Tours - The ultimate pass + Ba Be lake

We start early to get the most out of the day. Also the valley looks great in the morning. Leaving Sapa town square we to head towards our first destination 6km away.

Y Ling Ho. We stop here for a few moments with a view the village with the most rice terraces in the whole valley. We may bump in to some locals who are interested to know who is in their village. We stop for around 10 minutes before heading off to our lunch time rendezvous.

We eat in San Sa Ho at a local restaurant. Food is choice of either Hmong food or Vietnamese. If you go for Hmong food - please try the pork belly with wasabi spinach (its our favourite). We have an hour for lunch.

Headed to Lao Chai we see the valley below again - this time the rice terraces are not so steep. Then we go to a Hmong family who will show us how they make traditional clothing. Our traditional clothing is made from hemp which you have seen growing along the way - depending on season of course. We stay with the family at their house for about 1/2 hr before heading to the next stop.

Setting off to Ta Van. To get there we can have two route options - one easy & one very hard that is high up the valley. If we stay high up on the harder trek - we get to see better views of the valley below. The easier one is also slightly shorter.

Arriving in Ta Van and staying at the lovely homestay of Mrs Yen of the Zay tribe. We have a little time before supper to explore the nearby Ta Van village which is highly recommended.

Supper and Mrs Yen loves cooking, so there will be plenty of food available. It’s quite a family atmosphere there and many other tour guides like to stop in to have chat with her.

Mrs Yen won’t let us leave on an empty stomach, so breakfast is a choice of French pancakes or a local food breakfast with tea and coffee of course. After breakfast we head for Giang Ta Chai.

To get there, we must travel though the bamboo forest. Access is via a small footpath that leads up from the village. When the footpath ends we cross the tops of some rice terraces. If it’s harvest season we may chat to a farmer, if you are interested we can even help out for a bit & learn some farming! We then ascend some more into the forest. The forest is alive with birdsong. There is the sound of running water too if it has been raining recently.

We exit the forest & find ourselves at a lovely waterfall. We stop to take some photos. The waterfall is nearly 100m from the very top. It is possible to swim in the pool at the top if there is enough water. We can talk with some locals here if you wish - the locals love to talk. To cross the Muong Hoa river we must do a little “rock hopping”.

In Giang Ta Chai have a choice of 2 locations for lunch. Either with Cam, a local or having a picnic. Lunch is Vietnamese style - pork / chicken, steamed rice / noodles, spring rolls. All freshly made and very delicious.

Now we leave Sapa and drive to our homestay in Ha Giang. It is a 5hr drive with rest breaks of course.

We arrive at the homestay of Mr Thien in Thon Tha just outside of the main Ha Giang city. We check in, do all the formal greetings and then rest or freshen up as supper is soon.

The homestay prepares for us a delicious spread of food - Tay style as Mr Thien is Tay. The family is very welcoming and the homestay very comfortable.

Breakfast is served! Usually crepes (French style pancakes) are on offer along with some fresh tea / coffee. All done in around 3/4 hour as we want to get the day started as there is so much to do and see. We drive the 45km to our first destination of the day.

Heavens Gate is our first catch of the day. And what a show it is. We stop for photos and the beautiful views.

The Fairy Breast Hills are next, just a few minutes away where we can admire the view and hear of local legends.

Lung Tam Workshop is a corporative run by women for local women. Here traditional hemp products are made and we can see them making them. The batik process has been passed down the generations - it takes a steady hand to draw the pattern freehand. Our next destination is 30km, this time it’s our lunch date.

Lunchtime! An amazing spread of local food is on offer. We don’t just stop at any place though - we stop off in Yen Minh at a restaurant with incredible views of the mountains in front of us and the valley below. Food is a local selection of pork / chicken dishes with steamed vegetables, rice and more. Lunch is an hour, maybe a little longer if you want to walk around a bit.

Tham Ma Pass, the winding snake pass that descends down the valley where there are young girls with large baskets with flowers for photo opportunities. The ethnic people here also have a few stalls selling handicrafts. We spend usually around 1/2 hour here for photos and to chat. Then we drive to our next stop near the Chinese border.

Lao Xa village is famous for making jewelry and accessories from silver. We chat with some of the locals while walking in the local area. Then we head to the Sa Phin Valley located in the Dong Van Geopark.

The Hmong King Palace, was built between 1898 and 1903 with 64 rooms set in 3 hectares of land. We spend an hour here learning about the history of the palace while exploring the grounds.

We arrive at our hotel in Dong Van - a nice small town with all the modern amenities. We have a chance to freshen up, have a rest or explore the town a little before going out to dinner later.

Supper. Local food and plenty of it. We eat out at a local restaurant close by to where we are staying. The local cuisine is more in tune with Chinese food than Vietnamese because of our proximity to the border.

We get breakfast in the local market square which is close by. The breakfast favourites here are Banh Cuon and a multi-coloured sticky rice. Banh Mi is also available if you prefer.

Dau Chau to Dong Van trek - it is best to do this one in the morning as the sunrise looks especially nice here. We get dropped off by our driver out of town and pick up a mountain path. We find ourselves winding around the giant limestone karts and seeing remote communities. We pass by a school who’s young students are interested in any strangers passing by so we stop to say hello. Continuing on we pass rice terraces as well as finding the village of Ma U - a village seemingly in a time capsule. We will stop here and engage with the locals of course and see how they do things the the really really old way. It’s interesting to watch for sure. Trekking more we suddenly find ourselves back in Dong Van almost as if without warning. Not a moment too soon though as we have lined up a lovely lunch.

Lunch is in the Old French Quarter in a lovely restaurant we have picked especially. We take an hour for lunch. The crispy pork + duck and hotpot are especially recommended.

This morning we take the Dong Van to Thien Huong trek. We start by walking though the town square where we find access to the French Quarter. We pass all the lovely old buildings as well as the new ones. We quickly find the only path that will take us to Thien Huong. We find the 500 year old tree and the temple nearby. As ever there is a local legend. Continuing along we find fantastic views of deep in to China. This is the only road and the only destination is to the village so there is little traffic. We find the people of the village warm and friendly. Their houses are made of mud and quite old as no one makes new mud houses. The driver picks us up and takes us back to Dong Van town.

Back in Dong Van we travel though the old French Quarter and take the path to the top of the hill to see the the French Fort just in time for a sunset over Dong Van.

We arrive at our hotel in Dong Van - time to have a short rest or freshen up before going out for supper at 7pm.

Eating locally and seeing some of the night life in the town square. It’s not so big but is is a focal point for locals and foreigners who mix easily - lots of fun to be had.

We get breakfast in the local market square which is close by. The breakfast favourites here are Banh Cuon and a multi-coloured sticky rice. Banh Mi is also available if you prefer.

Skypath / Skywalk - this is the trek everyone talks about because of the amazing views. We get dropped by a large statue to the builders of the peace road (loop road). As we travel along the path, we have incredible views of the the new que river and the canyon. We pass along the finger pointing rock. A popular tourist photo opportunity to climb it, however it is rather un-recommended, so we pass. We are now descending into the valley into the Hmong village of Pai Lung who farm the area somehow, despite the number of black rocks. The path carries on descending, till ultimately we see the Ma Pi Lang pass in front of us where we will stop for photos & a rest.

Lunchtime! - this time in the town of Meo Vac. As ever, lunch is in a local restaurant. Banh Cuon as is Vit Quay (Peeking crispy duck) is especially popular here and you will see it everywhere. Absolutely give them a try.

Nho Que River Cruise - To get to the boat, we must first trek 2km to the boat terminal. However there is the option of an electric minibus taxi that can get us there a lot faster. The river cruise will take us along the emerald green river and though the Tu San Canyon where they stop the boat for a short time so people can take photos and admire the views. The boat takes us right up to the Chinese border before turning around and coming back to the boat terminal. The views on this boat trip make it one of the highlights of the tour.

We arrive at our hotel in Bac Lac - a smaller town than Dong Van but still with all the modern amenities. We have a chance to freshen up, have a rest or explore the town a little before going out to dinner later.

Supper. Local food and plenty of it. We eat out at a local restaurant close by to where we are staying. The local cuisine is more in tune with Chinese food than Vietnamese because of our proximity to the border.

We get breakfast in the local market square which is close by. The breakfast favourites here are Banh Cuon and a multi-coloured sticky rice. Pho is also available if you prefer.

Deo Me Pia Pass - the road that looks like a slalom course on the side of a mountain with the 15 turns. We ae lucky enough that we drive up. But when we get to the top the trekking really starts.

Deo Me Pia Pass - The trek starts here and goes up a near by mountain. It’s about 2km and a lot of climbing. The path has been kindly marked by red painted posts by an old man who sells water at the top for intrepid trekkers. The narrow path is covered in greenery and trees all around as are most of the mountains and valleys around here. The view is amazing though and some great photo opportunities. Please be careful though as there are zero barriers to the valley below. Sadly this is the only path around here so we must go back down and return to our starting point another 2km. This time thankfully downhill. Depending on time we sometimes eat here but normally we go to aqua village an hour away by car.

Ha Quang - a small village where we have a lunch at a local restaurant. We are close to the Chinese border so Chinese options are available!

To get to our next destination is 80km of tough mountain driving. It’s so worth it though and there are many sights to see along the way. We pass many tobacco farms and can even stop to see one. The farmers are quite friendly. The tobacco grown here is popular all over Vietnam.

Ban Gioc Village - this is the homestay for the night. Alas the waterfalls are 5km away so we cant go there just yet. Wait for tomorrow! The village is by a river and many families still have horses.

We enjoy homestay food. My favourite is the glass noodle which is made locally and has a specially good taste. There is of course other local foods available.

Breakfast is served! Usually crepes (French style pancakes) or local breakfast options. Served with some fresh tea / coffee. All done in around 3/4 hour and what a day ahead we have for you.

To get to the Tiger Cave we leave the homestay (no car needed this time) as it is only about 2km away. The mountain pass is lined with trees and ferns as is so common in the region. It does not take us long at all to get there.

Tiger Cave - The biggest and longest cave in the north is truly spectacular. There are two route options available, the classic 700m route and the 3000m new route that includes rafting. We go for the simpler route but of course if you want to try the longer one - just tell us. The classic route was marked out in the early 1920s and you can still see the markings from the explorers. The caverns are huge with many being up to 50m high. Even though the route is only 700m there is so much to see that it takes us an hour to see it all! We then get driven the 5km to the waterfall!

This is the sight you have been waiting for. The Ban Gioc Waterfall. It’s truly huge - it even spans two countries, So we will pass Chinese tourists on rafts in the same location! Truly unique. The strength of the waterfalls hits its peak at around 11am so we are in plenty of time to see that. We can get up close to the face of the waterfall on a raft which is amazing. The raft ride takes around 20 minutes and many many people want photos. Just be sure your camera phone is either water resistant or that you have a plastic bag to keep it dry. There are also horses to ride around the falls as they are so large and there are many viewing points to see the waterfalls. All worth exploring. All this takes about an hour before we head off for lunch.

Lunch is in Cao Bang itself. You have to try the seven spiced duck that is only found here. There are other local specialties to try. We eat, rest and chat for an hour.

Angel Eye is the name of the karst with a giant hole in it that looks like an eye. It also has a cave inside as as with many things there is also a local legend to go with it. There are horses here you can hire to get around on. We will cover a few kilometres walking around as the giant karsts are - well giant! The trekking here is on open mostly flat ground covered in short grasses. Very pleasant indeed. We spend an hour or so around here as its so beautiful.

No way of getting around it - we have to drive for 80km which takes us 3 hours to get to Ba Be Lake. There are also more tobacco farms along the way, so if you didn’t stop before - now is your chance!

Arriving in Ba Be Lake we find our homestay in Pac Ngoi village. We have an hour to rest / fresh up before supper.

Supper is Vietnamese style for a change! All the food is locally grown and home cooked so selections change daily depending on what is growing in the garden!

Breakfast is served! Usually crepes (French style pancakes) or local breakfast options (noodle soup, banh quan etc). Served with some fresh tea / coffee. Today is lake day!

To get to the boat station is a 2km trek. The path is flat and green lined with trees that the wild monkeys love. Monkeys are the easiest of the animals to see as they are a little noisy and quite visible. To see the rare birds you will need a good set of binoculars.

We arrive at the Pac Ngoi Boat Marina at the southern most part of Ba Be Lake. This boat trip is the long one listed on the activities. We take our little long boat across the lake to our first stop which will be a little trekking.

Arriving in Nam Mau at the start of the Nang River we trek the local area as it is a small valley with nice features such as rice fields and forests. There are locals to talk too as well. They are mostly ethnically Black Tay. We spend 1/2 hr here. Not long but the place is small but beautiful.

We travel further north east up the Nang River to Puong Cave. The cave has a river entrance so we arrive in style. The cave is 300m long and up to 50m high. There is a formal path inside making it easy to navigate. There is much to see inside the cave with some truly impressive features, worthy of many photos. There is only one boat access point so we take the path that returns us to the waiting boat.

Travelling back down the rive in the opposite direction to see our next location of Dau Dang Waterfalls. A little trekking is involved as the falls are 700m from the boat drop off point. The falls themselves are 30m wide and there are a few different places to view them from.

The falls make a perfect location for a lunch stop. The food here is local style with the added option having fresh fish caught in the lake and we mean really fresh.

Back on Ba Be Lake, we stop at Pe Lu (An Ma) island which is at the north east most part of the lake. There is a temple here to celebrate a creation legend of the lake. According to legend two kind villagers were saved by a fairy and their house turned into an island. We also have some time here to go swimming - highly recommended on hot days of which there are many.

Our final destination of the day is back to the place where we started at the south most point of the lake! Pac Ngoi Boat Marina. We get a beautiful skies in late afternoon and early evening as we travel across the lake. It truly gives it a different feel.

We trek the 2km back to the same homestay that we were staying at. The views of the early evening skies really set off the tone and make everything look dreamy. Photographers call this the golden hour.

Arriving at the homestay we have an hour to rest, freshen up or just explore. There is a sunset to see as well before supper in an hour.

Just like last time the menu options are on rotation as it depends on what is growing in the garden. Food is Vietnamese style and they are known for very good spring rolls - a favourite in Vietnamese cuisine.

Breakfast is served! Crepes and local options are available along with some fresh tea / coffee.

We drive 6km to the Ghost Cave. The cave goes by many names and also has a mythical origin story. We have to walk a little from the roadside to the cave entrance some 300m up the mountain. Once inside we find the cave truly impressive. The caverns are large being 30-50m high in places as well as the route being 700m long. There are many specular formations all light up. To see it all takes about an 1.5 hr including the short trek.

Alas it is time to return to Hanoi our next stop is Cho Za for lunch

Our last meal all together on this tour. Food is Vietnamese style in a local restaurant. We talk about the exciting week we all had together and mention our favourite parts of the tour.

The last let of our journey will take us directly to Hanoi. There will rest stops if needed. Along the way we pass the mountains and tea plantations. Is is possible to stop by if you wish. The tea there is exceptionally fresh and makes for an interesting break.

Finally back in Hanoi, we drop you at your hotel or residence. We hope you had a memorable tour and a great time with us.