Trekking Through Northern Vietnam’s Most Beautiful Rice Terraces, 12 Days

Welcome to Hanoi, Vietnam’s thousand-year-old capital.

On arrival, meet your English-speaking guide and transfer to your hotel in the city centre. Your room will be available from 2:00 PM. The rest of the day will be adapted to your arrival time.

Begin discovering Hanoi through some of its most emblematic places:

• Ly Thai To Square, where the story of Vietnam’s ancient capital begins.
• Hoan Kiem Lake, with Ngoc Son Temple and Turtle Tower at the historic heart of the city.
• The Old Quarter and its 36 guild streets, where many streets still carry the names of the trades once practised there. Stop at Ma May Street to visit a traditional Hanoi tube house.
• The Temple of Literature, Vietnam’s first university and one of Hanoi’s most important cultural landmarks.
• Ba Dinh Square, home to the former Governor-General’s Palace, Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and Ho Chi Minh’s residence.

Overnight in Hanoi.

Leave Hanoi behind and travel towards the mountains of Northern Vietnam.

The road follows rural landscapes along the Red River before climbing through rolling hills covered with tea plantations and farmland.

Stop at Suoi Giang, known for its ancient tea trees, some of which are hundreds of years old. Depending on availability, visit a local tea farm and enjoy a tasting.

Continue to Nghia Lo, a small town set in the broad Muong Lo Valley.

On arrival, settle into the home of a Thai family in Ban Deu village, inhabited by Black Thai and White Thai communities. After meeting your hosts, take a bicycle ride through the surrounding countryside and learn more about the traditions that distinguish the two communities.

In the evening, share dinner with your host family.

Dinner and overnight in a traditional stilt house.

Say goodbye to your hosts and continue towards Mu Cang Chai, one of Northern Vietnam’s most celebrated rice terrace regions.

Between June and September, the hills gradually change from vivid green to golden yellow, creating some of the most photogenic landscapes in the country.

Along the way, stop at:

• Khau Pha Pass, overlooking the beautiful rice fields of Tu Le Valley.
• La Pan Tan, Che Cu Nha and De Xu Phinh, home to Hmong villages and spectacular mountainside terraces.

Rice cultivation generally takes place from May to September.

Overnight in Mu Cang Chai.

Continue towards Sapa, crossing the dramatic landscapes of the Hoang Lien Son mountain range, the southeastern extension of the Himalayas.

Stretching for around 180 kilometres, this is Vietnam’s highest and most rugged mountain range. Its highest point is Fansipan at 3,143 metres, often called the Roof of Indochina.

In the afternoon, begin exploring rural Sapa with a walk through Ma Tra, a Black Hmong village set in a small valley. Unlike many Hmong settlements scattered across the mountainsides, homes here are gathered more closely together.

You may see women and children sitting together embroidering, chatting and working, while fields of artichokes grow around the village.

Continue to Ta Phin, home to the Red Dao community, easily recognised by their distinctive red headscarves. The Red Dao are also well known locally for their knowledge and use of medicinal herbs.

Overnight in Sapa.

Spend the day walking through the landscapes of Muong Hoa Valley, stretching southwest of Sapa beneath Mount Fansipan.

The trail passes through terraced rice fields and several ethnic minority villages, including:

• Y Linh Ho and Lao Chai, home to Black Hmong communities.
• Ta Van, inhabited mainly by the Giay people.

Along the way, meet local residents working in the fields and gain a closer look at everyday life in the valley.

Overnight in Sapa.

Travel to Bac Ha, a quiet mountain town northeast of Sapa, best known for the colourful ethnic markets held throughout the surrounding region.

On arrival, settle into the home of a welcoming Tay family.

After some time to rest, set out on foot through dramatic landscapes of rice terraces, streams and mountains around Bac Ha.

The route takes you away from the busier tourist trails to the villages of Thai Giang Pho and Na Hoi, inhabited by Tay, Black Hmong and Flower Hmong communities.

Dinner and overnight with a local family.

Depending on the day of the week, visit one of the region’s traditional ethnic markets:

• Tuesday: Coc Ly
• Wednesday: Sin Cheng
• Friday: Lung Phing
• Saturday: Can Cau
• Sunday: Muong Khuong or Bac Ha

These markets are much more than places to buy and sell goods. Families from surrounding mountain communities come here to trade, meet friends and exchange news.

Walk through the colourful market stalls and visit the lively livestock area, where cattle, horses and other animals are traded.

Continue towards Hoang Su Phi, one of the most remote and beautifully preserved areas of Ha Giang Province, known for its high mountains and extraordinary terraced valleys.

Arrive in the afternoon and settle into Pan Hou Eco Lodge, where traditional-style bungalows sit among mountains and rice terraces.

The rest of the day is free to relax and enjoy the surroundings.

Overnight in a bungalow.

If your stay falls on a Sunday, begin the morning at Hoang Su Phi Market, one of the region’s traditional markets that still receives relatively few visitors.

Then drive to San Sa Ho village, the starting point for today’s trek.

Follow a mountain trail winding through terraced fields, valleys and villages.

Stop for lunch with a local family before continuing for around three hours towards Ban Luoc, a Dao village surrounded by dramatic mountain scenery.

Meet your hosts and take some time to explore the village before dinner.

Dinner and overnight with a Dao family in a traditional stilt house.

After breakfast, say goodbye to your hosts and continue trekking through the forests and mountains of Hoang Su Phi.

The day offers sweeping views over tiered rice terraces and plenty of opportunities to encounter local communities along the trail.

Enjoy a picnic lunch before continuing towards Ho Thau, a village inhabited by the Nung people.

The evening is spent with a local family, offering another opportunity to discover everyday traditions and customs in this remote part of Northern Vietnam.

Dinner and overnight at a homestay.

Say goodbye to your hosts and enjoy one final walk through a Red Dao village.

The trail passes tea plantations, natural forest and impressive rice terraces before meeting your driver for the return journey to Hanoi.

Arrive in the capital towards the end of the day.

After several days of trekking, unwind with a relaxing foot massage at a local spa.

Overnight in Hanoi.

Leave Hanoi for Halong Bay, one of Vietnam’s most extraordinary natural landscapes.

On arrival, board a traditional-style cruise boat and receive a warm welcome from the crew before sailing into Bai Tu Long Bay, the quieter northern part of the Halong Bay area.

During the cruise:

• Admire limestone islands and karst formations rising from the water.
• Explore Thien Canh Son Cave, filled with stalactites and stalagmites formed over thousands of years.
• Continue towards Cap La for kayaking and swimming, weather permitting.
• Relax on the upper deck as the afternoon draws to a close.
• Join an onboard cooking demonstration and learn how to prepare Vietnamese spring rolls.

Lunch and dinner are served on board.

Spend the evening at leisure with activities such as card games or night fishing.

Overnight on board.

Wake early to watch the first light appear between the limestone peaks of the bay.

Those who wish can begin the morning with a Tai Chi session on the sundeck.

Continue cruising through quieter sections of the bay and enjoy the final views of this remarkable seascape.

Lunch is served on board before disembarkation.

Return to Hanoi and, depending on your flight schedule, transfer to the airport for your onward journey.

End of your 12-day journey through Northern Vietnam’s rice terraces.