Ha Giang – the last frontier of Vietnam to the North. A region of extreme beauty with Karst formations, verdant valleys, roaring rivers and peaceful H’mong communities dotting the mountain sides. Ha Giang is a favorite place on our Vietnam photo tour.
Ha Giang lies 320 km to the North of Hanoi. Unless you want to make some side trips on the way, a constant ride following QL 2 will take approx. 8 -9 hours, either by car or motorbike. The road is well paved, given that at any time of the year there might be sections under maintenance. But generally speaking, it will take you a day to get there.
There are overnight buses departing daily from Hanoi, in case you need to save a night’s hotel. However, on our Vietnam photo tours, we tend to do this drive in day time, since there are opportunities to stop along the way.
What’s there for photography in Ha Giang?
To begin with, Ha Giang is the name of the province, whose capital is Ha Giang city. There’s yet anything striking in the city for photography, but it is the beginning of your next venture.
There are 2 basic routes, taking Ha Giang as the connecting point.
Hoang Su Phi – Photo tours to the rice terraces of Vietnam
Hoang Su Phi is a district of Ha Giang province, about 100 km (62 miles) from Ha Giang city. A half of this road threads through mountainsides, forests and valleys, making it’s extremely scenic. Hoang Su Phi is home to most stunning array of rice terraces in the whole province. Thanks to the steep terrain, the rice terraces here flow straight from a mountain top like a water fall, down to the valley, before surging to the other side.
Allow yourself 02 full days for photography in Hoang Su Phi, which gives you enough time to travel and photograph in the hubs of rice terraces such as Ban Phung, San Xa Ho, Then Chu Phin, Ban Luoc, Dan Van, Thong Nguyen. It takes around 1.5 hours riding to reach 1 of the mentioned places each way. You can stay in the town of Hoang Su Phi, where a number of simple hotels are available. If you’re looking for a more authentic photography, you might consider staying in one of the local home-stays. There, you’ll be treated with home-cooked meals and taste the mountain moonshine. Then, you can wander in communities and photograph the daily life of the ethnic people in Ha Giang.
Photography along the loop of Ha Giang – Quan Ba – Dong Van – Meo Vac – Ha Giang
This great loop is almost 350 km long (217 miles). This is a favorite section for our Vietnam photo tour to Ha Giang and has numerous stunning sections:
- The ride from Ha Giang – Quan Ba: Is about 2 hours. You can stay in Quan Ba instead of Ha Giang, if you want to skip city’s atmosphere. Around Quan Ba there are small communities surrounded with peaceful bucolic view. There are also different weekly markets for your photography.
- The ride from Quan Ba – Dong Van: This ride of 138 km (85 miles) takes around 5 hours including stops. Dong Van has a small array of old houses (located in the “Old Quarter” section), with earthen walls where the locals have lived in for many generations. Don’t miss wandering through this “Old quarter” as it is truly photogenic.
- While in Dong Van, you can travel to Lung Cu – the northernmost point of Vietnam. A tower stands 30 meter tall (90 ft) on top of a Karst formation, where the National flag is flown. This flag tower is a must see, offering panoramic view of the region.
The ride from Dong Van – Meo Vac: This 48 km road is home to one of the 4 greatest passes of Vietnam – Ma Pi Leng pass – which overlooks the mighty Nho Que river – a great source of hydro energy. This pass will give stunning panorama shots for your Vietnam photo tour.
Mountain market photography
In each above places (with the exception of Ha Giang city), there is a once-per-week market. This is when you can see the local minority people in their traditional costumes. They bring out the various domestic products for sale. These markets are incredible places to photograph life in northern Vietnam’s mountains. A place where shots you take might become history in a near future to come, as the “marts” are not far from showing signs of coming in.
Among our Vietnam photo tours, you might want to check our Escape to Heaven – the tour includes Ha Giang as a photography destination.
