Sapa – Can Cau – Bac Ha Market Tour (start On Friday From Hanoi)

At 20.00 you are picked up to the rail way station for a night train to Lao Cai that start at 21:10. Overnight on train.

Train At Night

AM: You will be met by local guide and driver upon your arrival at Lao Cai station then transferred to a local restaurant for breakfast. Then start our drive to Can Cau market. The road is relatively flat from Lao Cai to Bao Nhai bridge. After crossing the bridge, we begin our journey uphill offering beautiful views over

the valleys. Situated 20 km from Bac Ha, Can Cau is a small, but very colorful market. Opening only on Saturdays, it always delivers a very photogenic display of Flower Hmong, Black Zao, Phu La ethnic costumes. After spending the whole morning exploring the market, you will leave the market for Bac Ha town for lunch.

PM: In the afternoon, you will take a walk to Ban Pho, a small village of Nung and Flower Hmong. The villagers grow vegetables and fruit trees. One of the most famous fruit of the area is plum. Visit a local house and taste a cup of corn wine, another famous product of the village. Then go back to hotel late in the afternoon. Overnight at hotel in Bac Ha.

AM: After breakfast, we take a short walk to visit the old castle of the former Hmong King. Then continue to visit Bac Ha market, the biggest Sunday market in the area. Every Sunday, the different and colorful ethnic minority come all here to sell their homemade products or buy something for the family. They are Hmong, Phu La, Back Dzao, Tay or Nung minorities. Some of these ethnic minorities cant be met in any other areas. Your lunch will be provided in a local restaurant.

PM: In the afternoon, we drive downhill towards Lao Cai for about half an hour. We stop on the way (before reaching Lao Cai) to take a short walk to Trung Do village inhabited by Tay people. Tay villages are always set up at the foot of a mountain or along a stream and are named after a mountain, a field, or a river. Each village contains about 15-20 households. A large village is divided into many small hamlets. The houses are built on stilts or level with the ground. Stop by a traditional Tay house for a cup of tea before taking a boat cruise upstream the Chay River. The scenery is very beautiful on both sides of the river. The boat trip will end at Coc Ly where your vehicle will be waiting for you for the journey back to Sapa. Overnight at hotel in Sapa.

AM: Meet up at your hotel in Sapa by local guide and driver then travel by car downhill to Mong Sen where we starting dirt trail through rice fields and villages. Enjoy spectacular view along the way. Your picnic lunch will be provided on spot.

PM: After lunch, we continue our trek downhill towards Taphin village inhabited by Red Dao and Black Hmong minorities. These are two largest ethnic groups living in Sapa area. Stop by some house to meet local people and talk with them to understand their culture, customs and traditions. Late afternoon, we will trek back to to main road to get on our vehicle for the journey to Lao Cai for night train back to Hanoi.

Arrive to Hanoi at 05:00. Turn back your hotel on your own.

End of the tour.

Hoan Kiem Lake – Hanoi