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Tour Pricing
Couple
$97
Family of 4
$63
Group of 7
$47
*Prices quoted as per person. Tours are generally inclusive of all costs listed in the itinerary. Prices do not include optional extra's or alcoholic beverages. Prices may also vary on national holidays.
Tours - Bac Ha Market + Palace + Boat Ride
Bac Ha market is alive with the bright colours and extravagant costumes of the local people, here you will meet Flower Hmong, Red Hmong, Black Dao, Tay, Nung, La Chi, Phu La and other tribal groups who come from far and wide to buy and sell a wide variety of goods and livestock, to exchange news and to renew friendships.
Markets have been a part of ethnic culture for many centuries & when the Hmong & other tribes came to Vietnam from southern China, we brought our traditional markets too. Here you can find a variety of items for sale from food to handicrafts & livestock. It is also a place where people come to meet & socialise. The market is famous for selling horses but in recent times is more common to see pigs, chicken, ducks and other animals sold. The market is open from 05:00 till 15:00.
We also go to see the Hoang A Tuong Palace. Built by the local ethnic leader of the area from the colonial times, it is complete with court rooms and prison cells. We also make time for a boat ride in the nearby Trung Do village.
Operating times & festivals
Bac Ha market is open every day, but the main market is on the sunday - this is when it is most busy & vibrant, so we do the tour on sunday’s only. The market is also closed for tet. If you are booking in June there is also a horse racing festival that you may wish to see.
These tours are popular with people who have booked their own stay in Sapa, but are not so into the trekking. All tours leave early (7am) because the market is usually around 2hrs drive away & the best action is to be had in the mornings! This tour is suitable for all, including seniors and families with small children as the distance walked is not so great.
Itinerary
07:00
We start the tour early and either collect you from your homestay or hotel in the Sapa or Lao Cai area. We have a private car with driver to take us the 110km (2hrs) to the market. We aim to get there for around 09:00 as the best action is to be had early on!
09:00
Now we are here at the Bac Ha market, the main focus of our tour. There’s no ‘main entrance’ to the market, because it’s outdoors. As you walk down the road into the heart of the market, there are stalls spread out on either side, mostly operated by Hmong and Dao people. There are lots of beautifully coloured fabrics to see for sale at the market. The traditional batik fabrics are made from hemp and dyed with plant based dyes. Lots of ethnic minorities are small farmers so there are lots of farming related things for sale too. Livestock is also traded here, everything you would expect - pigs, chickens, ducks, etc. With the help of the tour guide we can talk to many of the stall operators and swap stories.
11:15
Just next to the market is the elegant Hoang A Tuong Palace. The palace has an elegant courtyard as well as even a court room and prison cells! Used as Hoang family from 1921 to 1950 and finally becoming a national monument in 1999.
12:00
Lunchtime! We are in for a treat. We eat at a local restaurant which has not just the usual selection of local foods on offer like fresh pork, rice and steamed vegetables but we also have horse meat (thang co) to try as it is a local specialty. After an hour for lunch we head off in the car again to our next destination, a lovely little village only 3km from the market.
13:30
Ban Pho where you can walk around the village where Flower Hmong, Tay and Nung tribes live. The village is beautiful as is the Ban Pho valley, so it’s worthy of a photo or two. We have an hour here to explore and soak it all in.
14:30
We take a River Boat cruise on the Chay River nearby, we have half an hour to soak up the surroundings, seeing people farming the fields next to the river.
15:00
Driving to Lao Cai city we stop at the beautiful temple Den Mau to take some pictures. We are also able to see into China as the location is right at the border.
17:00
Alas now its the end of the tour. We can drop you off at your point of choosing back in Sapa or Lao Cai (if you are returning to Hanoi by train). If day-trips are more you thing in Sapa, we also have a waterfall tour.
file: “sapa-bac-ha-market-clothing” caption: “Hmong tradition dictates that new clothes are worn every year so there is need for new items. The rich patterns and colours celebrate the skill of the creator & give status to the person wearing it. photo is of sapa town square many years ago”
Tour Pricing
Couple
$97
Family of 4
$63
Group of 7
$47
*Prices quoted as per person. Tours are generally inclusive of all costs listed in the itinerary. Prices do not include optional extra's or alcoholic beverages. Prices may also vary on national holidays.
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