AUTHENTIC EXPLORATION OF VIETNAM NORTH-WEST IN 7 DAYS

After arriving at Noi Bai Airport, you will be picked up and transferred to the hotel in the city center. Hotel check-in is available from 2 pm. You can enjoy free time to discover Hanoi by yourself. Overnight at a hotel.

We will start the day with a trip to the Tran Quoc Pagoda. You will then visit the Temple of Literature, constructed in 1070 to worship Confucius, which was also used as the first Royal National University of Vietnam. There are 82 stone steles, carried by tortoises, engraved with names, birthdates, and birthplaces of honored doctorates from 1442 to 1779.

In the afternoon, you visit the Museum of Ethnology (closed on Mondays, the alternative on this day is the History Museum). The museum offers a wide range of informative and well-documented displays of the 54 ethnic groups in Vietnam. The outdoor display is an impressive collection of traditional houses of various minorities from the north to the central Highlands.

We will drive back to the Old Quarter for a 1.5-hour walking tour, specially designed for a deeper insight into Hanoian daily life. You will also visit the Ngoc Son temple which sits on a green islet in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake, connected to the lakeside by a graceful scarlet bridge named The Huc (meaning the early sunlight welcoming place). Overnight at a hotel.

Today, we will visit the Duong Lam village, a well-known village in Vietnam for its 300-year-old houses, grand communal halls, and pagodas. Two of Vietnam’s kings Ngo Quyen and Phung Hung were from the Duong Lam area. You will take a bicycle excursion to discover the village’s highlights: old houses, the communal house of Mong Phu, the Mia Pagoda built in iron wood (iroko wood) and the temple of King Ngo Quyen. You will enjoy a local delicious lunch with a family of the village.

Continue the transfer to Nghia Lo enjoying the beautiful views of the countryside and nature, visit local villages and experience the daily life of the hill tribes. Arriving at the Thai village of Nghia Lo, time to discover the culture of the Thai ethnic group while passing the beautiful scenery of the northern mountains. Overnight at a hotel in Nghia Lo.

Today, we will depart from Nghia Lo to Mu Cang Chai, the road meanders through Hoang Lien Son Mountain range, one of the grandest in Vietnam. We will stop at Tu Le for an easy hike through rice terraces to reach villages of the Thai and H’Mong people who still wear their traditional clothes.

Tu Le is a small tribal town enclosed by scenic landscape and full of warmhearted people living in small wooden houses nestled in foothills. We will then leave Tu Le and continue to drive across Khau Pha Pass (1550m above sea level) to reach La Pan Tan. Predominant in the entire region of La Pan Tan for hundred years, H’Mong are loyal to their customs and culture. They grow maize in plots of land embedded between rocks, vegetables, and especially rice on terraced felds. Despite the invasion of modern life, they still preserve their traditional clothing and language. A new adventure will take you to the village where you can discover H’Mong culture, meet and talk with villagers and do not miss the opportunity for capturing stunning landscape pictures. Overnight at a homestay in Mu Cang Chai town.

After a hearty breakfast with the locals, we will leave Mu Cang and drive to Sapa. The road meanders through Hoang Lien Son Mountain range, with its ever-higher mountains, its villages lost in nature and its minority ethnic groups. We will drive past small towns like Than Uyen, whose main cultivation is green tea. We will drive ascending to O Quy Ho pass. With an altitude of 2047 meters above sea level, it’s recognized as the highest pass in Vietnam. We must stop at the peak to take photos of the magical valley from afar and enjoy the fresh air. From here, you can also see Fansipan Mountain, known as “the Roof of Indochina ” with its peak cloaked in clouds at 3147m.

We will arrive in Sapa at noon. After lunch, we will start our amazing walking tour from Y Linh Ho village of the Black H’Mong people. We will continue walking downhill to Lao Chai village and enjoy beautiful views of terraced rice felds along the way. Don’t miss the opportunity to greet and talk to local people you meet on the way. We will arrive at Ta Van village – the heart of Muong Hoa Valley and home to the Day ethnic people. Overnight at a hotel in Sapa.

After having a tasty breakfast, you will be transferred to the Silver Waterfall, the highest fall in Vietnam dropping from a 300-meter vertical cliff. You can follow the steps ascending to the base of the waterfall to explore the surrounding landscape. We will then continue driving to Tram Ton Pass, where we will have a 30-minute walk through the forest to reach Love Waterfall. You will travel on a soil road with wildflowers on the two sides. The water starts from the peak of Fansipan Mountain and rushes noisily into the Golden Stream, which runs along with green grass plots and bamboo clusters.

We will return to Tram Ton Pass and then continue to drive uphill to the Heavens Gates situated between Lai Chau and Lao Cai province. From the highest stretch of road in Vietnam, you can have a fantastic panoramic view over the valley. Afterwards, we transfer to Bac Ha. Arriving, we have a short visit in authentic ethnic villages. Overnight in a hotel in Bac Ha.

After breakfast, we start to visit the biggest local ethnic market of the region. Taking place every Sunday, Bac Ha Market is where tribal people from surrounding villages flock to exchange their products. Most still use horses to carry their loads, which means they must depart early to get to the market in time. If you come to visit Bac Ha during a spring weekend, it’s easy to meet locals in their most beautiful and colorful costumes heading to the market, as it’s the best time of the year for youngsters finding a partner for marriage. Despite the low temperatures, Spring is a joyful time because it’s the season of courting, dating and weddings. Nature also contributes to the atmosphere, vibrant red and white flowers blooming everywhere. It all truly makes for a unique setting. After a traditional lunch, you will leave the colorful market behind to visit Hoang A Tuong Palace and then to follow a zigzag road along the mountain to visit Ban Pho 1 and Ban Pho 2 villages, inhabited by Flower H’Mong people.

The car takes us back to Hanoi.

Thank you for traveling with Asia Viva Travel.