Northwest Vietnam

You will be welcomed and transferred to our hotel in the center of town. In the evening before heading out to dinner, there will be a briefing as to what will be happening on the challenge. Tonight we have tickets for the famous Water Puppet show.

After breakfast we will head North West to Hoa Binh town. After lunch we will cycle through the valley, the hills and the sugar cane, orange and corn plantations and get an introduction to the stilt-house villages of the Muong and Thai peoples of the Mai Chau valley. Tonight we will stay in a stilt house of the Thai people.

We will take breakfast with the local family then drive out of the village to begin our challenge. The road between Mai Chau and Son La is where you will begin to savor the spectacular mountain panoramas of the North West. Son La province is populated by various ethnic groups including the Ma, H'Mong, Dao, Muong, Kinh, Khmer, Tay, Thai and so on.

One hour by bus takes us to the top of the Pha Din pass from where you can freewheel your bike down through stunning, rural scenery where limestone mountains rise out of the valley floor. Our night stop at Dien Bien Phu is the site of the longest and most ferocious battle of the Indochina war (1954) where the French were defeated and forced to withdraw from Vietnam. This was one of the most important battles of the 20th century.

A short ride around the historical town of Dien Bien Phu in the morning. After the last few days a soft riding day is really welcome. It also gives us a chance to visit the battlegrounds and museums and gain an understanding of how this battle changed history.

Today we cycle along the windy roads that snake through the beautiful countryside that characterizes this part of the country. At times the roads are steep but the stunning panoramas afforded us more than compensate for any hardships.

After breakfast we cycle through more magnificent mountain scenery en route to Paso. Along the way we pass through several different minority villages and you will be in awe of the toughness of these people in terms of maintaining traditions and seemingly untouched by modern influences.

Today is a hard day as we continue on winding our way through the scenic hills and ascend the Tram Ton pass (2120m), one of the highest mountain passes in Vietnam, to reach our finishing line in Sapa (1600m).

We have a full day to see some of Sapa's most colorful and interesting sights by bicycle. These include the Red Dao village of Ta Phin, nestled on the floor of a beautiful valley and the picturesque Tay people of Ta Van village.

Today we are free and at our leisure. We can chat with the native people and explore the local market. At 17.00, we will drive to Lao Cai station to catch the overnight train back to Hanoi.

Will be transferred to the airport for your departure flight.