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HANOI - LUANG PRABANG
Escalating the most spectacular mountain range in Vietnam—if not the whole of Southeast Asia—this Hanoi-to-Luang Prabang bike trip presents stunning views and rare cultural encounters. Challenging inclines and scintillating descents make our trail, which winds through Sapa’s grooved hillsides, up Vietnam’s highest mountain pass and through enchanting tribe villages. Rarely traveled by tourists, these remote valleys and peaks make this trip the ultimate mountain biking adventure.
Starting in Hanoi, Vietnam, we take the train to the scenic hill-station of Sapa, a village built by the French in a valley almost exclusively inhabited by tribal Montagnards. Here, discover the stunning mountain trails through Indochina's highest peaks, including the towering Mount Fansipan.
Where mountains dip to form basins rest Lai Chao and Fansipan valleys, which are as isolated as they are beautiful. Home to a bewildering number of tribes, we’ll ride through a land still untouched by the modern world.
Continuing on, we’ll climb the region’s 2,000m mountain pass into the land known by the local Hmong people as "Beyond the Clouds." The subsequent exciting descent also offers outstanding sceneries through local tea plantations, tribal communities and vibrant countryside. We’ll cycle into the picturesque Na River gorge, through the surrounding hills and into Dien Bien Phu, the historic site of the Viet Minh’s decisive victory over the French. We will spend the day touring the battlefields where Ho Chi Minh and his indefatigable military defeated the colonial French in a decisive, and unexpected, victory.
Leaving Dien Bien Phu, we’ll bike into Laos. Agrarian local life and untamed topography means that most of the population lives in bamboo huts that cling to the sides of scarred, limestone hillsides. Regionally reputed as the Shangri La of Southeast Asia, Laos retains a rare innocence and charm that we will encounter along the way. We’ll finish our bicycle trip in atmospheric Luang Prabang.
A true cycling expedition, the mountain scenery on this tour is nothing short of awesome.
TRIP PROFILE
Our tour is the ultimate mountain bike adventure. After an overnight train ride from Hanoi, we ride 800 kilometers through some of the most spectacular mountain scenery anywhere in the world.
The roads are a mixture of good asphalt, broken or potholed roads and some off-road cycling tracks. Although the riding is tough, it is very enjoyable. Anyone who enjoys riding hills and remote valleys will love this tour. The scenery really is fantastic, and the people are extraordinarily colorful and friendly.
This trip is supported by a mixture of jeep, motorbike and air-con buses. Due to the nature of some of the trails, the jeep cannot follow during some sections. We then will have motorbike support and rendezvous points with the support vehicle.
| ITINERARY (12 days /11 nights, starting in Hanoi, Vietnam and finishing in Luang Prabang, Laos) | |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Meet in Hanoi for sightseeing before catching the overnight train to Lao Cai. |
| Day 2 | Arrive in Lao Cai and make short transfer to Sapa. In the afternoon, cycle a warm-up ride into the valley and into several small, tribal villages. |
| Day 3 | Ride to the village of Ta Phin, then cycle through the hills of Sapa where we'll see many minority villages. There may be sections on this ride where the bike will have to be carried, but not for long. |
| Day 4 | Climb Tram Ton pass--the highest road pass in Vietnam at 2000m. Then descend into countryside, tea plantations and small communities. Overnight in Tam Duong. |
| Day 5 | Get an early start to cycle mountain paths to Pa-So. We'll then follow the Na River into the nearby gorge--a hard and beautiful ride. |
| Day 6 | Riding through these remote hills, this day features probably the most beautiful ride on the tour, but it's also very challenging. We'll ride through many small tribal communities and end near Dien Bien Phu. |
| Day 7 | We'll take the day to explore the historic Dien Bien Phu, starting with a tour of the museums, cemeteries and French war bunkers. The rest of the day is free. |
| Day 8 | We'll start the day cycling some gentle hills until we reach the Vietnam-Laos border where our trails rises to some challenging climbs. After Laos's immigration, we then get to make the dirt-road descent into Tat Muang Khua- a town on the riverside. |
| Day 9 | Ride through jungle and rice fields into Udom Xai. |
| Day 10 | Climb the Laotian mountians into the Hmong villages, which features incredible scenery over the area that was bombed during the 1970's "Secret War." In the afternoon, we'll descend through the region's last remaining rainforest. |
| Day 11 | Cycle the hills along the Nam Ou River. We'll see some interesting villages along the way, and we'll end in Luang Prabang. |
| Day 12 | The morning is yours to explore the historic and beautiful city of Luang Prabang before heading to the airport. |
| FACTS & FIGURES | |
|---|---|
| Tour Cost | USD $1650 - Single Supplement USD $200 |
| Bike Hire | USD $160 * This is not included in tour price. |
| Total Distance | 800 km |
| Number of Days | 12 days/11 nights |
| Number of Cycling Days | Eight full days and one half day. |
| Road Surface | The roads for this bike tour are a mixture of good asphalt, broken or potholed roads and some off-road cycling tracks. You should be confident of your physical condition and bike handling skills. |
| Support | 4WD jeeps and, where required, motorbike support. |
| Group Size | Minimum 2; Maximum 16 |
| Guides & Staff | The bike tour will be supported by an experienced SpiceRoads cycling guide, as well as drivers and assistants. For groups of 8 or more, an additional local guide will also support the tour. |
| Accommodation | Due to the remoteness of this tour, most of the accommodation will be tourist class hotels. All hotels will be clean, comfortable and include private facilities, such as hot water, etc. |
| Meals | Starting with dinner on the first day, all meals are provided for except dinner on day 3 and lunch and dinner on days 7 and 12. |
| Biking Grade |
4.5 out of 5
|
| Scenery |
5 out of 5
|
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