Ha Giang Loop itinerary: 4 days around the loop, day by day

How many days

• 1 day: Day 1

  Only a day? Ride Day 1 as far as Heaven Gate and the Twin Mountains, 46 km from Ha Giang city, and come back the same way; you miss the loop itself.

• 3 days: Days 1 to 3

  Three days: ride Days 1 and 2, then on Day 3 cross Ma Pi Leng to Meo Vac and return to Ha Giang through Yen Minh, about 165 km, a long day; you skip Du Gia.

• 4 days: Days 1 to 4

  The full four-day loop as most tours ride it: Yen Minh, Dong Van and Du Gia, then back to Ha Giang.

Day 1

Ha Giang city to Yen Minh, about 100 km

07:30 to about 18:00 · 8 stops

1. 07:301

   

   Travel · 30 min

   Km 0 marker, Ha Giang city

   Cost: Free

   The 0 km marker on Nguyen Trai street is the official start and end of the loop. Before you leave, check three things with your tour company or rental shop: that your border-area permit is arranged through a sponsor, since entering without one can be fined 500,000 to 2,000,000 dong; that your licence is valid in Vietnam, or that you have an easy rider; and that your bike has working brakes and a helmet. Carry your passport: homestays must declare you to the police.

   Image: Vuong Tri Binh / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

   ↓About 20 min by motorbike, 28 km. North on QL4C, about 28 km to the Bac Sum pass viewpoint.

2. 08:452

   

   View · 30 min

   Bac Sum pass

   Cost: Free

   Within half an hour of the city QL4C starts to climb through the switchbacks of the 7 km Bac Sum pass, the first big climb of the loop. Pull in at the viewpoint near the top to look back down the bends you have just ridden. Ride the bends slowly: the road carries trucks and buses as well as tour bikes, and from May to August it is often wet and slippery. Morning mist is common, so keep your lights on.

   Image: Thái Nhi / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain

   ↓About 15 min by motorbike, 18 km. About 18 km on QL4C to Quan Ba, Heaven Gate.

3. 09:453

   

   View · 45 min

   Quan Ba Heaven Gate

   Cost: Free; coffee at the lookout cafe priced per drink

   Quan Ba pass, known as Heaven Gate, is 46 km from the city and the first great view of the loop: the valley of Tam Son opens below, ringed by karst. Lonely Planet's writer plans a coffee break and photos at the big lookout here, Cafe Cong Troi. On a clear morning you can pick out the Twin Mountains in the valley below; in fog, wait half an hour before you give up on the view, since it often lifts as the day warms.

   Image: Anh Khac / Pexels

   ↓About 5 min by motorbike, 2.4 km. Down into the valley, under 1 km to the Twin Mountains viewpoint.

4. 10:404

   

   View · 20 min

   Twin Mountains viewpoint

   Cost: Free

   The Twin Mountains, Nui Doi, are two rounded lookalike hills rising out of the flat fields of the Quan Ba valley; the viewpoint on the road down is named Nui Co Tien, the fairy's mountain. It is a quick photo stop on the way into Tam Son. In September the rice in the fields around them turns gold, and from October to November the buckwheat flowers bloom across the plateau, the two sights most riders come in autumn for.

   Image: Sketyl / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

   ↓About 5 min by motorbike, 1 km. About 1 km into Tam Son town.

5. 11:155

   

   Eat · 1 h

   Lunch in Tam Son

   Cost: Prices per dish

   Tam Son, the district town of Quan Ba, is the last proper lunch stop before Yen Minh. Eat what the roadside restaurants have that day: rice with pork or chicken, stir-fried greens and soup, or a bowl of pho. On a tour, lunch is usually included and your guide chooses the place. Fill the tank here too, and buy water and snacks: the next stretch, to Lung Tam and over to Yen Minh, has few towns.

   Image: Bình food_diary / Pexels

   ↓About 10 min by motorbike, 9.6 km. About 11 km east to Lung Tam on QL4C and DT181.

6. 13:006

   

   Do · 1 h

   Lung Tam linen cooperative

   Cost: Free to watch; textiles priced per piece

   At the Lung Tam weaving village, Hmong women weave and embroider linen by hand in a courtyard workshop, and you can watch every step. The same textiles are sold all over Vietnam, but buying them here sends more of the money to the women who made them, as Lonely Planet notes. If you would rather see a cave, Lung Khuy, near Heaven Gate, is the alternative, but it needs a steep 20-minute hike; do one, not both, to reach Yen Minh in daylight.

   Image: Duong Nguyen / Pexels

   ↓About 35 min by motorbike, 42.5 km. About 43 km east to Yen Minh.

7. 15:307

   

   Travel · 30 min

   Arrive in Yen Minh

   Cost: Rooms from about USD 15 to 50 a night if you ride independently; included on tours

   Yen Minh, the district town, is the usual end of the first day; riding independently, book your room ahead. If you would rather stay in a village, Lonely Planet suggests Nam Dam, a Dao settlement about 8 km from Heaven Gate with a waterfall nearby, but that means a later start tomorrow. Hand your passport to your host on arrival: homestays must declare foreign guests to the police. Get the bike checked if anything rattled on the passes.

   Image: trungydang / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0

   ↓Walk. Dinner is at your homestay.

8. 18:008

   

   Eat · 1 h 30 min

   Dinner at your homestay

   Cost: Usually included on tours; otherwise ask the price

   On the loop, dinner is usually eaten at your homestay, unless your guide knows a restaurant. Expect shared dishes of rice, meat, vegetables and soup, eaten with your hosts and the other guests. Go easy on any rice wine if you ride tomorrow. Go to bed early: tomorrow climbs to the northernmost point of Vietnam, and from November to March the nights are cold at this altitude, so keep a warm layer and dry socks ready.

   Image: Bình food_diary / Pexels

Day 2

Yen Minh to Dong Van via Lung Cu, about 100 km

09:00 to about 18:30 · 6 stops

1. 09:001

   

   Sight · 1 h 15 min

   Vuong Palace, Sa Phin

   Cost: Entry ticket at the gate; no official price published, so check there

   Leave Yen Minh early for the 45 km ride to Sa Phin and the palace of the Vuong family, the Hmong kings of this plateau. Vietnam's tourism board describes a wood-framed palace in the traditional Chinese style; Lonely Planet calls it a Chinese-Hmong building put up by the French for a local king in the 1920s, while the tourism board dates it to 1902. Faded photographs of the king and his family hang inside. There are coffee and souvenir stalls in the car park.

   Image: Lucas Tran / Pexels

   ↓About 35 min by motorbike, 35.2 km. About 30 km north towards Lung Cu.

2. 11:152

   

   Eat · 1 h 30 min

   Lunch in Lo Lo Chai

   Cost: Prices per dish

   Lo Lo Chai is a quiet village of earthen houses just below the flag tower, and many guides like to stop here; its homestays are the places to ask for lunch. Lonely Planet's writer names the Lolo village homestays as a good place to sleep near Dong Van, so if you are riding slowly, you could spend the night here instead and see the tower at sunrise. Rest through the middle of the day: the tower is best in the late afternoon.

   Image: Lucas Tran / Pexels

   ↓About 20 min walk, 1.4 km. Up the lane to the foot of the steps.

3. 14:303

   

   Sight · 1 h 15 min

   Lung Cu flag tower

   Cost: Entry ticket at the gate; no official price published, so check there

   The flag tower stands on a peak by the Chinese border, marking the north of Vietnam, with a huge Vietnamese flag flying from the top. Vietnam's tourism board suggests arriving in the late afternoon, when the heat has eased for the climb. Counts of the steps differ: Lonely Planet gives almost 400 to the base and 140 more inside the 30 m tower, and says the view from the top is worth the climb. Take water and go at your own pace.

   Image: Thai Nguyen / Pexels

   ↓About 25 min by motorbike, 25.8 km. About 26 km south-east to Dong Van.

4. 16:304

   

   Sight · 45 min

   Dong Van old town

   Cost: Free

   Aim to reach Dong Van before sunset, as Lonely Planet advises, and stroll the cobbled lanes of the old town section. The town sits in the middle of the Dong Van Karst Plateau, recognised as a UNESCO Global Geopark in 2010, which covers the four districts the loop crosses: Quan Ba, Yen Minh, Dong Van and Meo Vac. If you are here on a Sunday morning, look in at the colourful weekly market before you ride on.

   Image: Vietnam Hidden Light / Pexels

   ↓About 15 min walk, 1.1 km. North of the old town, a short, steep path to the fort.

5. 17:255

   View · 45 min

   Dong Van French fort at sunset

   Cost: Free

   A short, steep path just north of the old town climbs to the crumbling French fort, an old observation post with a wide view over Dong Van and the karst around it. Lonely Planet suggests it at sunset after a long day on the road, or at sunrise before the next ride. In mid November the sun sets at about 17:15 here, so go straight up if you arrive late, and take a torch for the way down in the dark.

   ↓About 15 min walk, 1.1 km. Back down into the old town.

6. 18:306

   Eat · 1 h 30 min

   Dinner at Ethnic House, Dong Van

   Cost: Prices per dish

   Lonely Planet's writer recommends dinner at the Ethnic House Lounge Bar and Hostel in the old town, a reliable inn for tired riders with both Western and Vietnamese dishes, and Phien, a few doors down, for coffee and cocktails. If you are on a tour, dinner may be at your homestay instead. Dong Van is the highest overnight stop on the loop, so from November to March bring a heavy jacket and gloves for the evening.

Day 3

Dong Van to Du Gia via Ma Pi Leng, about 100 km

07:30 to about 18:30 · 6 stops

1. 07:301

   

   Do · 1 h 30 min

   Youth Volunteers Monument and the Sky Path

   Cost: Free

   About 8 km from Dong Van on QL4C, the monument to the young volunteers who died building the mountain roads marks the start of the Sky Path. The whole walk takes about 90 minutes and climbs a few hundred metres to the White Cliff and Tu San viewpoints; a shorter version goes only to the first summit, Mom Da Tu Than, one of the best photo spots of the loop. Watch your footing on the cliff edges, especially in wind or rain.

   Image: Hoach Le Dinh / Wikimedia Commons, CC0

   ↓About 5 min by motorbike, 2.8 km. About 3 km on QL4C to the Ma Pi Leng viewpoint.

2. 09:152

   

   View · 30 min

   Ma Pi Leng pass

   Cost: Free

   Ma Pi Leng is the most famous stretch of the loop, about 20 km of road threaded between limestone towers above the emerald-green Nho Que river. Stop at the viewpoint by the Meo Vac visitor centre for the view straight down into the gorge. Ride it slowly and pull fully off the road to take photos: the road is narrow, with buses and trucks on the bends, and the drop is sheer. In fog, wait, or come back after lunch.

   Image: Ama Journey / Unsplash

   ↓About 10 min by motorbike, 9 km. Down the side road to the river dock below the pass, a few kilometres.

3. 10:153

   

   Do · 1 h 30 min

   Boat on the Nho Que river

   Cost: Boat fare set at the dock; no official price published, so check there

   Trade the bike for a boat and see the gorge from the water: boats run up the emerald-green Nho Que between towering karst walls. Lonely Planet names two places to board, Ta Lang harbour, 5 km from Dong Van, and the dock at Xin Cai; ask your guide which they use. The dock below Ma Pi Leng, at Tu San, has a canteen. Wear the life jacket, and ask the price for the whole boat before you board.

   Image: Đức Trung Đào / Pexels

   ↓About 10 min by motorbike, 9 km. About 15 km on to Meo Vac.

4. 12:154

   Eat · 1 h

   Lunch in Meo Vac

   Cost: Prices per dish

   Meo Vac is a market town about 15 km from the pass and the last town before the long stretch to Du Gia, so eat and fill the tank here. Lonely Planet suggests spending a night here if you have extra days, at Auberge de Meo Vac, a restored Hmong house with rooms and dorms. On the three-day plan, this is where you turn west back to Ha Giang through Yen Minh, about 165 km, instead of going on to Du Gia.

   ↓About 2 h 10 min by motorbike, 156 km. About 78 km south via Mau Due to Du Gia; the last 42 km are slow, allow 3 hours.

5. 17:005

   Do · 45 min

   Du Gia waterfall

   Cost: Free

   Du Gia is a valley home to more than a dozen ethnic groups, and the waterfall is a 5-minute ride from the village: a green swimming hole for a sundowner after a long day on the bike. It can fill with tour groups and loud music, so if you want it quiet, come back early tomorrow. Do not swim after heavy rain, when the stream rises fast. From May to August, the rainy months, the road here can be slippery and muddy.

   ↓About 10 min by motorbike, 2.8 km. Back to the village, about 5 minutes.

6. 18:306

   Eat · 1 h 30 min

   Dinner at a Du Gia homestay

   Cost: Usually included on tours

   The last night is the rowdy one on group tours, with plenty of rice wine before the ride back, Lonely Planet warns. If you want a quiet night, ask your company for a small group or a homestay away from the main tour stops, or ride independently. Hand your passport over on arrival for the police declaration. Tomorrow is the shortest day, so there is time for a walk in the morning before you go.

Day 4

Du Gia back to Ha Giang city, about 85 km

07:30 to about 15:00 · 4 stops

1. 07:301

   

   Do · 1 h

   Du Gia rice terraces

   Cost: Free

   Villages on the loop are often treated as overnight stops only, so take an hour to walk through Du Gia's rice terraces before breakfast, while the valley is quiet. In September the rice turns gold. Keep to the field edges and paths, ask before photographing people, and close any gates behind you. Then pack up and set off: with an early start you are back in Ha Giang city in time for an afternoon bus.

   Image: Huy Chien Tran / Pexels

   ↓About 35 min by motorbike, 9.2 km. North-east on DT176, about 8 km to the viewpoints above the valley.

2. 09:002

   View · 30 min

   Viewpoints on DT176

   Cost: Free

   The road north-east out of Du Gia climbs past a string of roadside viewpoints, with Lung Ho, about 10 km from the village, the best known: a small roadside cafe with karst rocks to scramble on for photos. Lonely Planet's writer then pushes on about 40 km to A Boong waterfall, quieter than Du Gia's, for a quick dip, and suggests the old French stone fort near the junction of DT176 and DT181 as a detour. From there QL4C runs 35 km back to the city.

   ↓About 1 h 35 min by motorbike, 77.1 km. About 75 km back to Ha Giang city by DT176 and QL4C.

3. 13:003

   Eat · 1 h 30 min

   Back at Km 0 and lunch by the Lo River

   Cost: Prices per dish

   Back where you started. Take the end-of-loop photo at the 0 km marker on Nguyen Trai street, then eat along the Lo River, where a walking path runs past cafes built out over the water on concrete poles. Lonely Planet's writer celebrates with a beer at Top of the Loop. Return the bike, check it for damage with the shop, and collect your passport if you left it as a deposit.

   ↓About 5 min by taxi or Grab, 3 km. Grab car to the southern bus station, 3 km, or wait for your bus company's pickup.

4. 15:004

   Travel · 30 min

   Bus back to Hanoi

   Cost: Hanoi route fares from about VND 250,000 to 550,000

   Buses and limousines between Ha Giang and Hanoi take about six to seven hours, so an afternoon departure reaches Hanoi late in the evening; night buses arrive in the small hours. Bang Phan stops at the southern bus station, 3 km from the centre, and at its office at 100 Tran Phu; other companies leave from the bus station. Book the day before. Bang Phan and Quang Giang also run to Sa Pa, about 240 km away, if you are heading west.

Tips for Ha Giang Loop

Getting there, where to stay and the weather by month are on the Ha Giang Loop page. Plan checked 24 October 2026.