North Vietnam Ethnic Trails

Day 1

● Hanoi ▸ Lao Cai ▸ Muong Hum
● 7 hours’ travelling / multiple photography stops

We will leave Hanoi early in the morning and reach Lao Cai for lunch with plenty of photography talk in the minibus. With a full stomach we will zigzag between the rice terraces, more beautiful the ones than the others until the village of Muong Hum nestled at the foot of the mountains with of course photo stops almost every bend, well almost… We will spend the late afternoon above in the tea plantations to photograph the sunset with a superb view over a splendid mountain.

Dinner and night at our Giay ethnic friend’s home.

Day 2

● Muong hum ▸ Y Ty ▸ Muong Hum
● 3 hours’ travelling / 6 hours of photography

We will start the day by heading to the weekly market of Y Ty, situated just across China, on the other side of the valley. The road to it as well as the encounters with the local population will inspire you. The market offers a multitude of colorful costumes and head coverings from various ethnic groups, such as the Ha Nhi, Phu La, White Hmong…

We will spend the afternoon discovering the mountainous landscapes and small villages surrounding Y Ty and on the way back to Muong Hum home some of my favorite rice terrace landscapes from the whole north Vietnam mountains.

Dinner and night at our Giay ethnic friend’s home.

Day 3

● Muong Hum ▸ Ta Van (Sapa valley)
● 3 hours’ travelling / 5 hours of photography

We will wake up just next to the multicolor market of Muong Hum, which takes place every Sunday. Muong Hun is home to the Giay people, whose women wear flashy, colorful shirts. They are well-tried traders, as they serve as intermediaries between the mountain ethnic groups and the Vietnamese living in the valley. We will meet with many other minorities such as Black Hmongs, Red Dao women wearing their conical hats, Ha Nhi people or White Hmongs.

After the market and a well-deserved breakfast we will take the road to Ta Van nestled in the beautiful Sapa valley.

We will spend our afternoon discovering the amazing Sapa valley trekking through the rice fields to the Lao Chai village Hmong village.

Dinner and night at our Ecolodge.

Day 4

● Ta Van ▸ Than Uyen
● 4,5 hours’ travelling / 5 hours of photography

This morning we go to a village of the Red Dao ethnic group where we will have the opportunity to make some beautiful portraits during the agrarian work. Then we will head for Than Uyen by going through the plains formed by Nam Na River.

The road from Sapa to Than Uyen is superb, meandering through hills covered with tea bushes until reaching Tram Uyen passage, dominated by Fansipan Mountain, culminating at 3143m. We will make numerous stops along the way to capture these magnificent landscapes.

In the late afternoon, we will stop in a traditional Thai village overlooking a large rice field and surrounded by enormous bamboos groves.

Dinner and night in Than Uyen.

Day 5

● Than Uyen ▸ Mu Cang Chai
● 1,5 hours’ travelling / 5 hours of photography

This morning we will leave Than Uyen very early to catch the first ray of lights over the magnificent of one of the spots of which we have the secret. A mountain whose entire flan is carved by literally dozens of rice terraces, carved over the last century that form a unique cascade of greenery. We will then explore the Lao Chai village before continuing our journey to Mu Cang Chai.

In the afternoon we will begin the discovery of the beauties of the Mu Cang Chai region climbing up to the Man Xoi viewpoint.

Dinner and night at our Ecolodge.

Day 6

● Mu Cang Chai, rice terrace paradise

Mu Cang Chai holds some of the most impressive rice terraces in the country and is listed as a Vietnam National Heritage site. Throughout the day, we will have plenty of occasions to observe the H’mong people going about their daily lives and working in the fields.

In the morning, we will visit Ze Xu Phinh area, and in the afternoon the La Pan Tan “Rice Canyon”. If the time permits, we will also visit the beautiful rice fields of Che Cu Nha.

Dinner and night at our Ecolodge.

Day 7

● Mu Cang Chai

Today we will continue our discovery of the Mu Cang Chai valley by going to the most beautiful viewpoints of the valley that I’ve researched and discovered over the years.

We will have a great opportunity to mix landscape photography with the mountains chiseled with terraces and people at work in the rice fields, by doing two great outings at sunrise and sunset.

Dinner and night at our Ecolodge.

Day 8

● Mu Cang Chai ▸ Hanoi
● Last photo review / 7 hours’ travelling / photography stops

This morning we will do our last photo editing session, followed by the final photo story presentations before heading back to Hanoi. On the road we will make a few stops when opportunities arise and we will reach Hanoi in the late afternoon.

End of the adventure.