The Ha Giang Loop

The ride, stop by stop

1. 1

   Day 1: Ha Giang to Yen Minh

2. The roadkm 0–26

   Up the valley

   QL.4CTwo-lane tarmac, mostly flat

   Highway 4C leaves Ha Giang and follows the valley north, staying between about 100 and 230 metres. Easy riding past villages and fields, but with local traffic, school children, dogs and livestock on the road. Several fuel stations.

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3. 1km 0.1

   Start

   Km 0 Obelisk, Ha Giang

   The marker at the start of Highway 4C, beside 26-3 Square in the centre of Ha Giang, is where Loop riders take their first photo. Most rental shops, guesthouses and tour companies are within a few streets. Set off early on day one: the mountains are usually clearest in the morning before cloud builds over the passes.

   Tip: Fill up on the way out; the last stations before Yen Minh are in and just beyond Tam Son, at about km 49 and km 57.

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4. The roadkm 26–57

   Bac Sum, Heaven's Gate and Tam Son

   QL.4CTwo-lane tarmac, long steep climb and descent

   From about 210 metres to over 1,100 metres at Heaven's Gate, then down through Tam Son to the valley floor at around 440 metres. Corners are tight and often blind, trucks and buses use the whole road, and fog is common near the top. Sound your horn before blind bends as local riders do.

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5. 2km 32.8

   Viewpoint

   Bac Sum Pass

   Allow 20 min

   

   After the flat run up the valley, Highway 4C climbs in a stack of hairpins from about 350 metres to over 650 metres in five kilometres. Pull-outs at the top look back down the switchbacks and over the valley you have just left. It is the first real view of the loop and a good place for a coffee.

   Tip: Trucks swing wide on these hairpins; stay on your side and don't stop on the bends for photos.

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6. 3km 44.2

   Viewpoint

   Quan Ba Heaven's Gate

   Allow 20 to 30 min

   

   Cổng Trời Quản Bạ, the pass at the top of the first big climb, a little over 1,100 metres. Just over the top the ground falls away to the Tam Son valley and the two rounded hills locals call the fairy mountains. This is the gateway to the Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark, and from here north the landscape is limestone.

   Tip: Fog often sits on the pass on winter mornings. Tam Son, just below, is the easiest lunch stop of day one.

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7. The roadkm 57–97.1

   To Yen Minh

   QL.4CNarrower tarmac, valley then climb and descent

   A quieter road along the valley, then a climb to almost 1,000 metres through pine forest and a winding descent into Yen Minh. After the rainy season expect broken edges and gravel where landslides have been cleared. No fuel station on this stretch.

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8. 4km 97.1

   Food

   Yen Minh

   Allow Overnight

   A small market town in a river valley and the usual first night of a four-day loop. Guesthouses and simple restaurants line the main road. The descent into town from the pine forest above loses about 400 metres in six kilometres, so arrive in daylight.

   Tip: There are fuel stations just past town, at about km 98 and km 100; fill up before the plateau.

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9. 2

   Day 2: Yen Minh to Dong Van

10. The roadkm 97.1–144.6

    Onto the karst plateau

    QL.4CTwo-lane tarmac, steep climbs

    The Tham Ma hairpins, then the Chin Khoanh bends and the Lung Cam valley, climbing to the loop's highest point near 1,490 metres above Sa Phin. Grey rock walls replace the forest, villages are small and far apart, and the wind can be strong and cold on the open plateau.

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11. 5km 108.5

    Viewpoint

    Tham Ma slope

    Allow 15 min

    Dốc Thẩm Mã, a tight run of hairpins that lifts the road from the Yen Minh valley towards the plateau, close to 1,000 metres at the top. The roadside lookout at the top is one of the classic photos of the loop, with the road snaking up the slope below you.

    Tip: Park well off the road at the lookout: riders coming up the hairpins can't see you until late.

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12. 6km 130.2

    Sight

    Vuong family palace, Sa Phin

    Allow 45 min

    

    Built in the early 1900s for the Vuong family, Hmong leaders who governed this part of the plateau, the palace is a fortified complex of stone and timber courtyards in a quiet valley just off Highway 4C. It is a national heritage site and one of the few historic buildings on the loop.

    Tip: There is an entrance fee. The road climbs to the highest point of the loop, close to 1,500 metres, just before the turn-off.

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13. 7km 139.9

    SightDetour

    Lung Cu flag tower

    Allow 1 hourAbout 25 km each way

    

    A flag tower on a hilltop at Lung Cu, near Vietnam's northernmost point and the border with China. Steps lead up the hill and stairs inside the tower to a platform under a huge national flag, with views over the plateau and into China. The side road leaves Highway 4C a few kilometres before Dong Van.

    Tip: Ride it on day two before checking in at Dong Van; the road is narrow and there is no reason to ride it in the dark.

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14. 8km 144.6

    Food

    Dong Van

    Allow Overnight

    

    The town at the heart of the plateau, under limestone cliffs. Its old quarter is a short row of traditional houses around the old market, and the town fills with stalls on market day. It is the usual second night, with plenty of guesthouses and places to eat.

    Tip: Fill up at the station at about km 146 as you leave: the next is in Meo Vac.

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15. 3

    Day 3: Dong Van to Du Gia, over Ma Pi Leng

16. The roadkm 144.6–167

    Ma Pi Leng to Meo Vac

    QL.4CTwo-lane tarmac cut into the cliff

    The famous stretch. The road climbs out of Dong Van to the monument at the top of Ma Pi Leng, then runs along the gorge wall with a long drop on the river side. Speeds are low and the views constant; the hazard is other riders and vans stopping wherever they like. Keep right, don't overtake on blind bends, and park only where the shoulder is wide.

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17. 9km 156

    Viewpoint

    Ma Pi Leng Pass

    Allow 30 to 60 min

    

    The road between Dong Van and Meo Vac is cut into the side of a gorge, with the Nho Que river a thin green line far below. It was built by hand between 1959 and 1965 by youth volunteers and local workers, part of what Vietnamese call the Happiness Road, and a monument and small museum stand at the top of the climb. Lookouts follow one after another for several kilometres.

    Tip: Stop only at the marked pull-outs; the road is narrow with a drop on one side, and buses use it too.

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18. 10km 166.9

    Food

    Meo Vac

    Allow 30 min

    

    A district town in a bowl of mountains at the far end of Ma Pi Leng, and an overnight stop for riders who split the loop differently. Its Sunday market is one of the biggest in the region, drawing people from the surrounding villages. Here the loop leaves Highway 4C for Provincial Road 176.

    Tip: Fill up here: there are two stations in town, and the next ones are about 17 km on and near Mau Due, at about km 185 and km 201.

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19. The roadkm 167–245.1

    Meo Vac to Du Gia

    ĐT.176Narrower provincial road, paved, broken in places

    Provincial Road 176 is the quiet half of the loop. It drops more than 1,000 metres from the hills above Meo Vac to Mau Due, under 300 metres, then climbs and falls again over a series of passes to Du Gia. The road is narrow, with patched or broken sections and occasional roadworks; take it slowly, especially after rain.

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20. 11km 245.1

    Food

    Du Gia

    Allow Overnight

    A village in a wide valley of rice fields, well away from the busier northern half of the loop. Homestays here are used to riders, and a waterfall with a pool where people swim is a short ride from the village. It is the usual last night of the four-day loop.

    Tip: There is a fuel station in Du Gia; fill up for the ride home, as the next is about 40 km away near Highway 34.

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21. 4

    Day 4: Du Gia back to Ha Giang

22. The roadkm 245.1–282

    Du Gia to Highway 34

    ĐT.176Narrow provincial road, winding

    Out of the valley over one more ridge, close to 1,000 metres, then a long winding descent to Highway 34 at under 200 metres. Traffic is light; watch for gravel on the corners and animals on the road through villages.

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23. The roadkm 282–313.1

    Highway 34 home

    QL.34Two-lane tarmac, easy

    An easy, mostly level run west into Ha Giang. It is the busiest road of the day, with trucks and buses, and there are fuel stations near the city.

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24. 12km 313.1

    Finish

    26-3 Square, Ha Giang

    Highway 34 brings you back into Ha Giang and to the square where you started. If you are heading on to Hanoi, buses leave from the city's bus station.

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