Overview

The rainbow of bright bandanas, multicolored brocades, and dazzling merchandise that descends on Bac Ha Town every Sunday is truly a site worth visiting. This Bac Ha Market 1-Day Tour offered by Incredible Asia Journeys takes you from Sapa or Hanoi to the bustling market of Bac Ha, a communal meeting place for distant friends of various hill tribes of the region and the scene of much jubilation and positivity.

This Vietnam tour focuses on exploring the mini-communities of the vast Bac Ha Market, meeting the local people who trek for hours to meet their friends here every Sunday, buy food, sell merchandise, and revel in the festival atmosphere. Anything and everything is on offer at Bac Ha Market, from farming tools to working animals, the freshest food to locally-crafted rice wine, clothing to housewares, and the most genuine and attractive souvenirs that you can buy.

The Bac Ha Market 1-Day Tour gives you the morning at the active market of Bac Ha before moving onto the impressive and surprising H’mong King’s Palace in Bac Ha Town, after which we head to the scenic Ban Pho Village to try their famous corn wine.

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Places you’ll see

Lao Cai

Bac Ha

Sapa

Highlights

A visit to the festival of smiling faces and much activity at the exhilarating Bac Ha Market.
Speaking to the friendly local hill tribes and bargaining for their wares.
Having a lovely local breakfast and lunch in beautiful surrounds.
Marvelling at the unique architecture and valley views of the majestic H’mong King’s Palace.
Trekking along poetic scenery to the pretty hamlet of Ban Pho.

Itinerary

If coming from Sapa: Our guide will collect you from your hotel in Sapa Town at 7.30 am and transfer you to Lao Cai, where we will meet any customers coming from Hanoi, have a group breakfast and depart for Bac Ha Market.

If coming from Hanoi: After your arrival at Lao Cai train station, your driver and guide will meet you at the exit gate at about 8.30 am and take you to a local restaurant for breakfast. From here, we drive straight to Bac Ha Market right along the border with China.

Upon arriving at Bac Ha Market, we will delve into the local culture and discover how the locals work, play and relax in this colourful setting. We spend the morning browsing the various stalls of the ethnic people who gather here weekly to sell their wares; the smiling faces of the Flower H'mong, Phu La and Dao Tuyen hill tribes are a constant sight at Bac Ha. We will talk to some of the locals for an insight into what life is like in stunning Lao Cai Province and how special the feeling of market day is every week.

A local restaurant will be the location for lunch, after which we will leave Bac Ha Market and pay a visit to the Palace of the H’mong king, a grand castle of Western and Asian influences built in the 1920s for King Hoang A Tuong.

We will do a short trek to Ban Pho Village, a small H’mong community that enjoys the sorts of rippled rice terrace view for which Sapa is most well-known. Passing the international harbour at Lao Cai on the way back to the station, we will drop you off at 17.00pm in plenty of time for your overnight train back to Hanoi or your bus connection to the beautiful town of Sapa.

Our many thanks for joining Incredible Asia Journeys for this Bac Ha Market 1 Day Tour. We very much hope to see you again in the future!

Meals: Lunch

Notes: This tour only operates on Sundays. If coming from Sapa, the tour will depart at 07:30am. If coming from Lao Cai, the tour will depart at 08:30am