I decided to join the 7 days and 6 nights Far North Frontier Loop tour after considering and thinking very carefully. Northern Vietnam has always been something fascinating and attractive to me, and a whole week of exploring the place is like a dream come true. Instead of planning everything on my own, letting Frontier Travel Vietnam take care of the trip is much more convenient, and I must say I’m quite pleased with their services.
Day 1: Begin from Hanoi to Ha Giang and Thon Tha village
After contacting Frontier Travel Vietnam and paid a pretty affordable price (in my opinion), I began my journey to explore the Northern provinces of Vietnam from the capital Hanoi. My first destination was Ha Giang – a very scenic place with tons of impressive beauty, both natural and artificial. I have heard about Ha Giang through numerous of my adventurous friends, but this was my first time visiting the place on my own so I was really excited.
Ha Giang is one of the most beautiful provinces in Northern Vietnam
I was taken to Thon Tha village – a place that, according to my English-speaking tour guide, everyone must see at least once in their life. There I began to explore the picturesque ethnic village where palm-thatched bamboo stilt houses sit surrounded by lush rice fields, with the pointed peaks of limestone mountains rising in the distance. The whole sceneries here was so stunning and breathtaking, yet still, have the peaceful and quiet environment of the countryside.
Thon Tha village has such a peaceful beauty
I also got the chance to chat with the local villagers to learn about their amazing daily life. I even worked alongside them in the fields cutting rice and tending to the day’s farm work, which was so interesting and memorable. I definitely had a great time there.
The first day of this Far North loop tour took me about 6 to 7 hours traveling by car, plus 2 hours trekking and walking in the town. Although traveling a long distance, I didn’t feel tired at all.
Day 2: Explore Dong Van, Ha Giang
On the second day, we head up to the Chinese border and the town of Dong Van, which stands 1300 meters above sea level. I was told that Dong Van was one of the top destinations that you should visit in Ha Giang province. What really impressed me was the unique limestone formations of Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark, as well as the colorful ethnic villages of Green H’ mong people.
The magnificent landscape of the Dong Van plateau
>>>Learn more: Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark
In Dong Van, I had a great time watching the ancient houses of the old quarter and had a dinner of local hot pot and a small cup of local rice wine. The food tasted so delicious.
The second day also spent on traveling by car and trekking, but once get used to it, trekking made my body so much stronger and more flexible.
Day 3: Traveling from Dong Van to Bao Lac
The third day might be considered as one of the most memorable days of the Northern journey. I was so in love with Ma Pi Leng pass – which they called “the most spectacular stretch road of Vietnam”. There was giant cone-shaped limestone mountains tower, with brilliant green-clad cliffs cascading into the steep river valleys below. Places like this are what travel dreams are made of.
The outstanding beauty of the Ma Pi Leng pass in Vietnam
After the magnificent Ma Pi Leng pass, we also met the H’ mong people and learned about their daily work as we were trekking out to viewpoints to get the best panoramas. We did trek more than 7 kilometers in the third day, but it was quite worth it.
Day 4: Visit Ban Gioc Waterfall – a highlight of Northern Vietnam
The journey had gone by half of it, but I was still excited just like the first day because the destinations in Northern Vietnam were so amazing. We began our fourth day with a visit to the village of Lo Lo people, which was small ethnic group living high up on the mountain who have preserved their original culture, including their colorful, intricate traditional clothing and wooden stilt houses.
Then, we continued to hit the road to reach my favorite place – the Ban Gioc Waterfall. On the way, I was mesmerized with the dazzling and beautiful sceneries of the Vietnamese countryside. Such views were so hard to find in any other place.
The Ban Gioc Waterfall lies between the Vietnam and China border
We rested through the night in a resort at Ban Gioc. Because that day we had ridden more than 200 kilometers, we had to rest before really explore the stunning waterfall.
Day 5: Ban Gioc Waterfall and Ba Be lake
Finally, we got to see Ban Gioc Waterfall - the fourth largest national border waterfall in the world and sourced from Quay Son River. This peaceful river starts in China and carves its way through rugged karst mountains before cascading down a series of dramatic falls into Vietnam. Both Vietnam and China enjoy the benefits of this majestic natural wonder. This is also an interesting place between the border of the two countries.
The Ban Gioc Waterfall in the morning was so stunning
After admiring the majestic beauty of the giant waterfall, we took a short drive to a nearby pagoda before walking up to a viewpoint. There, I could see a panoramic view of the entire waterfall and over to China and the Quay Son River, which was absolutely impressive.
After that, we explored the nearby Nguom Ngao Cave - a 2700-meter cave that was created over millions of years and today features beautiful, unique stalagmite and stalactite formations not found in other caves in Vietnam. Then, we took off to reach another outstanding destination in this Northern Vietnam tour – Ba Be Lake.
Inside the Nguom Ngao cave, the landscapes were so impressive
Day 6: Drown in the beauty of Ba Be Lake
The natural and peaceful beauty of the Ba Be Lake really touched my heart in this sixth day. There were limestone cliffs covered in primary forest, reflected off the mirror-like surface of Vietnam’s largest natural lake, creating a picture-perfect setting. The pictures I shot there were all impressive.
The sceneries of Ba Be Lake were touching and somehow romantic
We started a 10-kilometer trek up the mountains and through the jungle where we could see more ethnic groups such as Green H’mong and Dao people. In the afternoon, we got to choose between hiking more than 15 kilometers to Dau Dang waterfall and cruised around the lake, or swimming for as long as we like. I chose swimming because the refreshing water was so inviting. It definitely helped me relax my mind a lot.
Day 7: Last day of the Far North Frontier Loop tour
Our final destination of the tour was the Hua Ma Cave. I got to see a variety of impressive stalactites and stalagmites. After that, we returned to Hanoi. I was very satisfied with the services throughout the journey, and I really hoped I get to experience something like this again in the future.
Hua Ma cave - the final destination of the journey - was also an impressive place
So here is my 1-week experience in the stunning and magnificent provinces of Northern Vietnam. I hope you will consider joining the tour like me because I’m sure that you will have the best time of your life.
>>>Learn more: Full Far North Frontier Loop tour
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