Bac Ha District

Why Bac Ha District is special ?

Bắc Hà is a rural district of Lào Cai Province in the Northeast region of Vietnam. It is the capital of the region of the Flower Hmong, one of the 54 minorities of Vietnam and of the six groups of Hmong people. It is famous for its Sunday morning market, where thousands of locals gathered, the women dressed in their very intricate handmade costumes (it takes three to five months to embroider one by hand), as well as for the Saturday morning smaller market of Can Cau, 18 kilometres (11 mi) north of Bắc Hà. The town is enjoying an economic boom thanks to tourism, centered on the markets and, more and more, excellent trekking in the mountains north of the town.

Bắc Hà is also famous for its Tam Hoa plums; the flowers of the tree must bloom three times before the fruits are ripe.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/

How to get to Bac Ha District?

By Bus

Buses leave from Lao Cai at various times during the day, and take roughly 2 hours and cost 60,000VND. Beware of a common scam: - bus conductors will always try to charge you US$10 or at least 150,000VND for the bus ride. Walk into the station, 300m south-west of the train station, down Phan Đình Phùng, where the price is written on the board, there will be no argument. Return buses leave Bac Ha at various times during the day. Last bus back to Lao Cai is at 3pm.

Sunday tours from Sapa which take in the market and often another stop or two on the way, leave at 7am from Sapa and return at 4-5pm. These cost between US$10-12. It's possible to get dropped off at Lao Cai on the way back to catch a night train back to Hanoi.

By Motorbike

It's possible to ride a motorbike from Lao Cai (63km), or even Sapa (110km). The road is now in good condition (Nov. '14).

Source: http://wikitravel.org