Ha Giang discovery: The rocky plateau trekking experience

Ha Giang - sometimes known as ‘the Roof of Vietnam’ - is characterized by beautiful limestone karsts, rolling hills, and highlands. It’s also the homeland of many minority groups and hill tribes such as the Dao, H’mong, Tay, and Nung... This epic road trip across Dong Van Geopark has been handcrafted to bring you an array of colorful ethnic minority communities, stay in local villages and visit lively tribal markets, while traveling through dramatic mountain and forest landscapes. The selected hiking routes throughout the trip offer you either majestic views of the landscape or insight into the local villages or both.

• Theme tour: Adventurous explorer
• Kids friendly: No
• Destination: Less traveled

• Stunning scenery in wild places you've only dreamt about.
• Vivid ethnic cultures. Big smiles. Unforgettable memories.
• Spectacular scenery.
• Be immersed in hill-tribe culture.
• Great trekking trail for nature enthusiasts.

• Sun & rain gear 
• Insect repellent
• Trekking clothes
• Trekking shoes/sandals
• Warm clothes in winter (mid Nov to early March)
• Toiletries, towel and flashlight
• Original passport

Meals: lunch, dinner | Accommodation: Nam Dam Dzao lodge

8:00 AM – pick up from your hotel, we exit Hanoi and head to mountainous landscape and striking scenery of Tuyen Quang province.

Lunch will be served at a local restaurant en-route. In the afternoon, the road then takes us up into a dramatic climb to see Heaven’s Gate, the entrance to the Dong Van Geopark. You’ll arrive in Nam Dam village before sunset, check-in and spend the night at a traditional architecture of Dzao people.

Located in the heart of Nam Dam village, Quan Ba town, the Dao lodge is featured with traditional architecture and magnificent mountain views. Each room has a balcony and a seating area, enclosed bathroom comes with a shower, slippers and free toiletries.

Meal: breakfast, lunch, dinner | Accommodation: Guesthouse in Dong Van

Have a full breakfast as you need energy for 2.5 hours scenic hike on trails to Lung Tam village. Upon arrival there’s chance to visit a local workshop where women cultivated and weaved hemp for generations.

We then get back to our car and drive towards the heart of the Dong Van Geopark (recognized by UNESCO), the view is featured with towering peaks, pine forests and wide valleys. Lunch will be served at a local restaurant in en-route.

There’s time for a visit to an ancient architecture of the H’mong King’s in Sa Phin before arriving in Dong Van around 3 pm. Take your time for a leisure walking in this small town before heading back to your hotel for dinner and overnight accommodation.

Meal: breakfast, lunch, dinner | Accommodation: Meo Vac mountain lodge

After breakfast, we depart for Meo Vac passing the well-known Ma Pi Leng pass. This is one of the best photo stop to enjoy the wonderful sightseeing of this vast limestone mountain range and perpendicular walls of rock, which brings one a feeling of adventure whilst being lost in the rocky highlands .

We’ll get off the car and carry on a 2.5- 3 hours hike through Ma Pi Leng pass. Taking a network of tiny walking trails for villagers, you’ll stroll around the valley, enjoy a stunning view of Nho Que river and terraced hemp fields. After the hike, you’ll have a short drive to Meo Vac town to check-in your hotel and late lunch.

In the afternoon, we’ll take the short drive descending to Nho Que river, the lowest part of the plateau that can give you a great view of the river and the imposing mountain ranges on both side.

Meo Vac Mountain lodge (a.k.a Chung Pua Auberge) is an old ancestral Hmong house built in the 1930’s. Originally the house was designed as a fortified farm with four blocks of buildings surrounding a central patio; following an architecture model common in the south of China Han. After renovation, the lodge opened to travelers in 2013 and offers a unique accommodation experience in a true H’mong atmosphere. There are private rooms with shared bathroom outside. The lodge is very unique but due to the limited numbers of rooms, it can be fully booked. In that case we’ll offer you an overnight in a local guesthouse.

Meal: breakfast, lunch, dinner | Accommodation: Tha village – Traditional house-on-silts or Hotel

Meo Vac is culturally rich of 16 ethnic groups and features gorgeous landscape made of mountain and deep rocky valleys. If you happen here on Sunday morning, you can enjoy the colourful market filled up with locals from all villages near by.

On other day, you can enjoy a 3 hours trek through a network of H’mong villages from Sung Tra to Lung Phinh before going to Yen Minh for lunch.

Leaving the lodge after lunch, we’ll make our way back to Ha Giang and later check-in at a local homestay in the Tha village. Enjoy a home-cooked dinner of a Tay family and spend the night at their residence.

Our accommodation tonight will be provided by a local family in their traditional house-on-silts. There will be no private room and we will sleep on the floor on a large communal area. The sleeping corner is set up with a single mattress (thin, but adequate), blankets (ditto), pillow and mosquito net. The restroom is a few steps from the main house.

There’s also hotels in Ha Giang City available if you want to stay in an ensuite room.

Meal: breakfast, lunch | Accommodation: Not included

After breakfast, we’ll take an easy walk around to enjoy a pure morning of the Tha village. Inhabited mostly by Tay people, protected by mountain and forest, this village remain the charmless of a traditional community. On the way, you’ll pass by local rice field, market and also may call at in a local house for a cup of tea.

Before noon, we’ll leave the village and drive back to Hanoi. Trip ends in Hanoi around 5-6 PM.

Note:

Instead of going back to Ha Giang and on to Hanoi, you can go to Ba Be National Park on day 4. The drive from Meo Vac to Ba Be is quite long (7-8 hours including lunch break). However, the scenery is nice and the exploration of the highest mountain lake of Ba Be is woth the drive. Please contact our experienced mountain travel consultant at info@asiatravelimage.com for further information.