Northern Mountains

Adventure.com • 10th July 2026

Vietnam’s Highlander communities built Vietnam’s iconic rice terraces. Could they now lose the right to guide visitors through them?

In Vietnam’s northern mountains, tourism has expanded opportunities, raised incomes, and given visitors a rare window into local life. But as the country modernizes, some fear the communities that built Sa Pa’s tourism industry could be left behind.

Vietnam Coracle • 14th October 2014

Hà Giang Loop | A Guide for Motorbikers

The definitive guide to Vietnam's extraordinary motorbike experience: itineraries, accommodation, tour companies, cultural context and more.

Vietnam Coracle • 19th November 2014

Ban Gioc Waterfall | Travel Guide

This guide focuses on the waterfall and surrounding area, including places to see and things to do, followed by information about accommodation, food and drink, transportation, and a map.

DestinAsian • 6th December 2021

Natural Order

With its rippling rice terraces, stilt-house villages, and soaring limestone peaks, the Pu Luong Nature Reserve is poised to become one of northern Vietnam’s most appealing destinations. But can it do so without losing its unspoiled appeal?

Vietnam Coracle • 6th March 2024

Hà Giang City Guide

Like many modest provincial capitals in Vietnam, Hà Giang City is an enjoyable place to while away a day or two. Traffic is light, the residents are friendly and there are a handful of things to see and do. While the architecture is nothing to write home about, the city’s setting – ringed by jungled mountains and sliced in two by a river – is undeniably appealing. The Sông Lô (Blue River) is brown and full of tangled ree...

Vietnam Coracle • 29th May 2025

Đom Đóm Farm | Thái Nguyên

Đom Đóm Farm sits in the hills of Thái Nguyên, a province that many Vietnamese associate with green tea production. The province is part of a broader geographical zone sometimes called trung du, which loosely translates as ‘midlands’, and refers to a chain of provinces between the mountains close to China and the Red River Delta, including Phú Thọ, Bắc Giang and the southern half of Tuyên Quang (among others). The landscapes here ar...

Vietnam Coracle • 14th June 2024

Dong Van Cafe Scene | Ha Giang

The northernmost major settlement on the Hà Giang Loop, Đồng Văn is an ancient market town with an exciting (and unexpected) cafe scene. Despite its skyrocketing popularity, Hà Giang Province remains a far-flung, intrepid and somewhat obscure corner of Vietnam. Towns here offer little in the way of cafes, bars and restaurants – and that is part of the province’s appeal. Still, after days spent settling for late-night inst...

Vietnam Coracle • 4th April 2024

P'apiu Resort | Ha Giang

P’apiu Resort is one of Vietnam’s most indulgent and expensive properties. Sitting atop a forested hill named P’apiu in the local Tày language (hence the apostrophe, which doesn’t exist in Vietnamese script), this all-inclusive resort only has four villas, each one a gigantic refuge in which to luxuriate. Even when the resort is full, you’d probably never know it, as you end up eating, drinking and lounging in and around your villa,...

 Vietnam Coracle • 21st March 2023

Tuyen Quang Magic '8' Loop

Under 100km from Hanoi, the terrestrially craggy and ethnically diverse province of Tuyên Quang lays hidden in plain sight. Like most areas of northern Vietnam that few can pinpoint on a map, the roads, which hug rivers, circle limestone karsts, bisect pomelo farms and vault mountain passes, make for an intrepid, rewarding and yet peaceful motorbiking experience. Encircled by more familiar northern destinations, the Tuyên Q

Vietnam Coracle • 2nd February 2024

Sky Path Hike | Ha Giang

Who might have thought that the highlight of Ha Giang would have nothing to do with motorbikes? Take on the Sky Path Hike with this how-to guide.

Mabuhay (Philippine Airlines) • 2nd September 2019

Run - Don't Walk - through the Mountains Near Hanoi

For trail runners, Hoang Lien National Park, 300km northwest of Hanoi, is the stuff of dreams. Waterfalls of rice terraces and ribbons of green-tea trees wrap around the lower slopes, while evergreen forests creep up to jagged peaks, which can reach to heights of up to 3,143m.

Mabuhay (Philippine Airlines) • 2nd February 2020

Homie Homestay: Part of the Community

Be it rain or shine, the Lung Cu Flag Tower is always a commanding presence. Located more than 400km north of Hanoi, right by the border with China, the 30m-high flag tower soars over Ha Giang, a province in the northernmost tip of Vietnam known for its dizzying ethnic diversity and ribbon-like roads that coil around jagged mountains.