Discovery North – East Vietnam 13 Days

When you arrive at the Noi Bai International airport you'll be met at the baggage claim by our friendly guide. Just look for the sign with our AsiaTourAdvisor logo and your name. We'll get you to your hotel and see that you're comfortable, plus we'll give you an introduction to the city at the same time. Then the rest of the day is yours to settle in, relax, and explore the area.
Hanoi is Vietnam’s capital city and home to seven million people. Traditional and refined with French colonial architecture, tree-lined boulevards, scenic lakes and a bustling Old Quarter, Hanoi has a sophisticated charm. Observe locals practicing Tai Chi by the lake, with barbers and food vendors plying their sidewalk trade.

You'll have your breakfast at the hotel and then the local tour guide will pick you up to take you into the capital city of Vietnam. Hanoi is over 1,000 years old and during your day tour you'll get to explore many of its fascinating cultural and historical sites. You'll visit the imposing Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum where the preserved body of “Uncle Ho” has been laid to rest, the delicate One Pillar Pagoda, Tran Quoc Temple and the Quan Thanh Pagoda.
After lunch you can go to the Temple of Literature where you'll get to see ancient Vietnamese relics, then take a cyclo tour in 1 hour through the bustling and exciting Old Quarter to explore marketplace shops and foods. You'll end your day with a show at the water puppet theater - a beautifully unique cultural performance from northern Vietnam.

After breakfast at the hotel, the tour guide and driver will meet you at the hotel and transfer you to Ha Giang via Tuyen Quang province. Arrive in Hoang Su Phi, enjoy the famous for its terraced paddy-fields and visit and to witness the beauty of harvest time when all the terraced paddy-fields turn yellow with ripening rice as well trekking for visit the village. Then continue on to Ha Giang. Arrive in Ha Giang in the early afternoon and check in the hotel. Then take a short walk around the city or take a soft trek to some Tay villages in Ha Giang city. Have dinner and overnight hotel in Ha Giang.

After breakfast, drive to Dong Van plateau (155km) located at 1025m above the sea level inhabited by H’mong and Tay ethinic groups. Stop at Heavenly gate of Quan Ba before arriving at Yen Ninh-a beautiful valley nested in the mountains.
Walking through the Pho Bang town called by tourists “the town falling into the oblivion” inhabited by the Hoa and H’Mong people. The local people keep to their quiet lifestyle in the clay houses decorated with a pair of couplets written in Chinese scripts with wishes of good luck and prosperity. Continue visit to the Palace of H’Mong King Vuong Chi Sinh which is a symbol of the past glory of the H’mong people built in 1914. Overnight in Dong Van

After breakfast at your hotel, visit local market in Dong Van and trekking among rice terraces, you will arrive at Thien Huong, a village inhabited by the Giay and located by mostly traditional ancient tiled roof houses, overlooking to Vietnam-China Border. Then transfer you to Ma Pi Leng – the most amazing pass of Vietnam. Standing on the view point of the pass, you can see Nho Que River, a winding stream together with dotted villages located at a thousand of meters beneath the point. On the way enjoy landscapes are dominated by karst mountains, rice terraces, deep valleys and orchards. You also take a descent through a banyan tree jungle in which most giant banyans have become a big pride for the locals. Descending into the valley of Meo Vac,

After breakfast, departure to Bao Lac. Arrive in Bao Lac, visit local market and visit Khuoi Khon village-mostly inhabited by Black Lo Lo ethnic group who well known with their bronze drum and their attire. Lo Lo women weave fabrics with which they make skirts. Lo Lo men, when searching for their future wives, often evaluate carefully their girlfriends through their ability to make clothing. Lo Lo people depend mainly on maize and rice as forms of income generation. Dinner and overnight on the local house.

After breakfast, say goodbyes to the villagers and drive to Ba Be, a small mountain road, via Ban Na and Na Phac. En route stops to visit some vestiges of the colonial era, including a castle built by the French. Arrive in Ba Be, check in homestay in Bac Ngoi Village and free time for exploring the village and the landscape around the lake.

After having breakfast, take a boat on Ba Ba Lake, the lush forest clinging to the surrounding mountains is your backdrop as you explore the lake. During the boat trip you will visit the Puong Grotto and the Dau Dang waterfall. The scenery surrounding the lake is simply breathtaking, with the huge, old forest domina -ting in this landscape. During the walk in the afternoon, you will be able to observe the local communities going about their daily life, which includes buffalos and their owners tending the fields. By late afternoon you will return to your local Tay ethnic minority house, where you enjoy dinner and stay overnight tonight.

After breakfast, return to Hanoi via Bac Kan. On the road, stops over for visiting ethinic village of Tay. Having lunch on the way back. Then visiting the Museum of the Cultures of Viet Nam Ethnic Groups in Thai Nguyen. Arrive in Hanoi, check in Hotel and free time.