Day 01: Hanoi - Ba Be Lake (Lunch, Dinner)
Departure from Hanoi, we will go north to Ba Be Lake. We cross the Red River Delta to reach the mountain areas to the North. The landscapes become more and more forest and impressive.
In the afternoon, we enter the Ba Be National Nature Park, to reach the Tay village of Pac Ngoi.
Dinner and overnight at the Tay inhabitants, in a large wooden house on stilts overlooking the lake.
Day 02: Ba Be Lake (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
near the breakfast, departure for a boat ride on the lake, swimming and entrance to the Puong tunnel cave. If weather permits, swim in the deep waters of the lake.
Lunch during the visit: visit the temple of An Ma and the village of Pac Ngoi.
Dinner and overnight at the Tay inhabitants, in a large wooden house on stilts overlooking the lake.
Day 03: Ba Be Lake - Cao Bang (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
Departure for Cao Bang via many mountain passes. The scenery is fabulous at every turn of the road.
Overnight at the hotel in Cao Bang.
Day 04: Cao Bang - Ban Gioc Waterfall - Cao Bang (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
Visit the cave Nguom Ngao - an example of water work on limestone. The main gallery is several hundred meters long with many stalagmites and stalactites. According to the angle of view under which you place yourself, these monumental formations resemble strangely animals, fairies, statues of Buddhas ...
Arrival at the Ban Gioc Waterfall, often presented as one of the most beautiful waterfalls in Vietnam (53 meters high). The border with China passes in the middle of the waterfall.
This large waterfall. In the surrounding ethnic villages, in the midst of terraced rice paddies, there are mainly Tay and Nung ethnic groups; but also Hmong and Dao.
Overnight at the hotel in Cao Bang.
Day 05: Cao Bang - Bao Lac (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
Departure from Cao Bang to Bao Lac, the northernmost district of this province.
On the road, the crossed populations alternate mainly Tay (lowlands) and Dao (highlands); but also near Bao Lake, the San Chi (red piped tunic).
Overnight at hotel in Bao Lac.
Day 06: Bao Lake - Meo Vac - Dong Van - Yen Minh (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
Road to the karst plateau of Dong Van: UNESCO Geopark class area in 2010: descent of the river Gam for about 40 km, until its crossing to undertake the ascent on the high plateau.
Gradually the Hmong populations replace the Tay. The arrival on the High Plateau is materialized by the appearance of "lunar" landscapes, where only the small Hmong cornfields, a few square meters of arable land, and the dry stone villages perched in the corners incredible. The land is very poor here, the living conditions are harsh.
From Meo Vac to Dong Van, the road takes the breathtaking "Route of Happiness" through the Ma Pi Leng Pass: remarkable landscape and view of the famous Nho Que River Canyon.
After the pass, arrived on the town of Dong Van (to note the halls of colonial era in the old center), at 1,100 m of altitude, chief place of the district of the same name which hosts the extreme north of the country of which the summit Lung Cu (1,600-1,800 m) is nicknamed "the roof of Vietnam".
12 km from Dông Van, the visitor sees through a screen of coniferous trees "Samu" the former residence of Vuong Chinh Duc, "king (local) Hmong" on the plateau. It is a sumptuous palace that reproduces Chinese stone and wood architecture from the Qing Dynasty. The "king" in question was the largest collector of opium in the region in the early twentieth century.
Continuation of the mountain road to Yen Minh.
Overnight at hotel in Yen Minh.
Day 07: Yen Minh - Ha Giang - Pan Hou (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
Leaving Yen Minh, we go to Ha Giang.
Then continue to the village of Pan Hou.
The Pan Hou Resort is located in the Hoang Su Phi area and was designed as a base camp for trekking in the surrounding mountains: the meeting of the Red Dao, the Long Sleeve Dao (or Black Dao), the Nung, whose the women are recognizable by the embroidered sleeves of the tunic and the small banana worn on the lower back.
Overnight at Pan Hou Resort (the owner is a Frenchman who knows the area very well): you can take the opportunity to relax with herbal baths and traditional massages.
Day 08: Panhou - Hoang Su Phi - Xin Man (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
In the morning, hike in the villages around Pan Hou.
Afternoon: While passing Hoang Su Phi, the roads and the mountain landscapes are surprising. On the way, you grew up the red Dao ethnic groups, Nung, Tay, Hmong and, near Xin Man, the Hmong and La Chi.
Overnight at hotel in Xin Man.
Day 09: Xin Man - Can Cau Saturday Market - Bac Ha (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
Departure from Xin Man for the Can Cau market that takes place on Saturdays, is in the countryside, with no villages around, near the Chinese border. The Hmong are the most numerous here, they come with beautiful multicolored pleated skirts in shimmering embroidery (possibility to buy skirts and embroidery as an original souvenir). At first glance, it seems that all Hmong women wear the same embroidery with a thousand colors and very complex patterns, but in fact they belong to five distinct Hmong cultural groups. Back to Bac Ha by a road with passes and splendid landscapes.
Lunch at the local restaurant in Bac Ha.
Afternoon free to discover the atmosphere of the small town of altitude Bac Ha, surrounded by plum orchards, the most famous of Vietnam.
Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Bac Ha
Day 10: Bac Ha Sunday Market - Lao Cai, night train to Hanoi (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)
In mountain areas, weekly markets play a very important role in the economic, social and cultural exchanges of ethnic groups. All ethnic groups, more than 30 different groups in the north of the country, have different costumes, languages, traditions and religions. To visit an ethnic market is much more than to observe, it is to participate naturally in the local ethnic life, with its richness, its secrets and its complexity.
After breakfast, visit Bac Ha market: the most colorful market of North Vietnam with ethnic groups of the mountains: the Hmong (with pleated skirts with a thousand embroidery), the Tay (with blouses with silver ties), the Dao (with colored pom poms) and the Phu La (dressed in blue-black),,.
Visit of the former palace of a "local king" mixed Chinese and French architecture built around 1910.
Around 15:00, the car will take you to go to Lao Cai train station (110 km away).
Dinner at Lao Cai. Departure of sleeper trains around 20h.
Day 11: Around 5:00 am arrival in Hanoi station
End of ours journey!
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