Northern Ethnic at a Glance

Our Authentik Travel’s tour guide and driver will welcome you at the airport and transfer to your Hotel in the city center.
Get some first briefing information about our country.
Overnight in Hanoi.

Exploring the Temple of Literature or Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam, the outstanding Vietnam Museum of Ethnology, visiting the French Quarter, and discovering the Hanoi Old Quarter

9:00 AM: Get picked up by tour guide to the Temple of Literature which was built under the Ly dynasty in the 11th century for worshipping Confucius and teaching Royal children. Enjoy a walk in the garden to the city’s symbol Khue Van Cac. You will then visit the World Heritage "stone steles” which shows the names of outstanding students. Continue to explore the Quoc Tu Giam which is considered the first national university of Vietnam.

The next stop is the Vietnam Museum of Ethnology (closed every Monday) which offers a deep insight into Vietnamese culture through traditional costumes, tools, musical instruments, and traditional houses of many ethnic groups. To fully explore this interesting museum, it takes you around two hours. 

In the afternoon, visit (outside) Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum before continuing the day with a walking tour in the Hanoi Old Quarter. Start with a small pagoda named Ba Da quietly located in a small alley - only a few steps from the Hanoi Great Cathedral, built by French colonialism in the 19th century. Your tour guide takes you to typical streets of Hanoi, such as Lan Ong Street, which sells traditional medicine, and Lo Ren Street, where metal items are produced. Stop to visit the Dong Xuan Central Market - the largest in Hanoi. Continue walking to the famous area for night activities and street food - Ta Hien Street, where you can see the vibrant streets with a lot of amazing local foods and drinks. Try to taste some for an unforgettable experience.

Return to the city center and take a break before attending the water puppet show, a unique performance that originated in the 11th century. These shows depict the daily life, culture, and beliefs of the Vietnamese people through puppets moving on water. The performance often includes traditional music as well.

Come back to the hotel. End of the day​

Home to Tay people at Tay Con Linh mountain range.

Depart from your hotel in Hanoi to Ha Giang via the highway to Phu Tho. Stop to visit the Zao village at Ham Yen, Tuyen Quang. First, discover the houses on stilts, a typical style of ethnic groups in this undulating region.
Arrive in Ha Giang in the middle of the afternoon, beginning a trek to the Me - Lup – Tha Villages. Featuring serene beauty, these villages are made up of hundreds of houses on wooden stilts covered by palm leaves. In front of the houses, there are small ponds for raising fish and water hyacinth cultivations for pigs. You will be welcomed by big smiles from the villagers testifying to their legendary hospitality. Visit a typical house and discover the local daily life.

Arrive in Tha Village, a village on the palm hills with rice fields where you can rest in the serenity.
Check in at your home stay then take a walk around the village to catch the rhythm of daily life in the mountain before sunset.

Enjoy a delicious local dinner.
Overnight in Tha Village - home stay (basic comfort, house on stilts).
Driving time: 5hours – 280km
Walking distance: 5km – 1.5 hours.

Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark – home to Hmong ethnic people.

Depart to Dong Van with the magical landscapes of this region present along the route.
Before arrival at the Quan Ba pass, we will stop to visit a village of Bo Y in the Quyet Tien Commune. Their origin is from China. The Bo Y is a small community of 2000 people who populate in the mountainous parts of the north.
Reach the Quan Ba pass and take a short break to admire Quan Ba town with the famous twin fairy mountains (Nui Co Tien).

After Quan Ba, you will enter the Limestone rock plateau zone, considered as mountainous Halong Bay. This majestic natural treasure has been listed in the World Geological Park book.
On the way, you will discover “Nha Trinh Tuong” by a walking to the Lung Hoa Village. This is the typical house of Hmong people in the village which is built on sticky ground.

Next, visit the Palace of the Hmong King, Dinh Vua Meo. Dating back 100 years ago, far from the plain, the regions of Quan Ba, Yen Minh, Dong Van, Meo Vac created an autonomous zone with their own king.
They cultivated poppies and their economy was based on the opium business with China.

Arrive in Dong Van and check in at your hotel and relax.
Driving time: 5 hours – 150km

Grandiose Ma Pi Leng pass, the region of Black Lo Lo ethnic group.

In the morning, it's possible to visit Dong Van and Meo Vac market on Sundays.
After breakfast at the hotel, we will depart from Dong Van to Meo Vac by crossing Ma Pi Leng Pass which seduces you with the breathtaking view of limestone mountains, Nho Que River and Hmong Villages nested in the mountain.

Continue to Bao Lac. This is well known for the Black Lo Lo ethnic group. This region was highlighted by the French media, “The journey into unknown land”. This documentary was filmed in Khuoi Khon village of the Lo Lo people, 9km away from Bao Lac town, by the rugby player, Frederik Michalak

Lunch is served in Bao Lac town and check in to your hotel.

In the afternoon, we transfer to Coc Xa Village, in the Na Van commune. This village of the Lo Lo ethic group remains more authentic then Khuoi Khon village which became more touristic after the famous documentary. Walk through the rice fields and trails in the village, visit the local people's houses, and talk with the hosts to understand more about the local life as well as their traditional customs.
Go back to the town and stay overnight in your hotel.
Driving time: 3hours – 130km.

Encounter San Chi ethnic group and paradisiac Ba Be Lake.

Depart to Ba Be via Tinh Tuc. 30km from Bao Lac, in Hung Dao commune, there is a beautiful village of San Chi ethnic. Of course, we will stop to visit and discover the beauty of the village. You are one of a small number of travelers who get to visit this area because of its hidden location behind the hill. The village has hundreds of houses on stilts nested on the side of mountains and views of the beautiful valley.
To reach to the village, you will have to walk up a steep 2km incline. The higher you walk, the better view you get. Visit a family to understand the authentic life of this ethnic group.
Continue to Ba Be, where you will be surprised by the magnificent nature where the mountains gently meet the valleys of rice terraces. Stop to film or take photos whenever possible.

Upon arrival in Ba Be, check in at your accommodation at Pac Ngoi Village and go cycling through several villages of Tay ethnic groups to Hua Ma cave (5km from the village). This is an attractive place with amazing formations of stalactites and stalagmites.
Go back to village for dinner and a home stay in the late afternoon.
Note: From the limestone heritage of Ha Giang to the Nature of Ba Be Lake (3 lakes: 1km width and 9km length, 145m above the sea level), the great diversity will make you appreciate one of the most impressive circuits in the North East of Vietnam.
Driving time: 5 hours – 165km

Relaxing in the Ba Be National Park.

In the morning, take a walk from the village to the pier to enjoy a boat trip on the lake. It is possible to swim in the lake. Stop to discover the Fairy Pond in the middle of the primitive forest. After the lake, walk along the banks of the Nang river to be immersed into the beauty of wilderness and reach Dau Dang water fall. Continue the boat trip in the opposite direction along the Nang River and through Puong Cave, home to thousands of bats, toward Buoc Lom pier

Arrive in Hanoi in the late afternoon. Check in your hotel and enjoy some free time after the mountain getaway.
Driving time: 5 hours – 250km.
Overnight in Hanoi.

Enjoy your last minutes in Hanoi, meet our tour guide and driver for a transfer to airport. Take your flight to next destination or flight home.

Tour ends.