7 Reasons To Visit Ha Giang, Vietnam

Ha Giang is a province with a long history and diverse culture. You will have the opportunity to explore important historical relics, such as the King Cat Temple, Pao Cultural House, Lung Cu Flagpole, Dong Van Market, etc. You will also learn about the unique cultural features of the ethnic minorities living here, such as H’Mong, Tay, Nung, Lo Lo, Giay, etc.

Ha Giang is a place with many beautiful natural landscapes like paintings. You will have the opportunity to enjoy famous landmarks, such as Ma Pi Leng Pass, Nho Que River, Quan Ba Twin Mountains, Sung La Valley, Dong Van Stone Plateau… You will also admire fields of buckwheat flowers, rape flowers, peach flowers, orchid flowers, apricot flowers…, creating colorful pictures of spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

Ha Giang is a province with many ethnic minorities living such as H’Mong, Tay, Nung, Lo Lo, Giay, etc. You will have the opportunity to experience the life of the local people, from eating, dressing, living, to working, entertaining, communicating. When you come here, you will have the opportunity to experience:

• You will stay in stilt houses, earthen houses, leaf houses, stone houses, and wooden houses, depending on each ethnic group.
• You will eat special dishes, such as Thang Co, armpit pork, Lam rice, Men Men, corn wine, etc.
• You will wear traditional colorful costumes such as brocade clothes, brocade scarves, brocade hats, brocade bags…
• You will work with the locals, such as plowing fields, harvesting rice, planting trees, raising animals, weaving fabric, embroidering…
• You will entertain with the locals, such as playing leaf flute, Sap dance, folk singing, Then singing, Khen dance, swing, shuttlecock kicking…
• You will communicate with the locals, learn about the stories, the folk verses, the proverbs, the customs…

Ha Giang is a province with many unique and interesting tourist spots, attracting many domestic and foreign tourists. You will have the opportunity to visit famous places, such as:

• Dong Van Global Geopark, where there are mountain peaks, caves, stalactites, and ancient fossils;
• The Dong Van Plateau, where there are villages, old houses, old streets, cultural houses, bearing the cultural features of ethnic minorities;
• Ma Pi Leng Pass, where there is the most beautiful mountain pass in Vietnam, located on a high mountain peak, overlooking the Nho Que River Valley;
• Lung Cu, where there is the Ha Giang flagpole, marking the northernmost point of Vietnam, where you can view the border with China;
• Lung Cam Cultural Village, where you can learn and experience the life of the indigenous ethnic people, where you can learn and taste unique dishes…;
• Dong Van and Khau Vai markets, where you can buy, exchange, socialize, date, entertain of many local ethnic groups. These are special markets, only open on holidays, Tet, or according to the lunar calendar…

Ha Giang has many Homestays and Resorts nestled in the mountains, offering tourists experiences close to nature and local culture.

• You will have the opportunity to stay in stilt houses, rammed earth houses, leaf houses, stone houses, wooden houses, thatched houses, which are simply decorated but cozy and convenient.
• You will admire the majestic mountainous landscapes, flower fields, terraced fields, rivers, lakes, beautiful sunrises, and sunsets.
• You will enjoy delicious meals, prepared from fresh, clean, local ingredients.
• You will interact with friendly, enthusiastic, hospitable hosts, learn interesting things about their life, culture, history.

Some notable Homestays and Resorts in Ha Giang:

P’apiu Resort: Located in Yen Dinh commune, Bac Me district, P’apiu Resort is a luxury resort for couples, with 3 separate villas, featuring the architectural style of the H’Mong, Dao, and Tay people. Each villa has a bedroom, bathroom, living room, kitchen, porch, jacuzzi, overlooking the mountains and terraced fields. P’apiu Resort also has a restaurant, dry sauna, room service, airport shuttle service, motorbike and bicycle rental service, tour booking service, laundry service, free Wi-Fi.

H’mong Village Resort: Located in Pa Vi commune, Meo Vac district, H’mong Village Resort is a resort in the style of a wooden house of the H’Mong people, with 6 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, living room, kitchen, porch, outdoor swimming pool. H’mong Village Resort has a view of the mountains and Meo Vac town, has a large garden, restaurant, 24-hour reception, room service, shuttle service for guests wanting to explore the surrounding area, motorbike and bicycle rental service, tour booking service, laundry service, free Wi-Fi.

Ha Giang has many unique, strange, delicious, and attractive dishes. Here, you will have the opportunity to enjoy dishes with the flavor of the mountains, made from the characteristic ingredients of the highlands.

You can enjoy some attractive dishes in Ha Giang:

Thang Co: A soup made from the offal of Horses, Buffaloes, Cows, or Pigs… of the H’Mong people, with the aroma of special spices, such as mac khen seeds, giang leaves, ginger, garlic, chili, fish sauce, sesame oil, coconut water, lemon juice… Thắng cố is eaten with bread, rolled cake, rice, noodles, vermicelli, pho, or raw vegetables, pickles…

Buckwheat Cake Ha Giang: A sticky cake made from buckwheat flour, triangular in shape, with green bean or red bean filling, sweet and rich in flavor. The buckwheat triangle cake is wrapped in banana leaves or dong leaves, steamed in a pot of boiling water. The buckwheat triangle cake is eaten with sugar, honey, or fruit jam.

Com lam Bac Me (Lam Rice): Rice cooked in bamboo tubes, fragrant and sweet, served with grilled meat or shrimp paste. Com lam Bac Me is made from sticky rice or ordinary rice, marinated with coconut milk, salt, sugar, corn wine, then put into a bamboo tube lined with banana leaves or dong leaves. The bamboo tube is grilled on charcoal until the rice is golden and fragrant.

Au Tau Soup: Porridge made from sticky rice and buffalo meat, rich and creamy, served with raw vegetables and pickles. Au Tau Soup is made from ấu tẩu, a special vegetable of Ha Giang, slightly bitter in taste, has the effect of relieving colds, reducing heat, detoxifying the body.

You will also have the opportunity to try unique dishes, such as:

Grilled moss: A dish made from rock moss, a type of aquatic plant, grilled on charcoal, sweet and chewy, served with apricot flower syrup or coconut milk. Grilled moss is a unique dish of the Tay people, considered a masterpiece of nature, has many nutritional values and health benefits.

Buffalo Gac Bep (Smoked buffalo): A dish made from fresh buffalo meat, marinated with spices and hung up in the kitchen, to let the kitchen smoke cook and dry it, fragrant and chewy, served with chili salt and raw vegetables. Smoked buffalo meat is a traditional dish of the H’Mong people, used in festivals, weddings, guest receptions.