Pioneer circuit in upper Tonkin

Hanoi arrival / walks and rest (-)

Welcome at Hanoi airport
Welcome and transfer to the hotel by Typic Travel driver.

While waiting for available rooms, you will begin your visits with the Temple of Literature, the first national university with original architecture built in the 11th century and now dedicated to the cult of Confucius and scholars.

You will continue with a stroll around Hoan Kiem Lake, a legendary place dear to the hearts of Vietnamese people, then a walk in the Old Quarter.

Dinner at leisure and overnight in Hanoi

Hanoi / visits, walks and discovery of the capital (B,L)

Breakfast at the hotel.
Meet at 08:00 and start the day with the Ethnographic Museum (closed every Monday) which attractively reflects the mosaic of Vietnamese cultures as well as traditional costumes, tools, musical instruments and also houses installed on site, outdoors, typical of certain minorities.

In the afternoon, photos in front of Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum which dominates Ba Dinh Square, for the changing of the guard - the essence of political life.

And then a visit to Ho Chi Minh's stilt house, to better understand the life of a great man whose life was very modest.

And then the visit of the One Pillar Pagoda, famous for its original construction born from a legend dating back to the 11th century.

Towards the end of the day, you take a nice walk towards Long Bien Bridge (or called Paul Doumer bridge during the French era) and a look into the "Train Street" corner.

Then, visit the Ngoc Son Temple (Jade Mountain Temple), located on the shores of the lake.

In the evening, you will end beautifully with the Water Puppet show, a typical popular art of Vietnam.
Return to the hotel. Dinner at leisure and overnight in Ha Noi.

Ha Noi – Giuong (Ethnic Village) / walks, discoveries and rural activities (B,L,D)

Breakfast
Meet at 08:00 for departure to the mountains via the provinces of Lang Son and Cao Bang. The superb road crosses beautiful landscapes.

Lunch stop en route and arrival at Giuong village around 15:00 - a very poor village inhabited by the Tay ethnic group. Visiting this magnificent authentic village is an opportunity to meet ethnic groups and interact with locals.

Note, because it is important, that you will be the first foreign tourists to discover this site and immerse yourself in local life (this is an exceptional new discovery from our Agency, which we offer exclusively).

Living conditions are still very wild. Dinner and overnight at homestay.

Phuc Hoa / rural activities - Nguom Ngao Cave - Ban Gioc Waterfall - Phia Thap (B,L,D)

Breakfast,
Meet at 08:00 for a day of photos in this village and then it's time to set off for other ethnic villages and enjoy the beautiful Ban Gioc waterfall in Haut Tonkin.

Ideal site for photos and a refreshing nature break.

A discovery stop at Nguom Ngao cave and other ethnic villages punctuate the rest of the journey that will lead us to the authentic Phia Thap village - a very poor village - inhabited by the Nung ethnic group.
Dinner and overnight at homestay in Phia Thap

Phia Thap / visits and rural activities on site (B,L,D)

After breakfast at homestay,
we will follow the family to participate in seasonal rural activities such as: rice transplanting, harvesting, incense stick production, agriculture...
Dinner and overnight at homestay.

Phia Thap - Cao Bang - Kolia Organic High Plateau (B,L,D)

Breakfast at homestay,
And then we will walk quietly to discover the life of the locals.

We then leave for the Organic High Plateau, perched at an altitude of 300m, which seduces us with its beauty and authenticity. We also appreciate its moderate temperature (one of the most pleasant climates in the North) a bit like in Da Lat.

Ideal for venturing around!
Dinner and overnight at Kolia Lodge on the Organic High Plateau.

Geo-park (Organic High Plateau) - Lo Lo Noir Village / visits - Me Vac (B,L,D)

After breakfast at the Lodge,
Meet at 08:00 departure for Meo Vac, with an essential stop at the Lo Lo Noir ethnic village, very well known since the "En terre inconnue" report, we will also meet other ethnic minorities throughout our journey, which presents a beautiful loop from Bac Lac - Meo Vac - Dong Van - Ha Giang, a district in the far North of Vietnam via beautiful mountainous landscapes and beautiful passes.

A stop for visits and encounters at the Lo Lo Noir ethnic village, very well known since the "En terre inconnue" report. Lunch en route.
Continue the road towards the high district of Meo Vac, a country nestled by the Hmong and Dzao coming from China since the team.

Check-in and rest at Homestay. Dinner and overnight on site.

Meo Vac / walks in Tu San canyon - Ma Pi Leng Pass / photos and walks - Dong Van (B,L,D)

Breakfast at Homestay,
Meet at 08:00 departure for the discovery and photos of the beautiful Tu San canyon with a boat trip on the river.

En route to Dong Van taking the road of happiness and passing one of the 4 highest and longest passes in Vietnam - Ma Pi Leng., a beautiful walk towards the summit of the pass, from where you get a magnificent panoramic view, and towards the H'mong ethnic village

Arrival in Dong Van, direct transfer to Homestay for rest and then dinner and overnight in Dong Van.

Dong Van / ethnic market, Sunday fair, visits and discovery - Ha Giang / walks (B,L,D)

Vietnamese-style breakfast,
You follow the ethnic groups to visit the weekly market of Dong Van. Depending on the lunar calendar day, the markets take place as follows:

Meo Vac and Dong Van market only on Sunday, Du Gia market every 6 days and Lung Phin market takes place on lunar days of the tiger and the monkey.

Then, visit the palace of the Hmong King (Dinh Vua Meo), dating back nearly 100 years. On the way, a stop to visit the village of Pho Bang, which mainly houses members of the Hoa ethnic group, who came from China.

We continue our journey heading towards the village of Thon Tha, passing through the Quan Ba pass with a stop at the summit, allowing us to admire the town of Quan Ba with the famous Fairy Twin Mountains (Nui Co Tien).

At the exit of the town of Quan Ba, we will go to the village of Tha on the outskirts of Ha Giang.

Dinner and overnight stay with locals in the village of Thon Tha in Ha Giang.

Ha Giang – Thac Ba / walks, visits and ethnic encounters (B,L,D)

After breakfast,
Meet at 08:00 and we leave to visit surrounding ethnic villages in 2 hours.

Then, the driver will wait for us to take us to Thac Ba.

Lunch at a local restaurant.

Arrival in Thac Ba,
settle in with our host and a beautiful two-hour motorboat ride to the rhythm of the activities of the inhabitants around the Lake: forestry and cassava plantations, square net fishing and traditional shrimp trap lifting, cage fish farming, cattle and goat farming, …
Dinner and overnight stay with locals

Thac Ba Lake – Nghia Lo / walks, visits and ethnic encounters (B,L,D)

After breakfast,
Meet at 08:00 for departure to the far west of Yen Bai province to Nghia Lo.

Bypass Thac Ba Lake from the south, cross the Red River at the capital of Yen Bai and ascend to the foothills of the Hoan Lien Son mountain range.

We arrive in Muong Lo (The Thai word for Nghia Lo) in the late morning. Meet and have lunch with a White-Thai local from Nghia An village, nestled against a hill in the very beautiful rice valley of Muong Lo, the 2nd largest rice valley in the northwest, after Dien Bien Phu.

In the afternoon, cycling or walking tour in the ethnic villages of Black-Hai, White-Thai and Muong of Muong Lo.

Return to the host family for dinner with our hosts who are happy to tell us about the past and present customs and traditions of the Thai of Muong Lo.
Dinner and overnight stay with locals.

Nghia Lo / walks - Tu Le valley / Khau Pha Pass - Mu Cang Chai / Terraced rice fields (B,L,D)

After breakfast,
Meet at 08:00 for a walk to the Nghia Lo market. Then on the way to Mu Cang Chai via Tu Le. 

At the exit of Nghia Lo, we cross a hilly region populated by Dao on the hill and Thais in the valley. Chance encounters are conducive to taking photos along the way.

We arrive in the Tu Le valley. Possibility of taking a hike in the Tu Le valley where Thais live in their stilt houses. Several unique encounters allow us to immerse ourselves in the authentic life of the locals.

In the afternoon, we will resume the road climbing the Khau Pha Pass which offers splendid panoramas of the terraced rice field valley. Then, the car takes us to the site of La Pan Tan, nicknamed "Legendary Roads of Photographers". Here, everything is masterpieces in terraces created by Hmong artist farmers, from generation to generation. Short hike to enjoy this majestic landscape!

Transfer to homestay for the night. Dinner and overnight stay with locals.

Mu Cang Chai – Ha Noi (B,L,D)

After breakfast,
Meet at 08:00 for departure from the narrow valley of Mu Cang Chai, recently developed by its hydraulic dams, on the middle valley of the Nam Mu river and more broadly on the basin of the Da river (Black River). However, the journey only borders this valley for about twenty km.

After Than Uyen, turn west onto a superb and little-used road that heads towards the Khau Co pass to cross the Hoang Lien Son mountain range and the watershed between the Black River basin and that of the Red River. On the slopes of the pass, we stop for a magnificent panoramic view of the Than Uyen valley.

We continue towards Van Ban, through the hamlets of the White Thais, an ethnic group of high valleys, then the hamlets of the H'mongs and Daos, ethnic groups of high mountains.

From Van Ban, along the Red River for about fifty km to Lao Cai, we join the new road on the right bank of the Red River, a road that successively crosses the high and middle region of Tonkin, characterized by forest and hilly landscapes. We finally cross the entrance to the Red River delta where vast rice fields surround centuries-old villages.

Arrival in Hanoi at the end of the day. Free dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Ha Noi – Ha Long Bay / cruise and relaxation (B,L,D)

After breakfast,
Meet at 07:45 with the shuttle for departure to Ha Long Bay.

Arrival at the site around 12:30 PM, embarkation on the 3-star Junk for a 24-hour cruise in Ha Long Bay, a World Heritage site.

Visiting natural caves during the cruise, rest and strolls on the beaches and swimming will be the highlights of the cruise.

Meals on board. Dinner and overnight on board in a Private Cabin.

(Activities: swimming, squid fishing...) vary depending on the junks – program on board.

Note:
These two days in Ha Long Bay, the cruise will be in Ha Long Bay, or Bai Tu Long or Lan Ha depending on the junks available at the time of your decision and choice.

Ha Long Bay / cruise and walks – Ha Noi (B,L)

Early morning on the outer deck, Taï'Chi exercises for those who wish. (This depends on the season).

Light breakfast at the onboard restaurant then we enjoy the cruise sailing amidst magnificent landscapes, circling different islands.

Around 10 AM, cabins must be vacated.

Brunch around 11:00 AM on board before disembarking around 12:00 PM.

The driver awaits us for the return to Hanoi via the Tonkin crossing road.

Arrival in Hanoi. Dinner at leisure and overnight in Ha Noi.

Hanoi / free time - departure (B)

After breakfast,
Free time and check out around noon.
Meeting with the dedicated driver for transfer to the airport for the return flight.