Vietnam Adventure Tours & Travel, Trekking, Cycling, Family Tours

Bac Sum Pass, which is also called Bac Sum Gradient, is on Route 4C in Minh Tan Commune, Vi Xuyen District, Ha Giang Province. The mountain pass connects travel between Ha Giang City, Vi Xuyen District, Quan Ba District.

 Dong Van Karst Plateau is located in Ha Giang Province, northern Vietnam. The plateau has the elevation from 1,400m to 1,600m above sea level and 80% of the surface consisted of rock. There is a high concentration of rocky mountain peaks of over 2,000m in the plateau.

Dong Van Market is located in the centre of the Dong Van Township, in the heart of the Dong Van Rock Plateau in Ha Giang Province of Vietnam.

Du Gia Valley is the area of Du Gia Commune, Yen Minh District, in Ha Giang Province. The valley if 50km south of Yen Minh Township and 80km northwest of Ha Giang City.

Ha Giang is 312km north of Hanoi and the trip by car or by motorbike takes one full day. Ha Giang Province is famous for the rock plateau of Dong Van and the sublime pass of Ma Pi Leng which are both 150km from Ha Giang Provincial capital.

When the sunlight starts getting weaker and the mist starts lifting up, the road starts going down. Further ahead, it is under construction again.

Ha Giang Province is perched to the exstreme north of Vietnam, 320km from Hanoi. The province is home to 22 ethnic groups (Kinh, Hmong, Dzao, Tay, Nung, Lo Lo, San Diu, Pa Then,..) whose life was relatively separated from the mainstream society until recently. Besides, Ha Giang is home to the stunning Dong Van Karst Plateau listed as a member of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network. With the rich cultural legacy and the unreal natural beauty, Ha Giang has the potential to be one of the tourist hotspots of Vietnam in the time to come.

The closer to Dong Van, the road goes down and I can feel the air is dry again. Still, it gets colder and colder in the afternoon. Then it comes to the intersection with Road 4C, the main route from Ha Giang City to Dong Van Rock Plateau. There is a road sign saying Sa Phin Valley is 12km to the left and Dong Van Town is 10km to the right. I take the right and travel on the familiar road to Dong Van Town.

Out of Mau Due, the road goes up and travels along mountainside to Dong Van. It is small but the condition is good. The ride is easy, except that it gets colder than in the morning. My guess earlier was right that the cold wind is coming...

Lung Ho Valley is located in Yen Minh District, Ha Giang Province. The valley is well hidden by ranges of serrated limestone peaks and rarely visited by tourists due to bad road.

Ma Pi Leng Pass is located in Meo Vac District, in the Dong Van Plateau in Ha Giang Province. The pass is 15km southeast of the Dong Van Old Quarter, 170km northeast of Ha Giang provincial capital city.

As I leave the restaurant after lunch, the gentleman shows me how to get to Dong Van via a back-road. I thank him for the information and for the great meal, then dash off into the fog that is getting thicker. It is about mid day now but the fog makes the atmosphere just like late in the afternoon. It is very cold, but luckily the air is very dry.

It was the my last morning at Mu Cang Chai. I had got a wonderful adventure amid the mesmerizing rice terraces of this land. Today my motorbike adventure would continue on a road that I had not been to, though I had traveled to all destinations in the far-north of Vietnam several times.

The Nam Dam Village (in Quan Ba District, Ha Giang Province) is 2km from Tam Son Town, home to Dzao Cham People. Traditionally the villagers got income from agriculture and from growing traditional herbs. Since 2012 community tourism was introduced to the Dong Van Plateau and tourists started to trickle in bringing extra incomes to the locals.

Quan Ba Gateway to Heaven is on Route 4C in Quyet Tien Commune, Quan Ba District, Ha Giang Province. The pearly gate of Quan Ba is right on top of the Bac Sum Pass (Bac Sum Gradient) on an altitude of 1,500m.

Sung La Valley is located in Dong Van District, Ha Giang Province. The large valley with fertile soil, which is by Route 4C, is surrounded by gray limestone mountains which makes it seemingly a lush separated oasis amid sheer gray colors of the rocky world.

Tham Ma Gradient extends 5km from the Van Chai Commune to the Lung Thau Commune of Dong Van District, Ha Giang Province. The gradient is on a 1,500m elevation above sea level and the landscape is just breathtaking.

Day4: Ban Lan (Bac Me, Ha Giang) – Du Gia (Yen Minh, Ha Giang)

I wake up by cock crows in the early morning. The boys are preparing and about to leave for school. I get up and join Tuyen and his father for the morning tea.

Day3: Ba Be National Park – Tuyen Quang – Ha Giang

It is getting late in the afternoon and I have got the whole day riding my motorcycle from Ba Be National Park via Tuyen Quang, and now it is Bac Me District in Ha Giang Province. The road was worse than I had expected with certain section under construction, lots of potholes and some part wiped out by floods...