Ha Giang Loop: Ha Giang to Ma Pi Leng Pass
Ha Giang to Ma Pi Leng Pass on the Ha Giang Loop · one way, about 180 km back to the start
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Why this ride
From Hà Giang it runs 180 km to Thị Trấn Đồng Văn; allow about 2 h 30 of riding. The stops in between: Quan Ba Heaven and Dong Van. The highest point is about 1,500 m. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.
Roadbook
- Ha Giang
start
Ha Giang is where Vietnam runs out of country. The city lies on the Lô River in the far north, just a short ride from the Chinese border, and it is the gateway to one of the most dramatic road circuits in Southeast Asia. Beyond the last streets, the road lifts into the Dong Van Karst Plateau, a UNESCO Global Geopark since 2010, where limestone peaks and gorges crowd every horizon and terraces of corn and rice climb the hillsides.
The loop is about three hundred and fifty kilometres, normally ridden over three or four days, and it deserves that time. The road climbs through Quản Bạ, where the hills are shaped like twin breasts, then Yên Minh and Đồng Văn, the old stone town where a market draws Hmong, Lô Lô and Tay people in traditional clothes on Sunday mornings. Near Sà Phìn is the palace of the Vương family, a Hmong clan that once ruled the region. The surface is tarmac for most of the way, but it is narrow and steep, with hairpins, blind bends and sudden gravel, and heavy fog can appear in minutes. Landslides are common in the wet season from May to September.
The great moment is the Mã Pí Lèng Pass, where the road is cut into a cliff high above the Nho Quế River, which runs in a green ribbon at the bottom of the Tu San canyon, among the deepest in Southeast Asia. The views are staggering, with layers of mountain fading into the distance, and the traffic, mainly local trucks and motorbikes, is slow. Autumn brings buckwheat flowers in pink and white on the plateau, usually in October and November, and the terraces glow gold in September.
Fuel is available in Ha Giang city and in every larger town on the loop, and small roadside stalls sell petrol in bottles in the villages. Homestays with simple meals, rice wine and a warm bed are the best way to sleep. Take warm clothes, since nights at altitude are cold, and rain gear all year. Check the weather before you go, and take it slowly, because the road does not forgive speed.
- Quan Ba Heaven Gate
scenic · 1500 m
The Heaven Gate, Cổng Trời in Vietnamese, is the pass above Quản Bạ, where the road tops a ridge at about fifteen hundred metres and the whole Dong Van Karst Plateau opens beneath it. Below, a valley of green rice terraces and small fields is dotted with the humped outlines of limestone hills, and in the middle sits the pair of round green mounds known as Núi Đôi, the Twin Mountains, which local people call the Fairy's Bosom. On a clear morning, mist lies in the hollows and the hills float above it.
This is the far north of Vietnam, a few kilometres from the Chinese border, and the country is mountain, rock and weather. The Dong Van Karst Plateau is a UNESCO Global Geopark, recognised in 2010, a high landscape of grey limestone, deep gorges and ancient fossils, and it is home to a mosaic of ethnic groups, including the Hmong, Tay, Dao and Lo Lo. Villagers farm every scrap of soil, planting maize between the rocks, and weekly markets bring colourful traditional costumes. The nearest big town is Hà Giang, about twenty-six kilometres back, where you should fill the tank and check the bike.
The Ha Giang Loop is a famous adventure for riders, and this pass is one of its first great moments. The road is a ribbon of switchbacks cut into the mountainside, mostly paved but narrow, with blind curves, potholes, sudden fog and trucks and buses taking the middle of the road. Take it gently, use the horn at corners and watch for livestock. In the rainy season, from about May to September, landslides and slick surfaces are common, while autumn and spring offer clearer weather, though cold mornings.
Pack layers, a rain jacket and a spare phone battery, as it gets chilly at altitude. Buy water and snacks in town, and look for small roadside stalls selling sweet corn and tea. At the pass there are stalls and viewpoints, and a short stop gives you the best view of the Twin Mountains. Local guesthouses in Quản Bạ and Tam Sơn serve simple, tasty meals, and the Hmong market days make the village lively. Early starts help avoid cloud and traffic.
- Dong Van
scenic
Dong Van is a small market town in the far north of Vietnam, close to the Chinese border, and it lies at the heart of a remarkable landscape of limestone. The Dong Van Karst Plateau, a UNESCO Global Geopark, is a high, rocky country of grey peaks, deep gorges and tiny terraced fields, where farmers grow maize and buckwheat in pockets of soil carried by hand and planted between the rocks. At around a thousand metres, the air is cool, mist hangs in the valleys, and the villages are built of stone, with walls and roofs of rough grey slabs.
The old quarter of the town has a row of low, tile-roofed houses from the French colonial period, with a market that fills on Sunday mornings with people from the surrounding hills. The Hmong, Dao, Lolo and Tay minorities come in their traditional dress, in bright embroidery and silver, to trade livestock, vegetables, spices and homemade corn liquor. It is a lively, colourful and slightly chaotic scene, and the steaming pots of noodles and the smoke from grills make it a good place for breakfast. A short way south, in Sa Phin, a mansion built by a Hmong chieftain in the early twentieth century is a fascinating relic.
The road you are riding, the Ha Giang loop, is one of the great motorcycle journeys of Southeast Asia. Between Dong Van and Meo Vac runs the Ma Pi Leng Pass, a narrow road carved along a cliff above the Nho Que River gorge, which lies hundreds of metres below in a deep green ribbon. Hmong workers built it by hand in the 1960s over several years, and it is sometimes called the Happiness Road. The views are tremendous, but the road is steep, narrow and often foggy, with trucks and buses on the bends, so ride slowly and keep right.
Fuel is available in town, though stations in the hills are small and supplies can run short, so fill up whenever you can. The nights are cold, and the best time to visit is autumn, when the buckwheat flowers cover the fields with pink, or spring. Rain turns the roads slick, and landslides are common in the wet season. Many travellers hire a local rider to guide them, which is a sensible choice if you are unfamiliar with the roads. A bowl of hot noodles and a cup of strong coffee at dawn is a good way to begin.
- Ma Pi Leng Pass
finish · 1500 m
Mã Pí Lèng is the great pass of the Ha Giang Loop, a road cut along the side of a vast gorge on the way between Đồng Văn and Mèo Vạc, and it earns its reputation in the first minute. At about fifteen hundred metres, the road clings to a cliff hundreds of metres above the Nho Quế River, which winds through a sheer, green-black canyon far below, often described as one of the deepest in Southeast Asia. The sides drop away on one hand, the mountain climbs on the other, and the colour of the river, a clear jade turquoise on a good day, is unforgettable.
The road has a story that matters. It is known as the Happiness Road, and it was built by hand between 1959 and 1965 by thousands of young volunteers and local labourers from many ethnic groups, who hung from ropes to drill and blast the cliff face with little more than hammers and dynamite, working for months at a time. A monument at the pass recognises their effort, and some of those who built it died in the work. Today it is a paved, if narrow, road, with viewing points, tea stalls and small cafés where you can sit and look across the gorge.
For a rider, the pass is a thrilling, careful ride. The bends are tight and often blind, the road is shared with trucks, buses, scooters and livestock, and fog can appear suddenly, cutting visibility to a few metres. Rain makes the surface treacherous. Go slowly, stay on your side, and use your horn before blind corners. Mornings are often clearest, and the best light is just after sunrise, when the sun burns off the mist. The road is frequently crowded with tour groups at midday.
Carry water, warm clothes and a rain jacket, as temperatures can drop sharply. Local food in the nearby towns includes thắng cố, a hearty horse or beef stew, and buckwheat cakes. In autumn, the buckwheat flowers bloom pink across the hills, and the days are crisp and clear, making it the best season.