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Ha Giang Bike Tour in Vietnam: My 20 Favourite Photos!

byAlee Denham
November 27, 2016

I recently got back from a bike tour of the Ha Giang Province in Vietnam. This remote hill tribe region tends to be a bit off the beaten track and offers jaw-dropping landscapes in every direction. I can’t recommend it as a cycling destination highly enough!

This is a gallery of my favourite photos from the adventure with professional cyclist Paul van der Ploeg. You can see my 5kg packing list for the trip HERE and we also threw together a short documentary about our time available HERE.

The Ha Giang Bike Tour in Pictures:

ha giang bike tour
Riding out of Hanoi was busy, but quite manageable given the large roads that splay out from the centre.
ha giang bike tour
Within 30km we had found ourselves some quiet back roads that ran parallel to the busy trucking routes.
ha giang bike tour
It was an absolute delight riding through all of the small villages. Locals would often stop what they were doing and say hello!
ha giang bike tour
We spent a day on a boat on Ba Be Lake with towering 1500m high mountain peaks surrounding us. The biodiversity of this national park is outstanding, with 550 plant species, 353 butterfly species and 233 bird species recorded.
ha giang bike tour
There was so much excitement and friendliness as we climbed the first of the big mountains en route to the Ha Giang Province.
ha giang bike tour
By the time we had climbed beyond the clouds, we were feeling high and at peace with our surroundings.
ha giang bike tour
We took a short cut over the crest of our first long climb and the road quality deteriorated quickly. The Schwalbe Marathon tyres handled this rocky terrain surprisingly well.
ha giang bike tour
The children were very excited to see us in the mountain villages of the north, often joining us for a kilometre and giggling uncontrollably the whole time! It was very endearing.
ha giang bike tour
Despite our preconceived ideas, we found the road quality generally good enough for our Giant Contend road bikes with 28mm tyres. The hydraulic disc brakes on the bike made the tight hairpin corners not feel hairy at all.
ha giang bike tour
That said, sections of road works were very muddy, slippery and rocky and would be certainly better tackled with wider tyres.
ha giang bike tour
Riding at sunset is definitely the nicest time of day! By late afternoon, the traffic is almost non-existent on the mountain roads.
ha giang bike tour
Big suspension bridges carried us between two sides of the gorges. On the other side here was the mystical Ha Giang Province.
ha giang bike tour
The limestone karst topography in the north is ridiculous! Despite the hard hitting climbs, the views over endless mountains is worth the leg-busting effort.
ha giang bike tour
Paul showing off his bike handling skills on the famous road between Dong Van and Meo Vac.
ha giang bike tour
Cornering at speed on the exceptional Meo Vac road.
ha giang bike tour
This is one of the highlight roads in the Ha Giang Province, and certainly the most famous amongst tourists.
ha giang bike tour
Not only are there hundreds of bends, but the views down the valley and up to the peaks are breathtaking!
ha giang bike tour
Our most favourite section of road was in the Lũng Hồ district. With no traffic and endless views, it was an absolute delight to ride along.
ha giang bike tour
Approaching Du Gia down one of the narrow mountain roads.
ha giang bike tour
Climbing up one of the hardest hills in the Ha Giang Province, mostly due to extreme heat and very little sun protection from trees!

Have You Seen The Bikepacking Vietnam Adventure Doco Yet?

Author
Alee Denham
Alee is a bike and travel addict who has cycled through 100+ countries and doesn't really have any plans of stopping. Along the way, he creates technical resources, in-depth reviews, inspirational videos, how-to guides and more. If you've learned something from him, you can support his mission to create the best bike travel content HERE.
1 comment

  1. Love it!. I did a 6-day tour loop from Ha Noi this past summer and had a blast. Will definitely add this destination to my next Vietnam bike trip.

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