48 hours in Dong Van

Dong Van is a place not to be missed when coming to Ha Giang because it has many beautiful landscapes and famous tourist attractions.

Ha Giang with many places such as Hoang Su Phi, Meo Vac, Dong Van, Yen Minh is an ideal destination in the fall when the weather is nice, not too cold, the terraced fields turn yellow. Due to the long distance ( Hanoi is 280km from Ha Giang city and nearly 450km from Lung Cu), the difficult road, so the journey to Ha Giang usually takes 5-6 days to fully experience.

For Dong Van in particular, visitors should spend at least two days. The following suggestion is from Thu Phuong, a visitor who has been to Ha Giang many times, following the route from Pho Cao - Pho Bang - Sung La - Nha Vuong - Lo Lo Chai - Lung Cu and to the town center. "These places all have concrete roads, convenient to travel by car or motorbike," Phuong said.

Day 1

Morning and noon

Start your two-day tour of Dong Van with breakfast at Pho Cao.

"If you come to Pho Cao during the market day, take a walk around to have a full breakfast," Phuong said. Suggested dishes include five-color sticky rice, banh bo, thang co, Chinese sausage, smoked meat, bamboo rice, au tau porridge, and corn wine. If you don't come to the market day, you can still find these dishes scattered throughout the commune.

The journey continues to other locations on Highway 4C, each location will take about 1-3 hours, the distance between suggested locations is about 15-35 km.

Coming to Pho Bang, visitors will feel time passing slowly. This is home to the Chinese and Mong communities with more than 500 people. The town still retains its simple, rustic and ancient appearance. Pho Bang is somewhat isolated and little known. "To get to town, from Highway 4C you have to go another 5 km," Phuong said.

Buckwheat flowers bloom from October in Sung La. Photo: Xuan Phuong

Sung La is located under the cliffs of cat ears. The Mong people in Sung La often grow buckwheat on the high hillsides, the flowers will bloom brilliantly around October and November. In Sung La there is "Pao's House", a house built by the locals in 1947, which is the setting for the movie "Pao's Story". The front yard is paved with stone, planted with plum, apricot, peach, typical trees of the region. The house has beautiful architecture, the landscape will be even more beautiful in the season of apricot, peach, plum blossoms. This destination charges 10,000 VND per visitor.

The journey along Highway 4C continues with the Royal Palace , built in the early 20th century, imitating the architecture of the Qing Dynasty (China). The palace is shaped like a turtle's shell with rows of tall cypress trees. The two surrounding walls are built of rubble, with loopholes and guard posts. The palace has three stilt houses. The main house faces the gate, two outbuildings are parallel and perpendicular to the main house. All three houses, from columns, rafters, floors, walls, and roofs, are made of precious wood.

Leaving the Vuong residence, visitors continue along Highway 4C to Ma Le intersection, turn left onto Lung Cu road. Lo Lo Chai village is located right at the foot of Lung Cu flagpole.

Evening

Dinner and overnight in Lo Lo Chai village, where Lo Lo and Mong families live. This is a place that still preserves almost all of the ancient culture, from material and spiritual life, architecture of rammed earth houses with tiled roofs, traditional crafts such as embroidery, carpentry or festivals, folk dances.

A room at Lolo Village Homestay. Photo: Booking

There are many homestays here, of which Lolo Village Homestay is chosen by many tourists because of its beautiful location, overlooking Lung Cu flagpole. "This place has 7 bedrooms, prices range from 700,000 VND to 1.2 million VND for a room for 2 to 4 people," Phuong said.

Day 2

Morning and noon

Wake up early in the morning in the fresh air of the Northern mountains. If you come here in winter, the weather will be very harsh, the temperature can drop to 0, even freezing, affecting your travel and experience. But currently the weather in Ha Giang is cool, the lowest temperature is about 20 degrees Celsius.

Breakfast and coffee at Cuc Bac restaurant. The restaurant is located right at the foot of Lung Cu flagpole, less than 1 km from the Vietnam - China border. This is a place not to be missed when visiting the northernmost point of the country. The restaurant was built and opened in 2015 by Mr. Ogura Yasushy - a Japanese who has lived in Vietnam for many years and especially loves Ha Giang, then handed over to a Lo Lo family to manage.

Lung Cu flagpole seen from Lo Lo Chai village. Photo: Xuan Phuong

After resting, visitors leisurely move to Lung Cu flagpole. "To reach the top of the flagpole, you will have to climb more than 800 steps, so you should wear flat shoes for ease of movement. The stairs to the flagpole are divided into three stages, each stage will have a waiting area for resting or sightseeing," Phuong said.

Standing on the top of Dragon Mountain from the flagpole, visitors will see the majestic natural scenery, two lakes considered as two dragon eyes - traces of two sinkholes. These are two rare lakes in the Dong Van stone plateau. Entrance ticket to the flagpole for adults is 25,000 VND, children are free.

Evening

Returning to Dong Van town center, about 35 km away, visitors stroll around the old town and drink coffee at Pho Co cafe.

This is a house located at the corner of the market right in the center of Dong Van town, in a house that is over 100 years old, leaning against the mountainside, one of the few ancient houses that still exist today in Dong Van, bearing the mark of traditional indigenous architecture mixed with Chinese architecture. Drinks are typical dishes such as coffee and tea with prices ranging from 25,000 VND to 55,000 VND.

Banh cuon, a typical dish in Ha Giang. Photo: Xuan Phuong

In the evening, eat the famous Ha Giang rice rolls at Mrs. Ha's restaurant at 31 Old Street. This is a three-generation rice rolls restaurant, served for breakfast or dinner. Unlike rice rolls dipped in fish sauce in many regions, Ha Giang rice rolls are eaten with broth simmered with pork bones, so they have a sweet taste. According to locals, because of the cold mountainous climate, eating rice rolls with broth will warm you up. The restaurant also has five-color sticky rice. A meal costs from 25,000 VND to 40,000 VND.

There are many other dishes to try around the old quarter, such as five-color sticky rice and au tau porridge, suitable for a late dinner. "Moc Mien porridge shop is a recommended address," Thu Phuong said.

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