Hill Tribes of Northern Vietnam – 9 days 8 nights

In the early morning, we will rise early to enjoy the fresh air and peaceful atmosphere at the countryside. After you do your personal hygiene, we will start our morning activity with a bicycle ride through the paddy fields, corn fields, to see the beautiful picture of rural life of livestock and poultry and observe the activities of villagers. You will have the breakfast in the open air and check out. After that we will get on the road to visit Khau Pha Moutain pass and amazing Tu Le rice fields and stop at a local house for lunch. After lunch we continue to Nam Co Village where you can have chance to know more about Vietnamese ethnic minority: Hmong people. You can see their customs, daily life activities, local market (if you are lucky to get there on the right day). Lastly, we will drive to Mam Soi and La Pan Tan terrace rice fields, then talk a short walk to a higher point to admire the great view of this area. At the evening, you will have a cozy dinner and overnight at a White Thai family named Mrs. Chons’s Homestay in Kim Noi Village.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Homestay in Kim Noi Village

After having breakfast we will drive from Mu Cang Chai through Tan Uyen and then to Sapa. The road is very dramatic with many hairpins, each opening up a new vista of the mountains, and crossing the Sin Ho pass. You will have lunch in Sapa and have a chance to look around.
Take a walk down to the South-west of Sapa (around 3 km) to visit Cat Cat Village of the Black Hmong, one of the more well-known ethnic village of Sapa. Relax at the foot of the stunning waterfall and the vestige of a hydroelectric power station that was constructed by the French during the colonial time in Vietnam.
Then come back to the main road to be transferred to Sapa town on a jeep for 3km.
Activities: 3km of trekking.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Hotel in Sapa

We set off early and drive to Bac Ha, one of the most colorful markets in the north (another local market will be replaced if it is not on Sunday).
You can become an expert in spotting the different ethnic costumes, and enjoy the antics of the livestock market. There are marvelous photo opportunities at these markets. After lunch in a local restaurant, we will visit the palace of Hoang A Tuong, a curious mixture of baroque and oriental, built in 1920 with the aid of the French. Then we will drive up a small mountain road with views of the most amazing rice terraces, with villages dotted here and there. We reach the Ban Phung village and have a chance to see the La Chi ethnic people, the ladies in black knee length skirts and jackets, with a little delicate colored embroidery, their heads wrapped in a strip of cloth knotted about their hair. They have a truly hard life up in these mountains often carrying a heavy load in a bag from a band on their heads. We will descend to Hoang Sun Phi for overnights.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: Homestay in Hoang Su Phi

Hoang Su Phi is also a very famous area for rice terraces which curl around the hills like contour lines. There are also beautiful tea plantations, some of which have been there for one hundred years. We continue via the Tan Su Phin pass and the Cong Troi pass. These are the most dramatic passes and this whole area is full of magnificent views with plenty of photo opportunities. We will have lunch on the way at a local restaurant, then continue north again to Ha Giang. We will overnight at a stilt house of the Tay people. Dinner and overnight.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Homestay in Ha Giang

From Ha Giang we drive to Dong Van via Cong Troi pass then Yen Minh. We visit the King’s palace in the Hmong ethnic village of Sa Phin, which is a lovely palace, built in the early 20th century, interesting architecturally and historically important to the local Hmong people. The Dong Van Karst Plateau Geoparkis a fascinating area, and most notable are the black limestone craggy peaks, where the Hmong people manage to plant corn in any square inch of soil they can find. Harvesting is done by hand and the bundles taken back down the mountain side on the back of a motor bike. We continue to Dong Van, which also has a few ancient houses around the old market area and have lunch there. In this area, in addition to the women wearing their bright swinging pleated skirts, embroidered and beaded tops and bright chequered headscarves, the men and boys look so cool in their black jackets with stand up collar with a black beret, a relic from the French occupation. The Ma Pi Leng pass between Dong Van and Meo Vac is justly considered one of the most beautiful roads in the country and we will actually trek through the pass. The views are stunning, looking down over the river valley and across towards the mountainous frontier with China. We overnight in Meo Vac. Dinner and overnight.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Homestay in Meo Vac

In the morning, we will visit Meo Vac, it is a small town and is the home of many ethnic groups like Tay, Dao, Hmong and Lo Lo. If we are lucky to get here on Sunday morning, we will have a chance to see the local weekend market and one more chance to see more colorful ethnic customs. You can find a lot of local people selling handmade clothes here and fabric and even men makes the men’s indigo dyed jackets by their own on old sewing machines. Local people here raise many kinds of livestock and poultry like pigs, horses, chickens, cows, birds. On the way to restaurant in Bao Lac for lunch, we will stop for few more places in the ethnic village. In Pac Rang, we will visit Nung ethnic people, their traditional farming village is well-known for blacksmiths and their farm tools and the way they produce them. We will have dinner and also stay a night at a local Nung ethnic house, you will have chance to know more about the life of another ethnic people. Dinner and overnight.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Homestay in Pac Rang

After the breakfast we get on the way to Cao Bang. First stop is Ban Gioc waterfall. This is one of the most beautiful places in the Northern mountainous area. There have been so many photos taken here. You will not only surprised by the stunning beauty but also feel so fresh with the atmosphere here. A very nice place to refresh yourself after the long trip and trekking. If you can go in the period of September to December, it will be the best time for you to admire the majestic beauty of this waterfall since this is the raining season at the upstream area so the amount water flow will be big and most beautiful. After that we head to Nguom Ngao “Tiger Cave” which attracts tourists by its amazing limestone formations, and stalactites of various shapes. You will also be impressed by its size and it is one of the most famous tourist attractions of Cao Bang mountainous province. After that we drive to Ba Be National Park and feel the peace of the National park. Dinner and overnight.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Homestay in Ba Be

After breakfast we will take a short walk to rice fields to Bo Lu boat station. Then take 3 hours boat trip through Ba Be Lake. Jump into lake for swimming is allowed. Have lunch at local house before take the transfer back to Hanoi.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Accommodation: NA