Welcome to Bac Ha
Sleepy Bac Ha wakes up for the riot of colour and commerce that is its Sunday market, when the lanes fill to choking point and villagers flock in from the hills and valleys. Once the barter, buy and sell is done and the day-tripper tourist buses from Sapa have left, the town rolls over and goes back to bed for the rest of the week.Despite being surrounded by countryside just as lush and interesting as Sapa, Bac Ha... Read More
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Bac Ha activities
Can Cau Market and Trung Do Village Tour from Sapa
After morning pickup from your hotel in Sapa, travel by vehicle to Bac Ha, located about 43 miles (70 km) southeast of Lao Cai. The drive is relatively flat from Lao Cai through the rural areas en route to Bao Nhai. Situated in the mountains near the border of Bac Ha lies Can Cau market (open only on Saturday). Here, you'll find a photogenic array of clothing and customs belonging to the ethnic minorities of the Flower H’mong, Nung, and Phu La who trade goods at the market. Spend the morning exploring the market, then depart for Bac Ha town for lunch in a local restaurant. After lunch, it's a 30-minute drive downhill until a short walk takes you to Trung Do village, which belongs to the Tay minority. Depending on water levels of the Chay River, board a motorboat to Bao Nhai, cruising past the picturesque scenes on the riverbanks. Alternatively, you'll cross the river to visit the Flower H'mong village before walking along the riverside, arriving in about 2 hours at Bao Nhai Bridge where your vehicle will await take you back to Sapa.
3-Night Can Cau and Bac Ha Market Tour
Night 1 (Fri): Hanoi - Night train to Lao CaiYou will be picked up at your hotel around 8:30pm and transferred to Hanoi Railway Station to take the night train from to Lao Cai. Sleep on the train.Day 1 (Sat): Lao Cai - Can Cau - Bac Ha (B, L, D)Early arrival in Lao Cai, with a pick-up and transfer to Can Cau market (~2 hours). This small market is situated in a valley surrounded by mountains and only about 4.5 miles (7 km) from China. The market shows the typical cultural features of the people living in the remote, mountainous areas in Vietnam. Furthermore, you can enjoy seeing boys and girls in colorful costumes - different colors of the mountains. They attend the market in the hope of finding "the other halves of their lives" and this is also the time for them to chat, to exchange everything among different groups through cups of wine sold in the market, and have lunch there. After that, transfer to Bac Ha. On the way, you'll spend time visiting a village of the Flower H'mong and then check in hotel in Bac Ha. You are free to explore the town, dinner and overnight in Bac Ha.Day 2 (Sun): Bac Ha - Lao Cai - Sapa/Night train to Hanoi (B, L, D)After breakfast,you'll visit a big market filled with many different hill-tribe peoples. This is the most colorful market in North Vietnam. At the market, you have chance to enjoy the Bac Ha people's simple but unique kinds of food with special wines made from rice, cassavas, corn, and different sorts of fruits such as plums, apples, and peaches. Leave the market for the H'mong King's house, King Hoang A Tuong, built by the French colonists and the Chinese in 1920. Return the town for lunch. In the afternoon, spend time visiting another village (Ban Pho village) and then get back to Sapa. On the way back, Stop over to see the Vietnamese and Chinese border in Lao Cai. Back to train station for the night train to Hanoi. Your tour ends with your train's arrival in Hanoi around 5:30am.