DAY 1 : Hanoi

In the morning, you will be welcomed at the airport and transferred to the centre of the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi.
You will settle at your hotel.

Having been located on that site since Neolithic, Hanoi, which changed names several times throughout its long history, became the final capital of the country in 1954. For our first contact with that genuinely Asian town, that is said to radiate a fully Parisian elegance, we roam its streets by cycle-rickshaw. The old town is teeming like a real ant-hill. For quite a while, we are kept fully absorbed by the lacquer ware, paintings, embroidery, silk and mortuary items displayed in the 36 crafts area.

We ride on as far as the Literature Temple, divided into five inner quadrangles, an authentic masterpiece of traditional Vietnamese architecture. It was erected in 1070 by Emperor Lé Thanh Tong, and dedicated to Confucius as a homage to writers.

We have lunch at a small restaurant where we savor some good traditional Vietnamese food.

Then, we visit the Vietnam ethnologic museum, a place not to be missed as an introduction to our mountain tour. That museum has been created with the help of the Musée de l’Homme in Paris. We go through a number of rooms where all the daily life home utensils of the different ethnic groups living in Vietnam have been gathered. Outside, we pass several ethnic group’s houses re-created in their original styles.

In the late afternoon we attend the superb Puppet Show on water, which originates from the North of the country.

We have dinner at a typical restaurant in town and spend the night at the hotel.

DAY 2 : From Hanoi to Babe

In the early morning, we head towards the Tonkin mountain area.
Hardly out of the capital, we drive through huge rice-fields and several typical Vietnamese villages. During a short stop, we can watch the morning activities, small markets and daily life scenes.

Soon, the plain makes room for the first tiered rice-fields. We arrive at CHO RA for lunch before embarking on a boat for a trip on the River NANG. We sail between lime-stone cliffs as far as the large Babe Lake. Those cliff slopes are hung with small wild gardens, from which long-rooted creepers are dangling, seemingly in quest of soil.

The other highlight of the boat trip lies in the fishing sight. Lobster-pots are set along in the river, some men are throwing fishing nets while other ones are knocking at the rocky banks to drive out tiny shrimps. The river runs through the Puong caves. We land and walk around that swallow hole, to admire its stalactites and stalagmites.

Having reached the lake, we sail on as far as Pac Ngoi, the village of the Tay ethnic group. The Tays make a living out of fishing, besides growing rice and corn. Their thatch-roofed houses on stilts show a peaceful rural life drowned in the surrounding magnificent landscapes.

We have a delicious local dinner and spend the night with the locals in a traditional wooden-stilted house.

DAY 3 : From Babe to Cao Bang

We enjoy a country breakfast of honey and banana pancakes, before first boarding the boat again then driving to CAO BANG.

The winding road is meandering now through rice and tobacco fields, now through deciduous woodland then pine-tree forests.
During our journey we stop now and then to discover some villages of the two most represented ethnic groups in the area, the Tays and the Nungs. Those villages have often been built on the hill slopes and can to reach by a very typical suspension bridge.

In the middle of the afternoon we reach Cao Bang, the capital of the region. After resting a little while at the hotel, we stroll about the town as far as the remains of the French colonial period: some battlements erected around 1930. On our way we can watch some daily life scenes such as youngsters playing their favorite sports, a game of foot shuttlecock.

We also spend sometime in the central market, amidst the true typical locals.
We have dinner at a small rustic restaurant where we are served very good specialties of this part of the country.

Those who wish to enjoy a pleasant long evening can do so at some congenial cafés and bars. The night is spent at the hotel.

Day 4 : Cao Bang and its region

We choose a superb mountain road to ride towards the Chinese border. We have a very interesting halt at Phia Thap, a village of the « Nung » ethnic group, specialized in incense sticks making. Those people settled in that area around the VII th century.

We spend at least one hour in that village meeting the villagers who lead a simple but peaceful life busy with farming, animal husbandry and cotton is spinning.

A few kilometers further on, we drive through a blacksmith village. In the late morning we reach the famous Ban Gioc waterfalls on the river Quy Xuan which marks a natural border between Vietnam and China.While having lunch, we can watch rice-filled Lorries plying over the border to China.

Afterwards we start for a walk as far as the foot of those waterfalls, probably amongst the most beautiful ones in Vietnam.
The sprays we taste during a short raft trip cool us a little. If you are fond of bathing you can enjoy a swim and relax for a while.

After that moment, we resume our drive along a few kilometers to reach Nguom Ngao, the most beautiful cave in the area. On our way back, we watch the local irrigation system technique.
We have dinner and spend the night at Cao Bang.

Day 5 : Cao Bang - Ha Giang.

We take the road at the beginning of the morning. No doubt this new stage through more and more majestic mountains will delight you.

We’ll stop several times at villages and small towns. According to the day, we have to select the right community to discover its very lively market. In that area we meet the « Dao » (pronounced Zao) ethnic group, wearing long tunics, and also the « Tays », « Nungs », « San Chis » and « White Hmong »
All those ethnic groups live side by side and meet at the local markets, enlivening and coloring the local life.

We have lunch in Bao Lac at a small typical restaurant, before enjoying a cup of authentic Vietnamese coffee at a cheap coffee shop.
Then the road follows beautiful valleys, down which are running rivers where we sometimes catch a glimpse of knowledgeable mountain people turned into gold-seekers.

We reach Ha Giang in the late afternoon.

We have dinner at one of the town restaurants and spend the night at our hotel.

Day 6 : Ha Giang - Dong Van.

On this morning we enjoy a local ravioli breakfast before heading to Dong Van situated at the heart of the only natural stone plateau in the country.

We stop several times to admire the Heavenly gates, the Fairy Mountains and stroll about a small Hmong village. There, people are very friendly and they invite us to come into their houses. We can see the kitchen area, the sleeping alcoves, the corn storage shed and its distillery for making corn brandy. We also witness some daily life scenes such as laundering the family clothes in the village shared wash-pool.

After having had lunch at a cheap restaurant we continue our region discovery as far as LUNG TAM, another Hmong village known for hemp weaving.
We have a very interesting conversation with the local M.P., founder of a craft cooperative that has been developing for a few years to provide Hmong women with work and prevent their emigration to China.

We proceed visiting the very beautiful ancient villa of the VUONG family, a local dignitary, who ruled that SAPHIN region before the new regime was established. With 64 rooms that house (we might call it a small mansion) is very typical with its three successive inner courtyards. In the last building our attention is drawn by a small display of artifacts dating from colonial times.

Late in the day, we arrive at Dong Van, which shows us two aspects: a brand new modern town placed side by side to the old village and its traditional wooden houses.

We have dinner and spend the night at Dong Van.

DAY 7 : Dong Van - Ha Giang

We have breakfast at a local café before strolling around the old town, to admire its four-centuries-old houses, then rummage through the ancient French colonial market to discover anything that can be sold and bought. We pass many-colored women and men representing all the ethnics that live several kilometers around in the surrounding mountains.

We board again our vehicle which soon goes into a narrow winding road to reach Mount MA PHI LENG pass, 2000 meters high offering a breath-taking stunning high mountain landscape, unique in Vietnam. On our way we can admire the hemp and corn fields. The tiniest plot of ground in the middle of the rocks is cultivated. We drive through Hmong villages and their stilted houses, then other Dao villages on the river NHO QUE. That romantic river rises in China and then spreads its long white silk ribbon through the Vietnamese territory.

We soon stop at THANH PHAN, in a Dao community to get a little acquainted with their ways and their daily lives. We have lunch there, then we proceed towards Ha Giang going through the Bo Y village.

We spend the night near Ha Giang at a small pretty hotel in the middle of natural surroundings.

Day 8 : Ha Giang - Bac Ha.

To day, we leave our hotel in the early morning to go to Bac Ha. A small winding road, the most beautiful and adventurous in North-East Vietnam leads us to the different ethnic minorities: the Nungs, Tays and flowered Hmongs. We take advantage of a stop to admire their tea-drying technique, the basket weaving and the many-colored Hmong embroidery. We reach Bac Ha in the afternoon. On entering the borough, we visit the small renovated palace of King HOANG TUANG, who reigned over that region at the beginning of last century.

We have a little rest the hotel. Then we start walking to Ban Pho, the village of the many colored Hmongs, to discover those people’s ways and customs. We also learn how they brew their corn brandy.

You won’t be able to leave that village without having sampled that drink, very popular amongst those mountain people.

We have dinner and spend the night at the Bac Ha hotel.

Day 9 : Bac Ha - Sapa

On that day, the morning program will be adapted according to the day you arrive in Sapa. There are two possibilities called A and B.
The A possibility is often proposed, but whereas the Sunday Bac Ha market is the most famous, over the years it has also become rather touristy. With the second possibility, B, you will really be off the beaten track.

>A. : That day is Sunday

We take advantage of the most colourful and busiest market in the area, organised on Sundays only. Here, we come across all the different ethnic minorities: flowered Hmongs, Tays, Fulas and Thais who come down from their mountain villages, arrayed with silver jewels and many-colored embroidered clothes, in order to barter. That highly colorful market is well known for its handmade crafts.

> B : that day is a week day
(except Monday and Friday when there is no market in the area).

We leave Bac Ha early enough to have the opportunity to visit some small village markets and mix with the different ethnic minorities: flowered Hmongs,Tays, Hmongs, Nungs, who come down from their mountains to buy and swap goods. Of course we find exotic fruit, vegetable and meat stalls, cattle and other commodities, besides many-colored clothes boasting all those people’s colors. In several small restaurants, women are gathered on one side, men on another one, taking advantage of that weekly event to meet.

Afternoon

We head westwards to Sapa. We enjoy a very well cooked lunch in Lao Cao, the big border town with China.

The road to Sapa winds its way in the middle of green mountains with their numerous tiered rice-fields. We reach a small village about a few kilometers off Sapa, where we‘ll spend the night in a local house of the DZAY ethnic minority. Soon, every body gets busy cooking the meal we are going to share with our hosts. We enjoy a very friendly evening, duly completed with drinking some local brandy.

Day 10 : Sapa

We share the family breakfast before starting for a long day devoted to hiking along the Sapa valley with its stunning landscapes. Going through BAN HO we admire tiered rice-fields and discover the Tay’s village in Ban Ho before crossing over the river along the suspension bridge.
Then our hike goes on through rice-fields as far as a Dao village in NAM TONG.

After having crossed over another river, we proceed towards NAM KENG, a perched village from which can gaze at the spectacular views over the valley and another village, XA PHO. We savor a delicious lunch prepared by our local guide in a traditional house. In the afternoon we are driven by jeep to a village called GIANG TA CHAI. Then we walk on along a small dirt track as far as two villages:TA VAN (inhabited by Zdays) and LAO CHAI (inhabited by black Hmongs).

At the close of the day, we are driven back to Sapa by jeep.

We have dinner and spend the night at the Sapa hotel.

Day 11 : Sapa - Lao Cai

On that day you are free to do what you want.

Remark: You can visit the Sapa daily market, where the different ethnic groups come and swap their farm produces or sells their traditional costumes, carefully handmade by women. Then, you can climb up HAM RONG Mountain (the dragon’s jaw) and take the opportunity of that climb to photograph the area superb landscapes.
An interesting walk will lead you to the theatre to attend a dance show by the five Sapa ethnic groups.

In the late afternoon :You will be transferred to the Lao Cai railway station. You will have dinner then board the night train to Hanoi (air-conditioned four berths cabin to share).

You spend the whole night traveling and arrive at Hanoi Central station in the very early morning.

Day 12 : Hanoi - transfer to the airport

On arriving, you are taken to a small hotel in the old quarter of the capital of Vietnam for a little rest and a good breakfast.

You are free until the time of your transfer to the airport for your return flight.