Off the Beaten Path 5 days 4 nights

Quite a long drive but easy (early departure is better) from Hanoi to Na Khan 180 km. The road is sealed all the way until Bac Kan and the last part from Bac Kan to Na Khan is wild and little bumpy. Na Khan (Chiem Hoa – Tuyen Quang) is a Tay village, lost in the middle of the primitive forest. Mr. Lo, the chef of the village will welcome us in his house.

Short drive from Na Khan to Ba Be National Park on bumpy road. Lunch at our captain’s house. Easy boating on the lake and river. Go to market (if it is the day you arrive). Stop at Widow Island for jumping, beautiful swim, We could visit the village and a small school (only few pupils during the summer) then return homestay where we enjoy dinner. Spend the night in our friend’s stilt house.

Cross Ba Be lake to come back to our captain’s house. Beautiful ride up to Cao Bang province. Few passes from where you can dominate the area. The road is easy but many curves. We can stop a lot. All together, stop for drinks and food it should be an 8-hour journey. Then ride 1 more hour to reach the beautiful village of Quang Hoa, in the middle of a mountain cirque. This is the territory of Nung An people. Spend the night in our friend’s house.

Option 1: Having obtained permission from the border police we make our way through spectacular scenery to Vietnam’s most impressive waterfalls. Weather permitting we can swim right up to where the 50 m high falls hit the river.

Option 2: Na Tau is a completely unknown area that we propose to discover it by raft and motorbike. Rivers and waterfalls everywhere are extremely beautiful and wild. It is only 15 km from Quang Hoa.

Ride from Quang Hoa to Hanoi via Lang Son. Lunch in Lang Son. The road is asphalted almost of the way and it takes 9 hours to ride back to Hanoi.