Bac Ha

Located 110 km from Sapa, Bac Ha is not any less attractive than it’s neighbour. at the altitude of 1200m above the sea level, Bac Ha is famous for Can Cau saturday market and Bac Ha Sunday market, there are plenty of attractions to discover in this small town such as Ban Pho village, palace of Hmong King Hoang A Tuong, Bac Ha is also famous for corn wine, Tam Hoa plum, Bac Ha chilli sauce and Thang Co dish.

For most foreign tourist, the main aim of coming to Bac Ha is the hill tribe markets, of which Bac Ha Sunday market is the best. Every Sunday, people of Hmong, Red Dzao, Zay travel tens of km over the mountain to reach the market, one can find everything here from customer goods to food, wine, rice, clothes, souvenirs and especially there is a section for trading buffaloes, horses, dogs, cats...people come here not only for trading, the market is considered as a social activity for mountainous people. Coming to Bac Ha market, one cannot miss a bowl of Thang Co, a local speciality cooked with horse, buffoloes, it is said that the pan that cooks Thang Co is never washed to keep the flavour. In winter days, people crowd around the Thang Co stall, drink Bac Ha wine made from rice or corn, Bac Ha wine is very very strong, after markets, young men can be seen sleeping right on the road, with their wives and horses waiting beside.

Ban Pho village is 2km from centre of Bac Ha, the village is inhabited by Flower Hmong people, this is where the famous Tam Hoa plum is grown, in Spring time, throngs of trucks coming to Bac Ha to buy plum and bring to Hanoi and other provinces, in the village, there is Hoang A Tuong palace, considered by Hmong people as their King in the French colonial time. over many decades, the palace still retains its original architecture of the old time.
Many tourists stay the night in Bac Ha to visit the morning markets and travel to Sapa the following days. There are a few hotels in Bac Ha.