Cao Bang Heritage Trail 3D2N

We pick you up from your Old Quarter hotel anytime between 6:00 AM and 5:00 PM depending on that day's bus schedule. The bus takes around 6 hours. You arrive in Cao Bang late and check into a city hotel for a proper sleep before the tour begins. Note: Departures from Sapa, Ha Giang, Ninh Binh, and Cat Ba are also available on request.

Brocade weaving, the birthplace of modern Vietnam, and Angel Eye Mountain at golden hour. Around 130 km of riding with at least 5 breaks.

1. 7:30

   Office briefing and route introduction

   Meet your guide and Easy Rider at our office in Cao Bang City. Quick safety briefing, gear check, and a run-through of the day's stops.

2. 8:00

   Local breakfast

   A small local eatery for a proper Cao Bang breakfast – banh cuon or pho with bone broth. Refuel before the road.

3. 9:30

   Luong Noi Brocade Weaving Village

   The Tay people of Luong Noi have been weaving brocade for around 500 years, and this is the only village in Ha Quang district that still preserves the ancient techniques and tools. Around 30 looms are still in active use, all built entirely from natural bamboo by the Tay themselves.

4. 10:30

   Pac Bo Historical Site

   A Special National Relic Site of Vietnam and one of the most important historical places in the country. On 28 January 1941, after 30 years abroad, Ho Chi Minh secretly crossed the Chinese border and chose this remote cave – called Coc Bo, meaning "headwaters" in the Nung language – as the first base of the Vietnamese revolution.

   View a larger photo of Pac Bo Historical Site
5. 12:00

   Lunch at Pac Bo village

6. 13:00

   Ride to Angel Eye Mountain

   Back on the bikes. The road weaves through karst valleys and rice fields – plenty of natural photo stops along the way.

7. 14:30

   Angel Eye Mountain

   A natural circular hole about 50m wide and 50m above the lake pierces straight through this limestone tower, framing the sky like a giant eye. Geologists believe it was formed by tectonic uplift over hundreds of millions of years. The Tay locals call it Phja Piot – "mountain with a hole." It was officially listed as a National Scenic Landscape in 2021. At golden hour, the light pours through the eye and the cliffs glow – the photo everyone comes for.

   View a larger photo of Angel Eye Mountain
8. 166:30

   Ride to Phia Thap Incense Village

   Check in at the homestay. Drop your bags, take a walk around, settle in.

9. 19:00

   Family-style dinner at the homestay

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Incense, paper, bamboo hats, yin-yang tiles, and a sunset ridge walk. Around 150 km of riding with at least 5 breaks.

1. 7:30

   Breakfast at the homestay

2. 8:00

   Phia Thap Incense Village walkabout

   A Nung An ethnic village where around 50 families have been making incense entirely by hand for generations. Everything is natural – bamboo, tree bark, sawdust, and wild bau hat leaves used as glue. The craft has been recognised as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage of Vietnam. When the village dries the incense in the sun, every surface is covered in red and yellow bundles – one of the most photographed scenes in Northern Vietnam. Incense sticks are central to the worship culture of Tay and Nung communities across the Northern provinces.

   View a larger photo of Phia Thap Incense Village walkabout
3. 8:45

   Dia Tren Paper Village

   A Nung An traditional papermaking village where the craft has been passed down through generations. The ivory-white, durable paper is used in daily life and traditional ceremonies, and is made entirely from tree bark soaked, pounded, and coated by hand. The link between paper and incense isn't accidental – the two crafts have been intertwined in Tay-Nung ritual culture for centuries.

4. 10:00

   Co Rao Bamboo Conical Hat Village

   Another Nung An village where the unique craft of bamboo conical hat-making has been maintained and developed from generation to generation. The hats are woven from local bamboo using techniques specific to this community – a smaller, lesser-known but equally beautiful craft tradition.

5. 11:00

   Lung Ri Yin-Yang Tile Village

   Tucked into the mountains of Tu Do commune, Quang Hoa district, this is a Nung ethnic village famous for crafting yin-yang tiles, also called trough tiles. These are the same tiles you'll see on every traditional Tay and Nung stilt-house roof across Northern Vietnam. The craft has weathered centuries of change, and today only a handful of households still uphold the tradition – making this visit one of the last chances to see it being practised.

6. 12:30

   Lunch in Quang Uyen

   A small, lively local town. Refuel here – the road ahead has fewer stops.

7. 15:00

   Ba Quang Grass Hill Panorama

   A short walk uphill reaches a 360-degree ridge view across rolling grass hills shaped by hundreds of millions of years of limestone formation.

   View a larger photo of Ba Quang Grass Hill Panorama
8. 16:00

   Ride to second night accommodation

9. 17:30

   Arrive and rest

   Hot shower, dinner, and a real rest. Tomorrow is the big day.

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The grand finale day. Around 130 km of riding with at least 6 breaks.

1. 7:00

   Breakfast at the homestay

2. 8:00

   Nguom Ngao Cave (Second Route)

   A 400-million-year-old limestone cave system, discovered in 1921 and recognised as a National Scenic Spot in 1998. It's part of the UNESCO Non Nuoc Cao Bang Geopark. We take the new "Second Route" – only opened to visitors since 2022 – which is quieter and more atmospheric than the main path. The route winds past three iconic chambers: the "Four Pillars of Heaven," the coral-and-dragon-boat formations, and the glittering "treasure chamber." Bring a light layer; the cave stays cool year-round.

3. 11:00

   Truc Lam Phat Tich Ban Gioc Pagoda

   Inaugurated on 15 December 2014, this is the first pagoda ever built on Vietnam's northern border – a symbolic site for the country. Built on Phia Nham Mountain just 500m from the waterfall, it offers the best elevated panoramic view of Ban Gioc from above. Traditional Vietnamese architecture with ironwood pillars and terracotta tile roofs, plus a 1.5-ton bronze bell tower.

   View a larger photo of Truc Lam Phat Tich Ban Gioc Pagoda
4. 11:40

   Ban Gioc Waterfall

   The largest waterfall in Southeast Asia and the 4th-largest cross-border waterfall in the world – 30m tall, 300m wide, sitting on the Vietnam–China border along the Quay Son River. We take a bamboo raft to the foot of the falls – the closest view you can legally get.

   View a larger photo of Ban Gioc Waterfall
5. 12:30

   Lunch near Ban Gioc

6. 15:00

   Trekking Ngoc Con Valley

   A wild, less-touristed viewpoint on the Vietnam–China border, with rice fields, Tay-Nung villages, and the Quay Son River winding through. We trek a stretch as the light turns golden – the kind of sunset you don't easily forget. If the weather turns rainy, your guide will swap in a different village or push this stop to the next day for safety.

7. 16:30

   Ride back to Cao Bang City

8. 8:30

   Sleeper bus to Hanoi

   End of tour. Onward connections to Sapa, Ha Giang, Ninh Binh, Cat Ba, or Ha Long available on request.

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