Located about 300 km from Hanoi to the north, Ha Giang is also known as the final border of Vietnam. It’s home to 22 different ethnic minorities with different cultures, dialects and customs, but the majority of them are living under poverty line. Unlike other tourist attractions, Ha Giang is quite far away from big cities and hence it is practically untouched by the mass tourism. It’s a perfect destination for those who are seeking an off-beaten-track corner where they can’t be bothered by the hustle and bustle of the cities anymore.

 

Ha Giang has cool climate all year round. Coming to Ha Giang, you’ll get the chance to admire spectacular landscapes such as Dong Van plateau, Quan Ba Twin mountains, ancient palace of the H’mong King, Ma Pi Leng pass and Lung Cu flagpole. Since the commerce is quite undeveloped here, you can experience the mountainous province as the way it always is: Authentic, pristine and mysterious.

Basically, you can travel to Ha Giang at any time of the year as the province is always stunning no matter which time of the year is. However, to fully explore the beauty of this rocky plateau, you should come to Ha Giang at the following times:

 

 

When the Spring comes, everywhere from Quan Ba (Quyet Tien, Minh Tan), Yen Minh (Lao Va Chai, Na Khe, Bach Dich), Dong Van (Pho Bang, Pho Cao, Sung La, Sa Phin, and Phin Tung) , Meo Vac (Sung Tra, Sung Trai, Lung Phin), peach and plum blossoms are blooming.

 

The scenery is brighten up by the colours of the flowers, creating a romantic picture of the mountainous province.

 

During these months, local farmers in Northwestern Vietnam usually pump water into their fields to prepare for the upcoming crop, making the surface of the fields look like a giant sky mirrors. Hoang Su Phi is the best place to admire the picturesque scenery of the terraced fields in Ha Giang.

 

From the end of september to the beginning of October, Ha Giang enters the ripe rice season. During this time, you can see the ripe terraced fields stretches to the horizon, winding around the green mountain hills where many small traditional houses scatters. The scenery becomes so strikingly impressive that you’ll find it hard to leave the place.

 

From October to December, Ha Giang is crowded with tourists coming to admire to beauty of a special kind of flowers: Buckwheat flowers. You’ll see countless violet heart-shaped flowers spreading across the hillsides. There’s also a famous festival: “the Buckwheat flower festival” held in mid-October. Don’t miss out!

 

Road in Thon Tha

 

This is the oldest living place of Tay people, with more than 100 households and about 500 people. The Tày people here still maintain the traditional stilt houses, made entirely of bamboo. It is rare to see a cement house, if there is, it’s probably a classroom, an information station, or a village health clinic.

 

The area of ​​the village is about 180 hectares. Lying on the back of a sprawling mountain range, this place is surrounded by white mist of clouds all year round. The forest with rich vegetation surrounds the entire the North and West of the village. There are 2 small streams flowing from the northwest hills and then intersect at the center of the village, dividing the village into 3 main residential clusters.

 

Come here to experience the idyllic beauty of the mountainous countryside, with the green fields and the small local houses with smoke from the kitchen. You can spend time walking around the village, trek to a waterfall nearby and swim in the cool water there.

An old house in Khuoi My
 

Khuoi My is about 10km from the city of Ha Giang, it’s home to more than 200 families of Dao people. The road to Khuat My is quite steep but not difficult to go, bringing an interesting experience to trekking beginners.

 

Khuoi My is not only famous for having delicious, clean tea, but also known for its terraced fields that cover the slopes of the majestic Tay Con Linh range. Although modern life has affected many places, but in Khuoi My, time seems to stop.

 

Although Khuoi My is undeveloped, there is some basic tourism infrastructure here. You can easily find a homestay with beautiful view in the village, from where you’ll get the chance to watch the sunrise on the immense terraced fields.

 

In addition to Khuoi My, visitors can visit the 2 neighboring highland villages which are Na Thac and Lung Vai (in Phuong Do commune) to experience the lives of the local people and enjoy the special tea of Tay Con Linh mountain range.

View of Twin Mountains from Heaven's Gate

From Ha Giang city, you have to drive about 46 km to reach Quan Ba. Even though the distance is quite short, you should drive carefully as there are many turns with many cars and trucks running along the way. When arriving Quan Ba, climb a hill to get to Heaven’s Gate where you’ll have a nice viewpoint of the soaring horizon, the vast sky and the whole lovely town below.

 

Also, from the Heaven’s Gate, you can see the famous Twin mountains. The two mountains lie next to each other and shape like breasts of a fairy. It can be said that this is a great place for you to admire the entire majestic picture of nature.

The top of Ma Pi Leng Pass

Lying on the Happiness road connecting the town of Dong Van and Meo Vac, Ma Pi Leng is the name of the most rugged mountain pass in Vietnam with a length of about 20 km. It’s also considered to be one of the Great four passes in Northern area.

 

The pass is tortuous with lots of turns and twist, splitted in half with one side is majestic mountain range and the other side is the scary abyss where there is the green Nho Que river.  

 

From the top of the pass, you can find yourself standing in front of a breathtaking scenery you can never see anywhere else: The giant mountains, bottomless valleys, immense rice terraces. No cameras can capture the best beauty of the landscape. Just come and admire it with your very own eyes!

Thien Huong Village

The first place everyone will think of is Dong Van old town. You should also make time to have a walk around the town at night. However, Dong Van old town may not be an ideal point to walk around to some tourists as it is commercialised due to the fast development of tourism. However, there are still some quiet villages in Dong Van that you can spend a day trekking around.

 

Sa Phin is a beautiful village where the famous Palace of the H’mong King is located. You’ll also see lots of big, tall and mountains with many cat ear-shaped rocks.

 

Sung La is considered to be the commune with the most beautiful scenery in Dong Van district. Coming here, you will encounter high mountains on the winding road. Sung La is famous for the house in the Vietnamese movie “Story of Pao”: Pao’s house. On the way to the commune, you can visit Pho Cao, Pho Bang, these are also two places that are very popular among travellers.

 

Thien Huong village is a hundred-year-old village hidden behind the ancient town of Dong Van, the residence of the Tay people. At the gate of the village are old banyan trees, there are many old houses with yin and yang tile roofs in the village.

A woman making hemp cloth

Located in Quan Ba, Lung Tam commune is home to H’mong people. In the past, the locals here used to grow rice and corns on their paddies, and raise cattles to make ends meet. Nowadays, H’mong women make high-quality hemp cloth coloured with natural dyes which is mainly sold in big cities like Hanoi.

 

If you plan to come here, walk around the village to find some nice souvenirs made from hemp by the locals. Don’t worry, the prices are very reasonable here. Also, you can learn about the various stages of hemp cloth production and the lifestyle of people in the village

 

Ha Giang is a large province with many untouched rural places but above are the most popular destinations to foreign tourists, where you’ll find beautiful Ha Giang trekking trails. Hope you’ll have a nice trekking trip here!

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