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_49ffd99c.jpg "SAPA (2)")
Highlights:
This trip offers you an opportunity to explore the area by mountain bike, which makes the trip much more challenging and interesting. On this trip you will visit several villages. You will also be able to visit Bac Ha Market, the very famous and colorful market of the area. Here you will meet Flower Hmong, Black Dao, Phu La, Nung and Tay minorities. The trip offers you a boat ride along Chay River with beautiful scenery and caves.
Itinerary:
Day 1: (Saturday) Lao Cai – Coc Ly – Boat Trip – Bac Ha.
After having breakfast, you will travel by car or cycle from Lao Cai Railway Station. The ride is relatively flat from Lao Cai. It will take you through rural area. The road is rougher for the last 16 km. You arrive in Coc Ly, where you start a boat cruise downstream Chay River. Along the ride, you can enjoy magnificent sight of the beautiful caves and life on the riverbank. You will have lunch on a beach or later in Trung Do village of Tay minority, where you can stop by a traditional Tay house for a cup of tea. After lunch, you first cycle on the dirt trail through the village and cross a narrow stream. Your ride will be then on a good road, which goes uphill toward Bac Ha town. You stay overnight in a hotel and have diner in a local restaurant.
Approx: 5 hours cycling/ 1 hours boat cruise/ 0.5-hour walking/ 1-hour lunch
Day 2: (Sunday) Bac Ha - Lao Cai.
After having a morning coffee, you take a short walk to visit the old castle of the former Hmong King. From there you can have a view over the town. You will then visit this huge market with its colorful array of ethnic minority people such as Flower Hmong, Phu La, Black Dao, Tay, Nung who gather to buy and sell. After spending the whole morning exploring the market, your lunch will be served in a local restaurant. After lunch you will be able to take a nice ride around nearby beautiful Ban Pho village of Flower Hmong and Nung minorities. After visit Ban Pho village your start heading back towards Lao Cai by cycle or by car. The ride will be mostly downhill and flat through rural area, which is home to Phu La, Nung and Tay minorities. Before you arrive in Lao Cai, you will be able to stop by china – Vietnamese border, where the Red River flows into Viet Nam territory. You will have time for shower and dinner before you get on a night train to Ha Noi
Approx: 3 hours cycling/ 2 hours walking/ 1-hour lunch
Note: The trip could be started and finished at Sapa or Lao Cai Railways Station, according to your wishes. There will be supply car provided. Incase the trip starts from Sapa, the itinerary can be changed depending on your wish. You will be able to spend the night in a traditional Tay house at Trung Do village.
