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Itinerary:
Day 1: Hanoi – Ba Be
Day 2: Fullday Ba Be
Day 3: Ba Be Lake – Cao Bang
Day 4: Cao Bang
Day 5: Cao Bang – Lang Son – Hanoi
Detailed program
Hanoi-Ba Be Lake, Cao Bang, Lang Son – Hanoi This trip covers the North East of the country combining Ba Be Lake, Cao Bang, the border town of Lang Son, with stunning nature and tribal villages. Ba Be Lake is an incredibly beautiful area boasting waterfalls, rivers, deep valleys, lakes and caves set amid towering limestone peaks. Cao Bang is famous for being the hideout of Ho Chi Minh, and for the famous Ban Doc Waterfall.
Day 1: Hanoi - Ba Be Lake
With an early departure from Hanoi this morning you head North toward Ba Be Lake. This drive of 270 km will take approximately seven hours. We will travel through the flatlands of the Red River Delta and up into the mountain areas north of Hanoi. As you progress north, the scenery becomes more and more picturesque. Lunch stop is only around two and a half-hours to our destination. Arriving in Ba Be town by mid afternoon you are welcome by the Tay minority people host family, and then stroll around the village before sunset. You spend the night in a traditional house on stilts of Tay people.
Day 2: Full day Ba Be Lake
After breakfast you board our private boat for a cruise on the Ba Be lake or have a swim in crystal clear waters if weather permit before having lunch in the local restaurant near the Dau Dang Waterfalll. Following lunch, you have the opportunity to work off your feast with a trek to several ethnic minority villages. A visit to this small hamlet will enable you to witness how little the lives of the people in these remote areas have changed. Cruise back to the Pac Ngoi village for overnight.
Day 3: Ba Be Lake - Cao Bang
This morning finds you on the road once again for the 90-km drive to the provincial town of Cao Bang. Arriving town around mid morning, you will have time to wander around the town and have lunch.
In the afternoon you take a drive within 3km of the Chinese border to visit Pac Bo Cave, Ho Chi Minh's hideout upon his return to Vietnam after 30 years of self-imposed exile. Here he lived for almost four years organizing his resistance army against the French. From there, it is a 3-hour trek to a village inhabited by the Nung minority people. Late this afternoon you take a drive back to Cao Bang for overnight stay at the local hotel.
Day 4: Cao Bang
Following breakfast at the hotel, you depart to visit the Ban Gioc waterfall It is 3-hours drive from Cao Bang. The waterfall, the largest in Vietnam, forms a natural border between Vietnam and China. With its three-tiers of water, it resembles a giant white staircase. While here, you will be able to swim and enjoy a picnic lunch near the waterfall. Return to Cao Bang for overnight.
Day 5: Cao Bang - Lang Son - Hanoi
Today you travel via Lang Son - a border town of Vietnam and China on the scenic road. Visit Tam Thanh and Nhi Thanh Grottos and pagodas. You will have lunch in a Chinese restaurant in Lang Son and head back to Hanoi on stunning Highway No1 . End of services.
