North Vietnam Walking Tour – Ha Giang to Bac Ha

North Vietnam Walking Tour Ha Giang to Bac Ha offers chance to discover one of the most beautiful region of Vietnam. There is opportunity to see spectacular terraced fields (May, Sep), to experience the rich ethnic culture of the Tay, Dao.

Description

North Vietnam Walking Tour Ha Giang to Bac Ha offers chance to discover one of the most beautiful region of Vietnam. There is opportunity to see spectacular terraced fields (May, Sep), to experience the rich ethnic culture of the Tay, Dao. You also have the chance to visit Bac Ha Sunday market which is one of the biggest and well-known tribal market in Vietnam.

Map of north Vietnam walking tour

North Vietnam walking tour itinerary

Day 1: Hanoi – Thong Nguyen.

8.30am you will be picked up from your hotel in downtown Hanoi and transferred to Thong Nguyen, Ha Giang province. Thong Nguyen is a rural commune of Hoang Su Phi district in the northeastern region of Vietnam. Once getting out of Hanoi busy urban region, you follow the new high way for an hour to north of Viet Tri City. Then turn right to national road 2, to get through the midland of Phu Tho and Tuyen Quang provinces which are famous for lush plantations, evergreen tea farms, and palm forests. Lunch is provided at local restaurant on the way. After lunch, the road trip continues along the Lo River for about 3 hours. You might like to make stops along the way for taking picture or/and paying a visit to local homes. Leaving the main road at Viet Lam Junction, you will be on the narrow tarmac to get through a stunning valley to a tribal village where we will spend the night at homestay. Spend the rest of the afternoon to enjoy a leisure walk to explore the surrounding valley.

Day 2: Thong Nguyen Trekking.

Breakfast at the homestay. Depart for 6 – 7 hours trek to explore local hill tribe villages on high altitudes around Thong Nguyen. The path goes up slightly for half an hour and we’ll find ourselves hiking through a forest, tea plantations, terraced rice fields, scenic mountain slopes… Our lunch is at a local ethnic family. There are possible nice encounters with locals going about their daily work on the trek. We arrive back at our homestay in mid-afternoon. Have free time for refreshment. Overnight at Thong Nguyen.

Day 3: Thong Nguyen Ha Giang to Bac Ha.

Breakfast at homestay. Checkout and start your journey to Bac Ha via TL177 road though Hoang Su Phi town. Today you will have the chance to enjoy more beautiful views of rice culture and other Vietnamese ethnic groups who live along the Chay river such as Dao and Nung. Have lunch in Coc Pai town. After lunch, we keep driving to Lung Phinh where we will make a stop for a short walk (approx. 1 hour) to visit the Phu La people in a small village. Arrive Bac Ha later in the afternoon. Check in the guesthouse and dinner in Bac Ha town.

Day 4: Bac Ha Market & Bac Ha Trekking.

After breakfast, you spend the morning strolling around the colorful Sunday market in Bac Ha. It is one of the biggest and most well-known in all of North Vietnam. The energy and color of the Flower Hmong People give the area a unique vibrancy. The best way to see the market in all its glory is to get up early. Walk back to the guesthouse at about 10.00 to get ready for the trek to villages of H’mong and Tay ethnic people in Lau Thi Ngai and Thai Giang Pho. The hike offers nice view over the valleys of Bac Ha. Stop at local house to have picnic lunch. Spend night in family of Tay ethnic group in Na Lo village.

Day 5: Bac Ha – Lao Cai.

You begin the day activity trekking uphill to Ngai Thau then down to Na Hoi to come into the view at beautiful landscapes. Meet up with other tribal groups in their colorful dresses. Have lunch on the top of the mountain. Arrive back in Bac Ha town in the afternoon. Repack and transfer to Lao Cai for the night train ahead to Hanoi. Trip ends.

Private-guided walking holidays

Hiking Vietnam specializes in tailor-making trekking and hiking vacations in Vietnam. We offer the widest selection of day walks, jungle trekking, mountain climb, hiking, trekking home-stay, camping and wild life discovery in the northern Vietnam. With a dedicated team of senior travel consultants, hiking tour specialists, experienced English-speaking tour leaders, local H’mong, Thai, Tay guides, cooks, porters we can design any trekking, hiking, walking option for any age and budget. This North Vietnam Walking Tour Ha Giang to Bac Ha is only a sample that can be further customized to better fit your personal requirements. Just follow this itinerary or contact us for designing your own adventure.

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Additional Information

Depart from

End at

Lao Cai

Availability

Upon request

Difficulty

Places to visit

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Travel style

Trip duration

Type of tour

Guided tour, Private tour, Small group tour

Itinerary disclaimer

Occasionally our tour itineraries are updated during the year to incorporate improvements stemming from past travelers’ comments and our own research. The information given in this itinerary may be slightly different to that in the service proposal. It’s very important that you print and review a final copy of your itinerary a couple of days prior to travel, in case there have been changes that affect your plans. If you have any queries, please contact us. We are here to help you!

Please note that while we operate successful trips in Vietnam throughout the year, some changes may occur in our itineraries due to inclement weather and common seasonal changes to timetables and transport routes. This can happen with little notice so please be prepared for modifications to the route. The order and timing of included activities in each location may also vary from time to time.

Difficulty levels

Our trekking tours can be classified into three levels

Easy

There are about 8 – 10K to walk on flat roads. No previous experience is necessary. Anyone in good health and fit enough to perform an occasional hike can take an easy level trek. Vietnam easy walks are provided in Hanoi, Bac Giang, Mai Chau, Ngoc Son Ngo Luong…

Moderate

There are about 10 – 15K to hike on flat and hilly roads. At this point too, no special background is required. Hikers accustomed to trekking in hilly areas of Mai Chau, Pu Luong or Lai Chau, Yen Bai successfully accomplish our treks “moderate”, provided they are in good health and to have a correct fit. These treks are moderate or easy hikes with an average duration or shorter but more difficult steps.

Difficult

There are about 16 – 23K to trek on uphill/downhill dirty, rocky trails. Physical fitness is very important for these treks and you may have to lead you home before the trek. Most treks in this level are comparable with long rides in the Fansipan mountain or the the mountainous region of Ha Giang, Cao Bang, sometimes higher altitudes. The climate and isolation can also participate in difficulty. Prior trek experience is preferable but not vital if you have confidence in your fitness.

Inclusions

Our trip cost usually includes the following services. Please bear in mind Lotussia Travel is specialized in tailor-made trips. Trip cost vary depending on group size and other details.

  • Car transfers
  • Local tour guide. The English-Speaking guide is provided by default. Other language may be available upon request (with extra charge).
  • Local porter(s)
  • Accommodation
  • Meals
  • Sightseeing entrance fees.
  • Bottled water.

Exclusions

Unless required most of the following services are usually not included in our tour price.

  • Visa (required)
  • Flight/Train tickets.
  • Accommodation pre/post trip.
  • Travel insurance
  • Tips
  • Personal expenses

Tour Guide

Our tour guides speak English or French. They hold a university degree in tourism and national license as a guide. If you wish to send a tour leader along with any group, he or she can fully rely on the knowledge and experience of our local guides.

Remote treks are always accompanied by a local representative to deal with permits and authorities and manage the porter team. They speak the local dialects, know the cultural traditions and give tips on suggested behavior in fragile ecological areas and tribal communities. For some itineraries, the role of tour leader and representative is combined.

When to hike

The north Vietnam experiences two distinct seasons; winter and summer. Winter is cool, dry and lasts from November to April. Temperatures range between 15 to 25°C during the day and 0 to 10°C during the night. With little rain, the winter season offers the most pleasant weather conditions for trekking in Vietnam. Read more about Vietnam weather.

Porter

During all trekking tours we may use local porters to carry your luggage as well as our trekking equipment, where required. To generate local income we employ local villagers for this task. Participants will have their own porter, carrying trekking equipment and luggage to a maximum of 15 kg per client. Travelers only have to carry their day packs. Read more how to pack

Vehicle

Depending on the nature of the tour, journeys will be accompanied by an air-conditioned car/minibus cover the larger overland sections.

Accommodation

Campsites and lodges are not common in Vietnam, instead we make use of homestays; staying the night in tribal villages along the way. Facilities are clean, but very basic. Travelers share a bamboo-slat floor, separated by curtains. Animals usually sleep under the house and restrooms and showers are often absent. Water sources are available outside. Mattresses, blankets and mosquito nets are taken care of.

Over the years Lotussia Travel has established a number of projects to upgrade home stay accommodation into a bit more comfort. Basic facilities aside, spending the night in a tribal village and enjoying a meal with the locals brings travellers unforgettable cross-cultural experiences. In the past 15 years of organizing trekking by this way, we never received a complaint.

Food

During all treks meals will be arranged on the spot, in local restaurants and at home in local villages along the way. The meals are prepared by our cooks, the local guide or by the local host. Our cooks are well trained to prepare and serve food hygienically and they cook a variety of local delicacies. Sometimes this may include the slaughter of a chicken, duck or pig. We sometimes have the chance to bring western food, and snacks from Hanoi for breakfast and picnics along the way, and coffee and tea are available in abundance. Our cooks make a special effort to provide as much variety as possible. The porters give necessary assistance on the spot.

Drinking water

There are many shops and villages that have bottled water for sale. On remote trekking tours, we buy a sufficient supply of water for the next couple of days. We recommend bringing some water purifying tablets.

Packing

Comfortable lightweight clothing in natural fabrics such as cotton is most suitable for travelling in Vietnam. The dress code is fairly casual as in most parts of the tropics but it is advisable to cover arms and legs in the evenings against biting insects. A lightweight raincoat is a good idea in the rainy season. During the winter months warm clothing is needed for visiting the north of Vietnam. Visitors should not wear shorts, short skirts or other skimpy clothing when visiting religious buildings such as pagoda, temple, communal house and shoes should be removed before entering a private home.

What you take will naturally depend upon where you are travelling and the style of journey you are undertaking, and it can often be difficult to decide what to pack. Nevertheless, the following should act as a useful checklist of essential items worth thinking about taking.

  • 1 medium-sized backpack.
  • Comfortable walking shoes with good grip
  • 1 long (easy to dry) pants and 1 long sleeved shirt to wear during the trek (easy to dry).
  • 1 pair of flip flop (sandals).
  • 1 pair of shorts and T-shirt to wear at camp site (2 if you do 4-day trek).
  • 1 medium-sized towel.
  • 1 medium-sized dry bag.
  • Hiking poles/walking sticks
  • GPS

Responsible Tourism

We strongly believe that Responsible Tourism can support to local communities: proving incomes,positive cultural exchanges and an incentive to protect natural environment. We recognize that there is always space for improvement. We continually strive to narrow the gap between principle and practice.

Environment

We have been turning environmentally responsible tourism into practices to minimize tourist impact upon the local habitat. From biodegradable soaps to re – usable water containers, we provide clients with the best information and mean to help them identify and implement effective ways to positive protect local nature and communities. It is a vital criteria that can be passed on and abided by all, long after the trip ended.

Community

Prior to our tours, we contact and work with local community leaders to make sure we are welcome and in a manner that minimizes negative social and cultural impacts. We visit local development and community projects specific to the region, encouraging customers to donate and assist such a projects in appropriate and sustainable manner.

Where make sure that where and whenever possible our tours positively benefit the local community. We stayed at locally owned accommodation and visit cottage industries for local handicraft souvenir, generating income for local business. We often employ, hire support team such as local guide, motor-taxi drivers, cook assistants on all trips to ensure that the local community benefit not only short term but with increased employment opportunities for the future.

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