai early this morning. Travel to Sapa. Full day cycling in Sapa (B,L,D).

Arrive Laocai early this morning. You will be greeted by Lotussia local team and transferred uphill to Sapa.

Breakfast will be provided in a local restaurant in town.

Enjoy a day biking through the Sapa valley. At first on a paved road for 7km, but then on single-track paths gradually ascend to the H’mong village of Sa Seng and then onto Hang. Then bike fast on high elevation for an hour before descend along a narrow single dirt track to the heart of Muong Hoa Valley.

Get to the center of Hau Thao Commune in mid afternoon. You will be picked up by our car for a 20 minutes road transfer back to Sapa.

Dinner and overnight in Sapa.

Day 2: Continue biking Sapa – Laocai (B,L,D).

Begin the ride directly from Sapa and straight away flying along on a 6 kilometer stretch of single-track which gets through villages and paddy fields. Then a quiet country lane leads to another long section of single-track, at first involving a challenging climb and then a fast flowing downhill to join a remote jeep track. The jeep track climbs gently at first, but then provides an enormous, fast descent of over 1500 meters, before hitting tarmac for the final 30 kilometer stretch to Lao Cai City. This final 30 kilometer road section is a lot of fun as there is the opportunity for engaging conversation and sign language with curious locals!

This is a long and challenging day with around 8 hours on the trail.

Dinner and overnight in Laocai.

Day 3: Continue biking Laocai – Bac Ha (B,L,D).

After breakfast, load all the bikes onto support vehicles for a 45-minute transfer to the small village of Phong Nien. The riding begins on a good hard pack track along the side of a quiet road. Climbing gently for the first 10 kilometers, we will be able to watch the local villagers working in the fields, dressed in their traditional costumes. We then descend steeply for another 7 kilometers to a small village and footbridge that crosses the Song Chay River. Here, we board one of the traditional Vietnamese longboats and transfer for half an hour along a stunning Yangtse style river ride to a Tay village of Trung Do and lunch at a local home.

The afternoon ride featured with a tough alpine switchback road that climbs 1000 meters over 17 kilometers, before a final 5 kilometer descent into the highland market town of Bac Ha.

Check in the Sao Mai Hotel and the rest of the afternoon is at leisure.

Day 4: Continue biking. Bac Ha - Can Cau - Si Ma Cai (B,L,D).

Breakfast and then bike straightly from Bac Ha. The first 12 kilometers on tarmac is a steady climb of 650 meters to a pass (1508m.), followed by a single dirt track through an untouched region over 16 km kilometers into Can Cau village.

Lunch break in a Flower H’mong homes.

In the afternoon, we will take an ascend for nearly 2 hours along another single track from Can Cau to Quan Than San Commune, then follow a single path for 14 km slightly downhill to Si Ma Cai town, situated amongst mountains and hills near the Chinese border.

Dinner and overnight in a simple hotel in Simakai.

Day 5: Biking to Muong Khuong. Travel to Lao Cai station. Overnight train back to Hanoi (B,L,D).

Breakfast and load all bikes and luggage on the support vehicle for 20km transfer Ta Gia Khau Commune. Then biking along a newly build tarmac which runs along a branch of the Chay River for 52km with three ascending and descending. It is great challenge but support vehicle always follow the group to support at any time.

Arriving to Muong Khuong Town in mid afternoon, load bikes on supporting van and transfer 55km to Lao Cai. Freshen up, relax and dinner before boarding the night train for Hanoi.



Contact Lotussia Travel for more details