North Vietnam Travel Highlights will let you learn more about cradle of Vietnam’s culture and history in the Red River Delta. Conquer the unspoiled hidden trail through colorful ethnic minority villages in the Sapa mountains and enjoy breathtaking views of Halong Bay from a boat. Explore the rich and beautiful nature of Hoang Lien, Cuc Phuong and Cat Ba National Parks. Indochina tours Vietnam
Explore the most remote area of Sapa
Nam Cang village locates in a remote and beautiful area dominated by Red Dao minority. Visiting the most remote part of Sapa area equals real adventure and great opportunities to explore the natural life of ethnic minority groups living in the mountains. The locals will look with big eyes and followed by happy smiles as this is “off the beaten track”. You enjoy your lunch in a comfortable riverside lodge connecting with Nam Cang village with own bridge. Along the tour you will meet several different tribes, each with own language and costumes.
Halong bay
Designated a World Heritage site in 1994, Halong Bay's spectacular scatter of islands, dotted with wind- and wave-eroded grottoes, is a vision of ethereal beauty and, unsurprisingly, northern Vietnam's number one tourism hub. Sprawling Halong City is the bay's main gateway but its dowdy high-rises are a disappointing doorstep to this site. Most visitors sensibly opt for cruise-tours that include sleeping on board within the bay, while a growing number are deciding to eschew the main bay completely, heading straight for Cat Ba Island from where trips to less-visited but equally alluring Lan Ha Bay are easily set up. Halong bay cruise in Vietnam
Halong Bay attracts visitors year-round with peak season between late May and early August. January to March is often cool and drizzly, and the ensuing fog can make visibility low, but adds bags of eerie atmosphere. From May to September tropical storms are frequent, and year-round tourist boats sometimes need to alter their itineraries, depending on the weather. November's sunny blue-sky days and lack of crowds make it the best time to make a beeline here.
Ba Be National Park
Often referred to as the Ba Be Lakes, Ba Be National Park was established in 1992 as Vietnam’s eighth national park. The scenery here swoops from towering limestone mountains peaking at 1554m down into plunging valleys wrapped in dense evergreen forests, speckled with waterfalls and caves, with the lakes themselves dominating the very heart of the park.
The park entrance fee is payable at a checkpoint, about 15km before the park headquarters, just beyond the town of Cho Ra. Ba Be (meaning Three Bays) is in fact three linked lakes, which have a total length of 8km and a width of about 400m. More than a hundred species of freshwater fish inhabit the lake. Two of the lakes are separated by a 100m-wide strip of water called Be Kam, sandwiched between high walls of chalk rock.
The park is a rainforest area with more than 550 named plant species, and the government subsidises the villagers not to cut down the trees. The hundreds of wildlife species here include 65 (mostly rarely seen) mammals, 353 butterflies, 106 species of fish, four kinds of turtle, the highly endangered Vietnamese salamander and even the Burmese python. Ba Be birdlife is equally prolific, with 233 species recorded, including the spectacular crested serpent eagle and the oriental honey buzzard. Hunting is forbidden, but villagers are permitted to fish.
The region is home to 13 tribal villages, most belonging to the Tay minority plus smaller numbers of Dzao and Hmong. The park has a well-established homestay program allowing travellers who spend the night here to experience lakeside village life.
