Ha Giang Loop (350 km)

Ha Giang to Ha Giang

Open this ride in the planner →

Why this ride

350 km round from Hà Giang - plan on about 5 h 39 of riding. It goes by way of Quan Ba Heaven, Dong Van, Ma Pi Leng Pass and Meo Vac. The highest point is about 1,500 m. A steady touring day rather than a sprint.

Roadbook

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. Ma Pi Leng Pass scenic · 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.

5. Meo Vac scenic

   Meo Vac sits at the edge of the Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark, near the Chinese border in the far north of Vietnam, and it feels like the end of the map. The town is built on a ridge of grey limestone, among peaks that look like broken teeth, and the road in from the west is the famous Ma Pi Leng Pass, a narrow shelf cut into a cliff above a gorge so deep that the Nho Que River at the bottom is a thin green thread. The pass was part of the Happiness Road, built by thousands of volunteers and local Hmong people over some six years starting in 1959.

   The town is known for its Sunday market, when people from the surrounding hills, in the colours of many different ethnic groups, gather to trade livestock, corn spirit, herbs and cloth. Hmong families walk down from villages that are hours away, and the market fills the main street and the old square. It is lively, crowded and generous with samples. Maize and buckwheat are staples of this high country, and in autumn the buckwheat fields burst into pink and white flowers that cover terraces among the rocks.

   For a rider, the roads here are as demanding as they are beautiful. Corners are tight and often blind, the surface can be broken, and mist rolls in at any hour. Trucks and buses take the middle of the road, and animals wander freely. Take your time, use the horn on blind bends, and do not ride after dark. The best seasons are autumn, from September to November, when the air is clear, and spring, though the cold and fog of winter can be harsh.

   Fuel is available in town, but fill up whenever you can, because pumps in the mountains are far apart and sometimes sell in bottles. Simple eateries serve noodle soup, grilled pork, sticky rice and corn wine, and a bowl of pho in the cold air tastes remarkable. Local guesthouses are friendly, and the evenings are cool and quiet.

6. Du Gia scenic

   Du Gia is a quiet valley village in the north of Ha Giang province, and it makes a gentle end to a ride that has spent days among limestone peaks. The mountains here soften into green hills, rice terraces step down the slopes, and the houses are wooden stilt homes with tiled roofs belonging to Tay, Dao and Hmong families. Smoke rises from kitchen fires in the early morning, and the air smells of woodsmoke, wet earth and ripening rice.

   Compared with the great passes farther north, the landscape is intimate. Streams run through the valley, and in places they drop over low waterfalls that locals use as swimming holes in the heat of summer. Buffalo graze the paddy edges, children walk to school along the roadside and the pace of life matches the rhythm of the harvest. Rice is planted in late spring and harvested around September and October, when the terraces turn gold, which is the loveliest time to visit. Many of the families here run homestays, offering a floor mattress under a mosquito net, a shared meal of rice, vegetables and pork, and a drink of corn wine if you wish.

   The road is another matter. Surfaces vary from smooth concrete to broken tarmac and mud, particularly after rain, and landslides sometimes block the route in the wet season, which runs from May to September. Corners are blind, and water buffalo, motorbikes and pigs share the lane. Ride slowly, watch for people, and keep out of the way of lorries. Leave time to stop, since the valley's pleasures lie in stopping.

   Fuel is available in small roadside shops, though supplies are limited, and it is wise to fill up in the main towns. Ha Giang city, the provincial capital, is the nearest large town and has proper stations and services. Bring cash, since cards are rarely accepted, and a rain jacket, because showers come quickly. The evening meal, around a low table, with talk through gestures and smiles, is one of the best parts of the day.

7. Ha Giang finish

   Ha Giang closes the day.

Where this sits

Rides near here