N o r t h  V i e t n a m  T r i p
B a c k p a c k e r s :  e x p l o r e r s ,  n o t  j u s t  t o u r i s t s !

(click to get the map)

5 stages:

- Ha Noi: the capital, historical city. Transport: Car

- Red River delta: from Hanoi to Halong Bay, country's cultural cradle. Transport: by boat (ideal) along the Red River or by car

- North-East border: the ancient RC4 (Route Coloniale n°4). Transport: Car

- North-West border: various ethnic peoples. Transport: car

- Western mountainous regions: historical sites and landscape. Transport: Car

* Note that the program below is just indicative :).

Visits:

Old quarter:

1. Imperial citadel (Hoang Thanh) - Temple of Literature -  36 streets quarter (old commercial quarter). Water puppet show.

2. Colonial quarter - Museums: Museum of History; Museum of Ethnology; Army Museum, Museum of Fine Arts :)

3. President Palace - Ho Chi Minh memorial complex - West Lake

4. Pagodas in Ha Noi (4 Thang Long's defense temples, etc.)

2 most important things - villages and pagodas. Bac Ninh-Bac Giang is in one of the richest regions in term of culture and is the homeland of the Ly emperors (11^th-12^th centuries). Phat Tich pagoda is the Buddhist center at that time. Tho Ha and Phu Lao are the very typical villages of the region.

More: Ly Bat De Temple, Pagodas: But Thap, Dau, Keo, etc.

Yen Tu was the center of the Vietnamese Buddhist trend, lead by king Tran Nhan Tong. Yen Tu is also the highest point of the North-East coast.

Unesco World Heritage. Visit by boat or kayak :)

Lang Son: Tam Thanh cave, To Thi rock ;) Mac dynasty's fort and Ky Cung river (the only river in Vietnam to flow north!). In term of geography, there're many things to see in Lang Son. Almost all the caves are still in formation stage (rivers/water run inside). The Ky Cung valley was also a magma valley!

The route from Lang Son to Cao Bang was the RC4 (Route Coloniale n°4). Beautiful landscape.

Dong Khe - Coc Xa are the historical sites with the Bien Gioi campaign.

Ba Be Lake: one of the most beautiful lakes on limestone mountains of the region, created by the Nang river with 3 levels.

Where Ho Chi Minh came back to Vietnam after 30 years abroad:

"Non xa xa, nuoc xa xa...

Hai tay gay dung mot son ha".

Very beautiful landscape with falls, caves, mountains and rice terraces. Ethnic people: Nung.

Visit Dong Van - Lung Cu, the rock plateau, the Vietnam farthest point to the north. Ethnic people: Mong.

The most interesting feature of Bac Ha is the local market (once a week) where people go to exchange goods and to meet each other.

Sapa and adjacent mountains are famous for landscape, climate and local cultural customs. Special: the colorful, thorough handmade clothes of the local women :)

Hoang Lien Son mountain chains. The hottest point in Vietnam ;)

Battle field ;) To visit: Muong Phang - Gen. Vo Nguyen Giap's command post and Dien Bien Phu, of course.

Go along the Da River (Black River) (if possible).

A very "tourist" site, but quite interesting. To visit: Hoa Binh barrage, Tu Vu, etc..

More about the trip:

From TerraGalleria Website, by Quang Tuan Luong, X84 ;)

Information on itineraries, photo equipments, mountainous region trip guide, etc. :

http://www.terragalleria.com/vietnam/info/index.html