Hanoi to Luang Prabang Mountain Biking Tour

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 travelled 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 colourful 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.

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Itinerary / Highlights

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. The scenery is a
good contrast the previous day and the ride is a tad more challenging.
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 picturesque gorge which
makes for another wonderful but hard 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 in 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 trail rises to some
challenging climbs. After Laos's immigration, we take the mainly downhill road to Muang Khua
Day 9 Ride through jungle and rice fields into Udom Xai.
Day 10 Climb the Laotian mountains 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 rainforest down to the river valley at Nong Kiau.
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.

Other Details

Accommodation Details

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.