Photography Tour of North Vietnam to Mu Cang Chai, Ha Giang, Ba Be Lake – 10 Days
Best places to visit: Hanoi – Nghia Lo - Mu Cang Chai - Sapa - Ha Giang →Dong Van – Meo Vac – Bao Lac- Ba Be - Hanoi
10 days
Daily Tour
20 people
English, Cezch
For this tour, you will explore the charming at Duong Lam ancient village in . Hanoi city to touch traditional village right in capital city and Long Coc Teafields. Take the chance to shoot and record the amazing rice terrace fields at Mu Cang Chai and Than Uyen where bring you deeply impression for nature and human hand creation. Explore Sapa town with trekking to ethnic groups village and homestay in traditional stilt houses. Also, you can discover the beauties of Ha Giang Province for more discovery its unique terrace fields and Dong Van Plateau plus the famous flower fields that amaze people. Never miss this wonderful Ba Be lake by boat and visit the legend An Ma temple in the middle of Ba Be Lake
Discover a magnificent Puong cave in Ba Be National Park system
Itinerary :
Day 1: Hanoi – Duong Lam – Long Coc – Nghia Lo (L/D)
You will be picked up earlier in Hanoi with our tour guide for the drive for Nghia Lo –with Muong Lo as the second beautiful valley of rice fields in the north of Vietnam. En route you stop to visit the Mia pagoda, one of the oldest pagodas in Vietnam with over 250 statues. And then travel to Duong Lam ancient village, that’s renowned for its historic houses constructed with laterite blocks.
Continue to process to Nghia Lo through the Trung Ha bridge.
Stop alongside the way to visit Long Oc tea hills and discover the daily life and activities of minority people. Have lunch on the way.
You also have chance to visit the beautiful Muong Lo Valley where has the beautiful terrace field at the valley
Arrive at Nghia Lo late afternoon. Check in stilt house. Have dinner.
O/N at the hotel in Nghia Lo.
Day 2: Nghia Lo – Tu Le – Khau Pha Pass – Mu Cang Chai (B/L/D)
Breakfast at the hotel. You will leave Nghia Lo for Tu Le ~40 km. It is an easy hike to visit the village of Thai ethnic people at Tu Le. It’s a tranquil village with beautiful scenery and terrace rice fields. Meet locals and visit a Thai family.
Continue to Mu Cang Chai around 40 km via the scenic landscape of terraced rice fields, especially from April to October (there are lovely seasons: the rice water and the harvest seasons). Have a stop for admire and shoot photo the lovely and scenic rice terraces. In particular on the neck of Khau Pha Pass with an amazing view over the valley and the most amazing rice terraces not only in northwest Vietnam but also in the country. These are inside the villages La Pan Tan, Che Cu Nha, Shoes shape hill, Mam Xoi hill by motorbike. Have lunch on way.
Overnight in Mu Cang Chai
Day 3: Mu Cang Chai –Than Uyen – Muong Than – Tan Uyen – Sapa (B/L/D)
Process to Sapa town (~160 km) passing through fields of lovely tea. In Than Uyen the roads climbs up to the highest pass in vietnam (2047m) with terrace fields and views. Have a fast stop to experience the freshness and to admire Mount Fansipan. Arrive at Sapa town late afternoon, there’s some free time on your free entertainment and discovery. Lied at 1,650 meters above sea level and enjoy a cool temperate weather, Sapa town was an vintage resort created by the French in the region of Fanxipan Mountain ~ 3143m sea level which is known as the roof of Indochina. Have dinner at local restaurant.
O/N in Sapa.
Day 4: Sapa Trek To Cat Cat, Y Linh Ho, Lao Chai, Ta Van Villages. (B/L/D)
Have breakfast at hotel.
At 9 AM: Meeting at your hotel and start your tour.
We will trek down 2km to Cat Cat village. You can see the whole Cat Cat village at the foot of the mountain and terraced fields with Hmong houses in the distance.
At 9:30 AM: Arrive Cat Cat village. You will admire their traditional houses, costumes, and dances. Under the homes of the Hmong people is a small stream that is the headwaters of the Muong Hoa River. Here you will see the Tien Sa waterfall and Sapa power plant built during the French colonial period.
After 30 minutes visit, we will trek uphill to Y Linh Ho village. On the way, we can see the cardamom forest and flora of Hoang Lien National Park. There are many fruit trees on both sides of the road; you will be surprised.
At 10:30 PM: We will go to the meadow at the top of the mountain, where you can see all of Sapa town and Muong Hoa valley, where there are villages of Black Hmong and Giay people. We can take some pictures and then follow the trail of local people to get to the village.
At around 11:30 AM: We have a picnic lunch on the grassy hill of the mountain – have lunch and enjoy the landscapes
At 1:00 PM, After lunch, we will continue trekking to visit the houses of the Hmong people, learn about their life and culture, and admire the natural landscape and terraced fields.
At around 2:00 PM: Arrive Lao Chai village. Here, we will learn about customs, habits, and life tools and listen to their experiences building houses and working on terraced fields.
At 3:00 PM: We will reach Ta Van, a village of Giay ethnic minorities. Here, you will learn about two cultures, the Back Hmong and the Giay people. You will see the design of those houses is different as well. Ta Van is also the last village on this tour.
At 3:30 PM: A car will pick you up from the community back to Sapa.
At around 4:00 – 4:30 PM: Arrive Sapa at the end of the tour.
You’ll be picked up and transfer via avenue again to Sapa. You are back hotel in Sapa around 16.00pm. Free to have your own dinner.
O/N in Sapa.
Note: The itinerary of trekking can be adjusted depending on the weather conditions, your age and your health status:
Day 5: Sapa – Bac Ha (B/L/D)
Have breakfast at your hotel. At 08:30 am you leave Sapa town for getting on the road to Lao Cai (~35 km). You will make a short stopover at Cau Kieu – the frendship bridge that links Vietnam and China. Continue to Bac Ha about 65 km and visit the old H’mong King house to learn more of traditional style and its history. Then check-in local H’mong home (1.5km from Bac Ha). Enjoy lunch and have some chatting time with friendly host members.
In the afternoon walk around to visit nearby Hmong minority villages, visit their houses, have a cup of tea and visit their green vegetable fields. Have dinner with the family and overnight in local home. O/N in Bac Ha
Note: Homestay is basic condition, no private room, clean mattress, pillow and blacket are provided for guests.
Day 6: Bac Ha Sunday Market – Ha Giang (B/L/D)
Have breakfast at the family. At 8.00 am start the visiting Bac Ha Market right in the heart of Bac Ha Town. It is the largest minority market in this area. Every Sunday, the different and colorful minority people group all come here to sell their homemade products or buy something for their family. They are Hmong, Phu La, Back Dzao, Tay or Nung minorities. Some of these ethnic minorities can’t be met in any other areas. You can buy something at the market for souvenir and shoot photos of different groups and activities. Then you leave Bac Ha for Ha Giang Province and pass through Pho Rang for lunch.
Afternoon is the continue time to Viet Quang town where is the entrance to reach Ha Giang town. Arrive in Ha Giang. Have dinner and overnight at the stilt house.
O/N in Ha Giang
Day 7: Ha Giang – Quan Ba – Yen Minh – Dong Van (B/L/D)
Have breakfast with the local family. At 08:00 am you walk & enjoy the Phuong Thien nursery, infirmary and village. Then you depart for Dong Van Plateau via Quan Ba and Yen Minh to visit Nam Dam village where is famous for homestay village, Quan Ba Heaven gate, Twin Mountain, pine forest road in Yen Minh. The remote region of Dong Van is a land of rugged mountains and beautiful hill tribe villages. You can see this region being remained unchanged for centuries. Have lunch on the way.
You travel to northwest out of Ha Giang Town towards this northernmost tip of Vietnam. The former Hmong royal house at Sa Phin is a primary attraction of the region. It is famous in some Vietnam film scene. It is the blend of the hill tribe people’s colourful costumes and the majestic mountainous landscapes make this long and sometimes bumpy trip an unforgettable experience.
Next you continue the excursion to Lung Cu where has the Chinese border. View the panorama of the whole scenery from the top of Lung Cu Flag Tower. Have more visit Dong Van Karst Plateau.
Once arrive in Dong Van, have dinner at local restaurant
O/N in Dong Van.
Day 8: Dong Van – Meo Vac – Bao Lac (B/L/D)
Have breakfast at hotel.
At 08:00am you visit the market and the old district of Dong Van for more experience.
Afternoon you depart Dong Van for Meo Vac (30 km), in the heart of a mountainous region with a moderate climate, crossing the Mountain Ma Phi Leng at over 2000 meters sea level. You can admire a beautiful view over the valley with terraced fields of hemp, karst hills, stilt houses, and the minority people of Hmong, Dao and Nho Que River. This romantic and tranquil river takes its source in China to expand on the Vietnamese territory as a band of white silk.
Lunch and transfer to Bao Lac – Cao Bang
Have dinner and O/N in Bao Lac.
Day 9: Bao Lac – Ba Be lake. (B/L/D)
After breakfast, At 08:00 am you travel to Ba Be, witnessing the local market that you will be impressed by this market that attracts all the minority groups in the region as the Hmong, Dao, Cao Lan, Lo Lo, Tay minorities all come here…
Then transfer to Bao Lac. Arrive in Bao Lac and free to have your own discovery and enjoyment of Bao Lac. Have lunch in Bao Lac
In the afternoon, you will transfer to Ba Be for the cosy homestay.
The lake itself is actually three small lakes joined together – Pe Lam, Pe Lu and Pe Leng. The area was established as a national preserved forest and tourist centre in 1978, before being established as Vietnam’s eighth national park in 1992. It was recently recognised by UNESCO as the third Ramsar site in Vietnam – an important wetland of the world. Located 145m above sea level, the lake has an average depth of 20-25m and its deepest part is 35m. The lake bed is made up of limestone with millions of crags and crevasses that are ideal for a large variety of marine life – there are over a hundred of species of freshwater fish in the lakes.
O/N in Pac Ngoi village.
Day 10: Ba Be lake – Hanoi (B/L)
7:30am, you will start your exciting day in Ba Be National Park. You will sit on our local boat on Ba Be Lake first, the boatman will take you around the first part of Ba Be lake called Pe Lam, then cross around two islands of Po Gia Mai. The boatman will then take you along the lakeside to watch the bunches of ancient tree roots hanging down to the water. Huge and long. Next, the area of lake two and lake three are smaller, the yellow monkeys often come down to drink and catch fish, it is crystal clear and deep water here. Straight to Nang river at the end of the lake, the boatman will move up the river to Puong Cave, this is a very large cave with a large mouth and many giant stalactites, in a dark corner the home of thousands of bats.
Afternoon you continue on the mountain road for return Hanoi city. Arrive in Hanoi at about 19.00 pm. End of our service at hotel in Hanoi city.
Inclusions
Private transport
English speaking guide
Meals as mentioned above (B= Breakfast, L= Lunch, D = Dinner)
Accommodation at hotels or Homestay
Entrance fees, Permission
Mineral water bottle
Exclusions
Personal expenses
Meals not mentioned in the program
Other than mentioned in the itinerary
Travel Insurance
