Dien Bien Phu
This vantage point was crucial in the battle of Dien Bien Phu. There are tanks and a monument to Viet Minh casualties on this former French position,…
Must-see attractions in Northwest Vietnam
Dien Bien Phu
This well-laid-out museum, contained in a space-agey modern structure, features an eclectic collection that commemorates the 1954 battle. Alongside…
Dong Van
Once a week, local villagers from the surrounding hills, including the Hmong, Tay, Nung and Hoa ethnic groups, flood into Dong Van for the Sunday market…
Bac Ha
This Sunday market is Bac Ha’s big draw. There's an increasing range of handicrafts for sale, but it’s still pretty much a local affair. Bac Ha Market is…
Ha Giang Province
This grandiose two-storey mansion was built for a local Hmong king by the French in the 1920s in Chinese-Hmong style. Set in a hidden valley in the tiny…
Bac Ha
This small market, 20km north of Bac Ha, attracts a growing number of visitors. Some tours from Sapa now visit Can Cau on Saturday before moving on to Bac…
Bac Ha
The outlandish Vua Meo, built in 1921 by the French to keep the Tay chief Hoang A Tuong happily ensconced in style, is a bizarre palace constructed in a…
Bac Ha
The Coc Ly Market attracts Dzao, Flower Hmong, Tay and Nung people from the surrounding hills. It’s about 35km southwest of Bac Ha. Operators in Bac Ha…
Sapa
Towering above Sapa are the Hoang Lien Mountains, once known to the French as the Tonkinese Alps and now a national park. These mountains include the…
Northwest Vietnam
One potential stopover between Hanoi and Mai Chau is this centre founded by Hanoi artist Vu Duc Hieu to showcase the culture of the local Muong ethnic…
Lung Cam Cultural Tourist Village
Dong Van
Located in the narrow, incredibly picturesque Sung La Valley is the village of Lung Cam. Deemed a 'cultural tourist village' by the local authorities, the…
Mai Chau
This interesting weekly market, 30km northwest of Mai Chau, makes for a fine excursion. The back section has a small but high-quality section of batiks…
Dien Bien Phu
Dien Bien Phu is ringed by Tay villages, and this one, 5km north of the city, has been deemed a 'culture and tourism village', ostensibly because of its…
Dong Van
Around 25km north of Dong Van and just a few kilometres from the Chinese border, Lung Cu is a massive flag tower erected in 2010 to mark the northernmost…
Sapa
An excellent showcase of the history and ethnology of the Sapa area, including the French colonial era. Dusty exhibitions overview the various ethnic…
Dong Van
At the top of the karst peak that overlooks central Dong Van are the dramatic ruins of a French fort. It's possible to scale the peak, using the path that…
Northwest Vietnam
Located 9km east of Muong Te is this traditional-feeling White Thai village. Nearly all of its residents live in elevated wooden houses in a bucolic…
Ha Giang Province
Leaving Ha Giang, the road climbs over the Quan Ba Pass (Heaven’s Gate) around 40km from the city. The saddle has an information centre and an awesome…
Bac Ha
Lung Phin market is between Can Cau market and Bac Ha, about 12km from town. It’s less busy than other markets, with a really local feel, and is a good…
Meo Vac
Head south of town, branching off on the road left towards Khau Vai, and you'll soon get to a homestay and a series of steps that lead up to fabulous…
Dien Bien Phu
The immaculately maintained Dien Bien Phu Cemetery commemorates the Vietnamese who died in the battle of Dien Bien Phu, with each gravestone bearing the…
Northwest Vietnam
Sin Ho has markets on Saturday and Sunday; the wildly colourful Sunday market is the more impressive of the two. It's a better place to buy livestock than…
Bac Ha
This market, in the remote border area of Si Ma Cai, 40km from Bac Ha, is a vibrant and chaotic weekly hub for the local Nung and Thulao ethnic minorities…
Northwest Vietnam
Take a local bus or xe om to Thuan Chau, about 35km northwest of Son La, early in the morning, when its daily market swells with colourfully dressed hill…
Meo Vac
Meo Vac has a good Sunday market. The timing and its proximity with Dong Van's Sunday market means that it’s easy enough to combine the two by xe om.
Dien Bien Phu
Dien Bien Phu's liveliest quarter is this bustling produce market on the east bank of the Ron River, just east of the old Muong Thanh Bridge.
Bac Ha
There’s a waterfall near Huang Thu Pho village, about 12km west of Bac Ha, which has a pool big enough for swimming.
Dien Bien Phu
West of the Ron River, the dank command bunker of Colonel de Castries has been recreated, though there's little to actually see. A discarded tank and some…
Sapa
Turfed out of central Sapa and now in a purpose-built modern building near the bus station, Sapa Market is still interesting, and hill-tribe people from…
Sapa
The road between Sapa and Lai Chau crosses the Tram Ton Pass on the northern side of Mt Fansipan, 15km from Sapa. At 1900m it's Vietnam’s highest mountain…
Northwest Vietnam
Son La’s old prison was a French penal colony where anti-colonial revolutionaries were incarcerated from 1908. It was destroyed by the ‘off-loading’ of…
Dong Van
At the northern end of P Co, just past the old market plaza, a narrow lane, backed by a limestone cliff, meanders into the compact old quarter of Dong Van…
Dien Bien Phu
The epic hilltop Victory Monument, commemorating the 1954 battles, presides heroically over Dien Bien Phu's main road. Road access leads around the back…
Northwest Vietnam
For an overview of Son La, follow the stone steps to the left of the Trade Union (Cong Doan) Hotel in the north of town. It's a 20-minute uphill walk to…
Dien Bien Phu
The unsigned French War Memorial, erected on the 30th anniversary of the 1954 battle, commemorates the 3000 French troops buried under the rice paddies.
Sapa
Sapa's small stone church was built by the French and is still a central landmark. It opens for Mass on Sunday and on certain evenings for prayers.
Northwest Vietnam
You’ll find woven shoulder bags, scarves, silver buttons and necklaces and other hill-tribe crafts at this market in the north of town.
Mai Chau
Mai Chau's main central market spills out onto the surrounding streets every Sunday morning.
Dien Bien Phu
The old Muong Thanh Bridge is preserved and closed to four-wheeled traffic.
