Matt Ha Giang

On foot · 5 days

Forest & Stone

5 days · 4 nights · max 5 guests · two trek days

Two treks, one cliff. Open in the forest above Quan Ba, close in the Tay villages of Ha Giang — and camp on Ma Pi Leng in between.

Ask about this trip See the price

The experience

Most Ha Giang tours are the same tour: three days, thirty motorbikes, the same six photo stops, a bus back to Hanoi. It is a good trip. But if you would rather walk into a place than photograph it from the roadside, this is a different shape of week.

Forest & Stone opens and closes on foot. Day one is a full day trekking the forest and karst above Quan Ba, before you have seen a single viewpoint. Day five ends in the Tay villages just outside Ha Giang City — stilt houses, water wheels, and a waterfall almost nobody on the Loop ever reaches.

Between them sits a kayak on quiet water and a night camping on the white cliff of Ma Pi Leng, five hundred metres above the Nho Que River.

Two trekkers with packs climbing a narrow overgrown forest trail in the hills of Ha Giang

Duration

5 days

4 nights

On foot

2 trek days

+ the cliff walk

Group

2–5

always private

You travel by

150cc

with your own rider

Why this one

What makes it different

  • Two full trekking days

    Not one photo-stop stroll, but two proper days on foot — the Khau Lan forest above Quan Ba to open, the Tay villages and Waterfall No. 6 to close. Plus the cliff walk in the middle.

  • You sleep on Ma Pi Leng

    A tent on the ledge itself, 500m above the river. Sunset over the gorge, mist coming off the water at breakfast. Your gear goes ahead by motorbike — you carry a day pack and nothing else.

  • Villages other tours skip

    Thon Tha and Thon Thanh are Tay villages minutes from Ha Giang City, and almost every Loop tour drives straight past them to the bus station. You finish your week there, on foot, instead of in a car park.

  • You know who is guiding you

    Not a call centre, and not a driver you meet on the morning of departure. Your guide is Matthew or a local trekking guide he works with — and you will know their name before you arrive. The riders, cooks and homestay families are from the valleys we walk through.

The route

Day by day

Day 1 · Trekking day

Ha Giang → Khau Lan → Quan Ba

5–6 hours trekking · overnight in a Quan Ba homestay

  1. Arrive, then walk

    Your night bus gets in around 4:30am — you sleep, shower and eat first. We ride the short way north to Quan Ba, leave the bikes, and spend the whole day on foot.

  2. Khau Lan forest and karst

    Forest trails, limestone ridges and terraced fields between Dao and Hmong hamlets that no road reaches. The hardest walk of the week, taken while your legs are fresh.

  3. Evening

    Down into the valley for dinner and the night at a family homestay in Quan Ba.

Day 2 · Riding day

Quan Ba → Dong Van

An easy day on the bike · overnight in Dong Van

  1. Morning

    Can Ty Pass in the early light, then Yen Minh for lunch and the switchbacks of Tham Ma. The Hmong King's Palace at Sa Phin.

  2. Hemp, by hand

    An hour with a family in Thai Phin Tung who still process hemp the old way — stripping, pounding, indigo dyeing. You get your hands on the loom.

  3. Evening

    Into Dong Van. The old quarter is yours after dark: hundred-year-old shophouses, a coffee, dinner wherever smells best.

Day 3 · The night this trip is built around

Deo Gio → Khau Vai → the cliff

2.5 hours trekking · overnight in a tent on Ma Pi Leng

  1. Early — Deo Gio

    Coffee at a small place with the Chinese border in view. The sort of stop that exists because your guide knows the owner.

  2. Late morning — Khau Vai

    Ninety minutes in a kayak on still green water between limestone walls. No engine, no queue — and not the crowded Nho Que motorboat everyone else books.

  3. 2:30pm — the walk

    Five kilometres along a ledge cut into the white limestone, railed on the drop side, moderate and never technical. Around two and a half hours with stops.

  4. 5pm — camp

    Tents up, dinner cooked on the ledge, and sunset over Tu San Canyon. In the morning: mist on the water, and coffee before anyone else in the province is awake.

Day 4 · Easy day

White Cliff → Du Gia

2 hours trekking · overnight in Ha Giang City

  1. Sunrise, then out

    Up before six for the mist over the gorge, coffee at camp, then two hours back along the ledge to the road. Lunch in Pa Vi, below the cliff you slept on.

  2. The waterfall

    South through the quiet half of the province to Du Gia. The waterfall is cold and deep enough to swim — the reward for four days of walking, and the easy day on purpose.

  3. Back to the city

    The ride back to Ha Giang and a real bed — a hot shower, a proper rest, and legs ready for the final trek. Dinner in town.

Day 5 · Trekking day

Ha Giang City → Thon Tha → Thon Thanh

3–4 hours trekking · tour ends 5:30pm · night bus 9:00pm

  1. Straight from the city

    Breakfast, then a short ride out of Ha Giang City to where the trail begins — Thon Tha is only minutes away, so there is no long transfer to eat into your morning.

  2. On foot — Thon Tha and Thon Thanh

    Through two Tay villages on foot: thatched stilt houses on the edge of the rice terraces, water wheels, and a lunch cooked by the family whose home you sit in. Then down to Waterfall No. 6. Gentler than day one, by design.

  3. The last evening

    You finish at a Tay family's house around 5:30pm — hot shower, somewhere to repack, dinner with the family. We drive you to the night bus at 9pm.

Before you book

Honest numbers

What each day asks of you
DayWhat it involvesEffort
15–6 hoursHard — the big one
2Under 1 hourEasy
32.5 hoursModerate
42 hoursEasy
53–4 hoursModerate

Is this the right trip for me?

Day 1 is a genuine hill day — 5 to 6 hours on forest and karst trails. If you walk or hike regularly and can manage a long day out, you will love it. No exposure beyond the railed ledge, and you never carry more than a day pack. Age 14 and over.

When to come

  • Sep–Nov and Mar–May — The best months. Clear light, dry roads, comfortable temperatures.
  • Dec–Feb — Spectacular, and genuinely cold at altitude. Bring more layers than you think.
  • Jun–Aug — Green and wet, with the waterfalls at their best — and the months when landslides happen. I will tell you honestly if your dates are a bad window.

Good to know

Trip essentials

Included

  • Your guide, all five days
  • Border area permit — arranged before you arrive
  • 4 nights: 3 family homestays + 1 night camping
  • All camping gear, and gear transport to camp
  • All 15 meals and drinking water
  • 150cc motorbike with your own local rider
  • Pick-up and drop-off in Ha Giang City
  • Helmet, knee and elbow pads, raincoat, dry bag
  • Kayak and safety equipment at Khau Vai
  • Every entrance fee — no cash surprises
  • Hot shower and repack before your night bus
  • My phone, 24/7

Not included

  • Sleeper bus to and from Hanoi — booked at cost, about 400,000₫ return
  • Travel insurance — required, must cover trekking and camping
  • Drinks and personal expenses
  • Tips — appreciated, never expected

What to bring

  • A small backpack — clothes for 5 days and 4 nights. This is the only bag you carry.
  • Proper walking shoes — this trip has two trek days, not sandals
  • A warm layer for the cliff night
  • Light rain jacket, sun cream, swimwear
  • Power bank, and cash for coffee

The price

Everything in, one number

Leave your big suitcase at your hotel in Ha Giang — it will be there when you get back.

2 guests

$395

per person

3–5 guests

$345

per person

Private SUV instead of motorbike

+$250

for the group, not per person

If it rains on camping night: we will not put you on that ledge in a storm. We check the forecast 48 hours ahead and again on the morning of day three. If conditions are unsafe we move you to a private homestay room in Pa Vi village below the cliff, and attempt the cliff walk as a day trek on day four morning if the sky clears. Everything else runs as planned.

Minimum two guests. Private trip — I never merge groups. Travelling solo? Message me anyway.

To reserve: your passport photo page, your dates and your group size. That is all I need to start the permit.

Free cancellation up to seven days before. If I cancel for weather, you get everything back or a free date change — your call.

Next step

Tell me your dates

I will tell you honestly whether it is a good time to come, and which trip fits you.