Ha Giang is a far-north province of Vietnam with untouched natural landscapes of rocky mountains, deep valleys & stunning rice terraces; a must-visited & off-the-beaten-path destination for adventure & nature lovers. Together with the scenery’s magnificence, travelers can learn about the rich culture & the lifestyle of local ethnics living in this highland of Vietnam. A local tour guide & tour operator, we have visited less-known Ha Giang many times. With our love to this land, we would like to share about top 8 things to do in Ha Giang that you can get a good reference to explore Ha Giang beauty in your coming trips to Ha Giang.
1. Impressive view of Dong Van Limestone Plateau
Ha Giang is the land of mountainous & hilly topography, especially the up-northern districts of this province including Quan Ba, Yen Minh, Meo Vac & Dong Van – the stretching length of Dong Van Limestone Plateau creating the main majestic scenery with towering mountains & immense valleys in the region. This plateau is known as one of the unique limestone regions in Vietnam, carrying the clear imprints of the evolution of the earth’s crust. There are 80% limestone formations at Dong Van Plateau, which are created from different evolution stages of nature and environmental conditions through millions of years. Thanks to this geological values, Dong Van Rocky Plateau was recognized as the Global GePark by UNESCO on 3rd October 2010 and has become a tourist attraction in Vietnam tourism.
2. Enjoy the beauty of flowers at a different time of year
Plan your trip to Ha Giang, if you would like to enjoy the fragrance & the beautiful colors of different kinds of flowers, you must choose the right time to visit. Elsewhere are colored with the beautiful flowers in certain periods, which make Ha Giang’s landscapes miraculously. For the best moment of pink buckwheat flower, you should visit Ha Giang between the end of October & the beginning of November each year. Taking photos on the fields of buckwheat flower is actually a memorable experience when visiting Ha Giang. Why is this one of the things to do in Ha Giang? Because the buckwheat flower is considered to be the symbolic one in the northern mountainous region of Vietnam and Ha Giang is the best place for buckwheat flowers. Moreover, you can experience Ha Giang beauty on March – the springtime in full of life with many types of flowers blooming such as pure white plum flower, wild peach flower in a cool & fresh climate. How romantic & lovely to visit Ha Giang with your lovers at this time of year. For the beautiful yellow color of valleys or foothills in Ha Giang, your trip to Ha Giang should be on December – the time of golden or yellow kale flowers blooming everywhere.
3. Reach the Northernmost point of Vietnam – Lung Cu flag tower
As the starting point of Vietnam, the journey to Lung Cu flag tower offers you very scenic landscapes on both sides of the road – beautiful mountain backgrounds & local traditional villages of Hmong, Lo Lo that you can stop for a visit. Reach Lung Cu flag tower, and walk up to its top points of 1700 meter high, you can extend your view to the horizon of local villages, their standing-out rice terraces, china side & stunning mountains near & far.
For Vietnamese, reaching this point of the country – an emblem of Vietnam’s territorial sovereignty, one will feel its sacredness and one’s love for the country.
4. Pay a visit to Vuong Family’s House
Built in 1914, Vuong mansion is a special building of old & beautiful architecture for the king of Hmong – Vuong Chi Sinh & his family. It was constructed by Chinese engineers & skillful local Hmong workers at that time so the architecture of this house is the harmonical combination of Chinese & Hmong’s styles. By the visit to Vuong’s house, you can understand about the life of Hmong ( the rich & the poor) in the past – when the happiness road was not yet opened, and wonder how come they can be built such beautiful houses with such a big fortune!
5. Experience the local lifestyle of ethnic groups
There are 16 ethnics groups in Ha Giang with their own lifestyle & cultures. They live scattered on the valley & on the slopes of mountains. Along with contemplating beautiful landscapes in Ha Giang, you can visit different ethnic minority groups who are very friendly, well-preserved with cultures & colorful in their unique dresses. In your Ha Giang adventure, it will be more memorable to take part in treks to visit remote tribal villages, homestay in their houses, eat their home-cooked dishes or join them in local weekly markets, notably Dong Van market, Meo Vac market ( every Sunday), Quyet Tien market in Quan Ba ( on Saturday)…. or interesting Khau Vai love market (on 26th of lunar March ).
6. Conquering Ma Pi Leng Pass – The king of all passes in Vietnam
This adventure is one of the top things you have to do in your Ha Giang excursion. Without doing it, you, it is like something not complete in your Ha Giang trip. Ma Pi Leng Pass connects two remote frontier districts of Meo Vac & Dong Van, is the highest point of the “legendary happiness road”. Conquering this pass, you can understand how hard it was for local ethnic workers & volunteers to build up this part of “happiness road” without modern equipment, but by simple working tools of hammers & hoes, shovels…..and show your admiration to what they did before. A great sense of adventure you will have when zigzagging up & down along mountain slopes and be rewarded with the most breathtaking landscapes of magnificent mountains, deepest valleys and Nho Que river running between the cliffs. What a paradise on earth you may exclaim when standing on the top of this Ma Pi Leng Pass!
7. Stop at Quan Ba Heaven Gate & viewing Quan Ba Twin Mountains
After 45km from Ha Giang city, you drive up & up on winding Quan Ba Pass & reach Quan Ba Heaven Gate. Trekking to the top of Heaven Gate & having a panoramic view of surrounding regions: highlighted one is Twin Mountains on the side of Tam Son town. It is a unique part of the nature with interesting fairy tales narrated by locals.
8. Enjoy beautiful rice terraced in Hoang Su Phi
Meanwhile, Dong Van Geopark is famous for its breathtaking grey limestone mountains & zigzag winding passes, Hoang Su Phi makes its fame for its stunning rice terraces – recognized as a National Heritage by the Ministry of Sports, Cultures & Tourism. For the most beautiful landscapes of rice terraces in Hoang Su Phi, you must visit this district between “May & June” – the time of falling water into the fields; and between September & October – the moment the rice gets ripe and makes its fullest beauty of golden colors to the horizon… Stunning & impressive beauty for photo & scenery lovers.
