hiking on the high tonkinese

After breakfast, leave Hanoi and transfer to Duong Lam village, a purely agricultural village of the Northern Red River delta where still preserve many hundred-year-old houses. 

Upon arrival, walk along the tiny ancient alleys to visit Mong Phu temple in Mong Phu hamlet - the only hamlet whose original village entrance gate remains intact, dedicated to national heroes. Continue riding around the village to discover the daily life and farming tasks of local peasants, stop to visit ancient houses dated back to 400 years ago. 

Visit then the temples dedicated to two national heroes - Ngo Quyen and Phung Hung. Continue to Mia Pagoda built in 15th century and admire 287 statues of all sizes, along with are famous sculpture such as the statue of Buddha in the Himalayas and the statues of the Eight Vajra Deities. 

After lunch transfer to Nghia Lo, visit ethnic village on the way. 

Overnight at homestay in Nghia Lo.

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After breakfast, transfer from Nghia Lo to Tu Le. 

Enjoy the 2 hour road while passing through the stunning mountainous landscape and amazing rice terraces. Take a slow trek along the trail which connects villages in the valley, meet up with different tribal people who you can differentiate by the color of their clothes and discover their living style by the locations of the village: The Thai occupy low land almost at the bottom of valleys. They gather near to river or streams and plant wet rice intensively by using water wheels to transfer water into rice paddies. The H’mong in contrast settle at the highest elevation, grow corn and dry rice on the burn-over land, whereas the Zao live in the middle altitude, practice both methods of farming.

Overnight in Mu Cang Chai.

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After breakfast, transfer from Mu Cang Chai to Sapa via Than Uyen where you can admire the grandeur of mountainous scenic. 

Upon arrival in Sapa, visit Ham Rong Mountain where you can climb up to cloud yard San May to enjoy the panorama of Sapa Town. Take the stone pathway up to the mountain, where you can see small streams slowly run through the bushy foliages, stop for a visit on the way to an orchid garden with more than 400 species. 

Upon arrival at Sapa, check in hotel and at your leisure to discover Sapa at your own pace until dinner time. Overnight in Sapa

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Start a full day trekking (about 16km) from Sapa to visit Y Linh Ho - Lao Chai and Ta Van village of the Dzay minority. After lunch at a local family in Ta Van, keep on hiking around village of the Dzay & H’mong where you will spend the night in a local family and get to know their daily life and specific customs. 

Overnight in homestay in Ta Van village.

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After breakfast start trekking through bamboo forests towards Giang Ta Chai village where inhabited by the Red Zao minorities. Then cross over the Muong Hoa River up to the mountain to visit Su Pan village of the H'mong people. 

Return and overnight in Sapa.

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After breakfast, visit Silver waterfall and pass by the Heaven gate “Cong Troi” before heading into the hilly road along the beautiful mountain, down to the Binh Lu valley where you can see many different minority people: Laos, Lu, Thai, Dao Tien, Red H’mong, Black Dao. Continue the road along Da river with beautiful mountain.

Arrive Muong Lay town in the afternoon and overnight at hotel.

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After breakfast, enjoy a peaceful drive to Dien Bien. Arrive at Dien Bien, visit famous historical sites including: Dien Bien Phu museum, A1 Hill, Victory monument, Bunker of Colonel De Castries. 

Overnight at hotel in Dien Bien.

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After breakfast, transfer to Son La via Pha Din pass at the height of 1.648m above the sea level. The pass is a natural border between Dien Bien and Son La and is the longest pass in Vietnam. The terrain is very rugged with cliffs on one side, and the abyss on the other; climbing and descending the slopes with their many bends and deep gorges, amid such magnificent scenery, is an unforgettable trip. 

Arrive in Son La, dinner and overnight at hotel in Son La

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After breakfast, transfer to Mai Hich. Mai Hich is a small village located about 14km in South West of Mai Chau. This village is a wonderful place for nature and local culture discovery, surrounded by stunning mountain landscapes and off from the beaten tracks. Arrive at Mai Hich around noon time. Lunch with special typical local foods. 

In the afternoon, take a short trek or ride bicycle to visit the village and discover the daily life of Thai people through cultivation and breeding activities. Visit brocade weaving workshops and observe how the Thai traditional scarves being weaved.

After dinner, enjoy Thai traditional folk music as well as dance performances. Participate in an exciting bamboo dance and drink pipe rice wine “Ruou Can” with local farmers. Overnight in a Thai traditional stilt house.

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Start your wonderful day waking up in a peaceful surrounding with the pure and fresh atmosphere of the forest. 

After breakfast, walk through the fields of corn and rice, you can observe or even take part in daily cultivation activities of local people so as to discover the simple beauty of Thai culture. Subsequently, travelling along the Xia stream by bamboo ferry will bring more excitement to your journey here.

Leaving Mai Hich village, you can visit a small workshops where disabled artisans manually produce embroidery and weave products in Ban Lac. Spend some free time to explore diverse souvenirs or take photos while trying on traditional costumes of different ethnic minority groups. After having lunch at Ban Lac, head back toward Hanoi with a stopover in the dairy farm Ba Vi on the way. Overnight at hotel in Hanoi.

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