FAR NORTH-EAST
Parts of the Far North are particularly isolated and difficult to visit. However, this isolation adds to the region's beauty as many areas are still extremely unspoiled and distant from the popular tourist trails. To reach Ba Be lakes in Bac Can province is a challenge but one well worth pursuing. The road between That Khe and Lang Son, whose beautiful plunging ravines and is riddled with caves, hides a grim and bloody past and is also worth the effort to visit. To the North of Cao Bang is Pac Bo which is very near the cave in which Ho chi Minh lived when he first returned from China. The Far North of Vietnam is also the home of numerous ethnic minority tribes. They live in some of the most isolated places while subsisting through traditional means. Some of the tribes you may encounter on a visit to the Far North are the Tay, Nung, Zao, H'mong, and the San Chi tribes. Farther away in Ha Giang province, there are a variety of hill tribes numbering from several thousand members to only a few hundred people.
This trip to the Far North follows an itinerary which begins in Thai Nguyen, to the North of Hanoi, then heads North to Bac Can and the Ba Be lakes before moving Northwest to Cao Bang. From there the itinerary heads in a Southern direction through Dong Khe and That Khe to Lang Son, the other main gateway between China and Vietnam open to foreign visitors.
Ha Giang Town
Ethnic groups: H'Mong.Tay, Dao, Viet (Kinh), San Diu
Highlights: Dong Van Highland, Love Market of Khau Vai
BAC KAN PROVINCE
Capital: Bac Kan Town
Ethnic groups: Viet (Kinh), H'Mong, Tay, Dao
Highlights: ATK Tunnels, Ba Be Lake and National Park
LANG SON PROVINCE
Ethnic groups: Nung, Tay, Viet (Kinh), Dao...
Highlights: Tarn Thanh Grotto, Ky Lua Market, Mau Son Mountain
THAI NGUYEN PROVINCE
Ethnic groups: Viet (Kinh), Tay, Nung, San Diu...
Highlights: Museum of the Cultures of Viet Nam' Ethnic Groups, Nui Coc Lake, Phuong Hoang Cave
CAOBANG PROVINCE
Ethnic groups: Tay, Nung, Dao, H'Mong, Viet (Kinh), San Chay
Highlights: Pac Bo Site, Ban Gioc Waterfall