We chose a visit to Ha Giang because we had read that Sapa was very touristy. We greatly enjoyed our time in Ha Giang. It had amazing hiking, wonderful weather, interesting homestays with ethnic minorities, and new foods at roadside stands. The best shopping I had was at our first homestay.
We had a private guide and driver for our trip. We used YESD (Youth Employment and Society Development): https://yesd.org/. We found this organization in our quest to volunteer while in Vietnam. They have a program where you can teach or work on other local projects. Unfortunately, they would only take us if we committed to one month or more, but we still liked the idea of using this organization for a tour of the area because they are LOCALS and all about responsible tourism.
We did this tour of the area, making sure that our excursion put us in Dong Van on Sunday for the local market – this market was the largest in the Ha Giang/Dong Van Geopark area.
Getting there:
What you need to know is the distance from Hanoi to Ha Giang is far: 5-7 hours by private car depending on your final destination city. The bus can take less time (because they drive way above the speed limit). We talked to other tourists who had arranged their own transport by bus and then used YesD for the local guiding. They said the bus was very jerky and not a pleasant experience. Sapa is a little closer than Ha Giang and they have both buses and trains to get there.
Day 1: Hanoi – Ha Giang by private transport. Arrive Ha Giang around 1:30pm, enjoy an afternoon hiking. Overnight at a bungalow. (These and the following days are the summary itinerary from the tour we set up)
We dropped our stuff off at Mr. Thien’s bungalow located in Thon Tha village. This is a Tay village town. Tay are one of 54 ethnic minorities in Vietnam. We walked from this town to the neighboring Tay village using a path the locals use; we noted it seemed to be an animal track and not much used at that. Our guide said the path was much wider before COVID. Tourists are just starting to come back to Vietnam. Within the first town we noticed the local architecture: wooden structures built on stilts. This is to protect from wild animals (which are no longer a problem in Vietnam but once were) and floods. There were also plenty of ducks, dogs, chickens, and cultivated fields.
Typical architecture, though not all homes have a water wheel. Each house runs a pipe from mountain springs to their house.
As we climbed up into the hills the houses thinned and the paved road became a dirt path. The view of the mountains was incredible. Then we hit a clearing that seemed almost too perfect–flat and grassy, with local women weaving and chatting while the water buffalo grazed. We stopped to chat with them and they let me photograph them and take a video of the weaving process. Then I tried wandering very close to the water buffalo to see if I could pet them. (No luck this time, but I did get a chance later in the trip.) At the back of the grassy knoll is a waterfall and swimming hole–though if you come here, do not actually swim. The current can get strong and there is an undertow and underground caves. Several locals die in swimming accidents every year. So much for idyllic, but respect nature.
We descended into the next town and saw more picturesque scenes of rice harvests and other work. The rice had either just been harvested or was being harvested when we were there. After harvest, they have the water buffalo go to the paddy to eat the remaining stalks and enjoy the mud and water.
We return to our Homestay and have dinner. Below are photos of dinner, breakfast, our hosts, and our room.
Thien Family Homestay
Day 2: We did the Dong Van loop, visited Tam Son and Lung Tam (and the Lung Tam linen collective), the Ma Pi Leng pass (very curvy road, Skypath runs above this road), ending with the Nho Que boat trip, settling in at Pa Vi, Meo Vac though we recommend you stay elsewhere.
Scenic overlook: Quan Ba (Heaven’s Gate). We bought some green turmeric powder at this stop and scenic overlook. There are actually two locations called Heaven’s Gate; they both look over the same valley but at different locations. We stopped at both. You look out over a beautiful valley seeing various towns as well as the Fairy Bosom, two basically identical breast-shaped hills. The legend states that fairies were swimming in a nearby lake; a mortal man stole the clothes of one of the fairies preventing her from returning to the heavens. The fairy married the man and had a child but the gods wanted the fairy to return. She agreed to return to heaven but created or left her breasts behind to feed her infant child.
The first stop/overlook
Lung Tam Linen Collective: this is a wonderful stop where we learned about the linen making and weaving process; the linen is made from hemp. Across the street is the shop. The whole set up supports women and orphans. Prices here were 100k dong LESS than items in tourist shops elsewhere around Ha Giang, and the collective’s work was better quality. 250k for a pillow slip. 69k per “block” for indigo-dyed batik fabric, 2M for a jacket or pants ( and they had some large sizes).
While we finished shopping in the co-op’s store, our guide went across the street (from the co-op demo area) to buy some corn wine. Corn is much easier to grow on the mountain sides here, whereas space for rice is more precious. Because everyone has ample corn, they can’t sell corn for much at the market. However, if they turn corn into alcohol they can sell it for a better price, plus both men and women drink a lot here. As with any basic recipe, some cooks are better than others at turning out a tasty product. Our guide liked the red corn wine this guy sells, and he has a very good price (30K dong/liter; about half the price elsewhere). We tried it and agreed it was better than others we’d had. (It is offered at every homestay here, called “happy water”). If you want an alcoholic souvenir, check it out.
Nho Que Boat Trip
Nho Que Boat Trip : they built a dam for hydroelectric power and now have a fat river. Literally all Viet people who heard we’d been to Ha Giang asked about this cruise.
And that’s probably because the entire thing seems to exist for social media posts
It’s a long road here and accommodations nearby— at least those we got in Pa Vi village — not great. The boats are diesel powered, so noisy and stinky. Literally everyone in your boat will take 100’s of photos Many locals rent Hmong or other costumes. The boat stops for about 20 minutes so everyone can get the best shot. So if those downsides would irritate you, maybe skip this even though it will be on all suggested itineraries
However, the pluses are this is gorgeous country. You will float between massive karsts. We were on the last boat and caught sunset as well
social media-ready
Hotel–Pa Vi is the ‘hostel’ town near the Nho Que – it’s actually a town of lodges and hostels recently built for tourism purposes. We had a room on first floor next to the dorm rooms, though we had a private bath. We got the last double despite our pre-booked status, and they had given away our guide’s room— so he shared a bed with the manager. This was more like a motel or slight upgrade from a hostel. It seems like all of the “lodges” here were the same quality. The Vietnamese tourists tend to lodge in dorm-like conditions with shared baths and sometimes shared rooms. YesD later said this is not where they normally house people. This is the main complaint we had about our YesD trip, that the housing was a bit of a surprise. They didn’t offer much of an explanation and we were left wondering if the housing was “not their usual” because they booked too late or some other issue. Yes, it was a very busy weekend with Vietnamese tourists, but we booked well in advance so there should have been better housing available.
We would not recommend a stay in this new “town” though it will mean you probably can’t do a sunset cruise on the Nho Que river as any other lodging will be farther away.
Day 3: Dong Van full day trek and explore – Take a hike trek on Skypath to some flower Hmong villages – Then hike to Thien Huong, Ma Pia village in the afternoon – Overnight at Hoang Ngoc hotel in Dong Van town.
Skypath Walk
This was an excellent 3.5 mile relatively easy hike. The road is rocky or paved with some gentle ups and downs, but totally manageable.
We stopped at an information center at Ma Pi Leng Pass, took a few photos, then walked up the street a very short bit, past this child climbing on a monument. The entry to the Skypath was on the left side of the street.
The info center (yellow building), from its backyard. Many steps down to a great view. The bottom two photos are the start of the path.
As we walked along, we saw amazing vistas, beautiful farming on hillsides and valleys, people doing daily chores such as laundry and hauling, and children taking care of themselves.
Dan on the SkyPath
At the other end of the Skypath is a very large karst that the locals like to climb for photos. We did too. The first photo shows some of the path we have taken and will take and, amazingly, is quite typical of the scenery we saw all along this amazing 3.5 mile hike. The final pictures are the end of the Skypath where we exited, though you could start here too. This end has a map, a more pronounced entry gate, and it is near a large monument. We also have photos of the monument, which you will undoubtedly pass if you are going to or from Ha Giang.
view from the karst we climbed, near one of the Skypath entries
Hike in Thien Huong, Ma Pia village in the afternoon
The Skypath walk alone would have been just fine with me, though the Thien Huong hike was also lovely. We walked through a few connected villages seeing schools, farming, rice harvests, and wildlife.
The hillside views here show how well the steep mountains are used for farming; rice is left to dry on any flat surface; children played peek-a-boo with us from behind the wall of their house; women washing in the street gutter, a woman foraging, and a mom walking with her mini-me; children hanging out on the school campus on the weekend.
Sunday Market in Dong Van, Ha Giang province
Day 4: We started with the Sunday market. We planned our itinerary so that we would be in the Market town on Sunday morning. Unless you enjoy karaoke and competing for hotel rooms with other tourists, we’d recommend you start your week with the Sunday market, instead of ending with it as we did, so that most of your stay is on weekdays and thus less crowded.
The market has everything one could need: meat, live animals for pets and for eating, clothing, wasp larvae (for eating), tools, haircuts, snacks, and more. If you are hoping for clothing made by the ethnic minority locals, they make but do not sell the really good stuff you want and sell the polyester versions or pieces of outfits at their stalls. For example, you can get a polyester flower-Hmong style skirt, fabric belts, and undyed linen skirts.
After the market, we moved on to the H’mong King Palace. This was a wood compound built in the late 1800s by a local leader who oversaw much of the opium production and was considered the last “Hmong King”. On the approach to this old palace were women and children selling flower crowns, bouquets and necklaces; visitors buy them to look pretty in photos. There were also several folks selling snacks off the parking lot and we tried a corn cake and a mung bean cake, each for 10K. The corn one tasted like a sweet English muffin. The palace itself was interesting with some original furniture still here, such as the king’s bed and one of his wives’ beds. The state owns this palace now and our guide said that before the state acquired it there were many more artifacts in the house. He was sad that most had been removed and reported the history these items illuminated, like items from the opium trade and the business of daily life. He also showed us the different stables outside, including one for a bear.
Hmong King Palace
Thom Ma Pass: we stop at this vista. More interesting than the view for us are the local Hmong women and children who gather here to sell flowers.
women and children sell flowers at Thom Ma pass
Lung Cam–this small village gets a lot of tourists since a famous Vietnamese film, The Story of Pao, was filmed in one of the homes here. And you can go into the home. What was interesting about this for us is seeing the actual home in use: the cooking and dishes, the sheets on the bed, the family altar, the water buffalo and pigs, the men who “work” by sitting in the living room while you tour their house (and the women who are out doing actual work). Like other tourist spots, there are many children here selling flowers.
Our homestay this evening is in a Red Dzao (Dao) village called Nam Dam village, located in Quan Ba district about 50 km from the city of Ha Giang. It’s a beautiful village and a number of families offer homestays. We stayed at Ly Ta Don Homestay. When we arrived the mom was cooking up a storm (and the dad was out with friends). The 8-year-old daughter was minding the infant. I took the infant for a while, and the sister was glad and ran off to play. For dinner, everything was amazing, especially the meat. After dinner, we took a short walk through the town. When we returned, the mom was holding the baby and told our guide that the baby wouldn’t sleep and she couldn’t get any work done. I gladly took the baby for the next hour while she washed up and did other chores. (Her husband was out drinking with friends.) In the morning, the mom was already gone for the day with the baby, working in the fields, and her husband served us the breakfast she prepared. Boy, the women do all the work around here!! This was a comfortable homestay with beautiful views and great food; note that the bedrooms are dorm-style and with a shared bathroom. Luckily for us, we were the only guests this particular night. If you come in high season, however, you might like to check out the private bungalows at her neighbor’s house.
family homestay
Day 5: Nam Dam – visit Lung Khuy cave
We walked up about 500 stairs over 4km and along a dirt path to get to this amazing cave (Lung Khuy). Once we got to the actual cave, I stopped counting stairs because they were mostly downhill in the cave and it was cool. When purchasing an entry ticket, they will also give you a headlamp, which was quite useful. We saw a lot of caves while in Vietnam and this was by far the best and the biggest. Along the way we saw some nice wildlife: a frog, a huge grasshopper, a baby king cobra, pretty moths, and more.
part of the trail to Lung Khuy (yellow line shows path)
The slideshow above shows wildlife on the way up (can you see the baby king cobra?) and the entrance to the cave.
Above, photos of the inside of the cave. There are a few stairs inside but if you can do the walk up to the cave, the walking within the cave will not be an issue.
On our way back to Hanoi, we had a stop at this tower lookout that was cool: This rest stop had a tower behind it. You can see it partially obscured by trees on the right-hand side in the bottom right photo. It’s called the Yen Minh tower (in Vietnamese: Đài Quan Sát Yên Minh) (located in the town of Yen Minh). For some reason, very few tourists seem to be aware of it. Our guide mentioned that the town built it for tourism purposes but apparently haven’t advertised it well. It was a 5 story climb, but then there are 360-degree views. It was well worth it. The walk from the rest stop to the tower is very short.
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