I am in awe – and high as a kite. Quite literally, at an altitude of around 4,920ft – but also chemically, brain drowning in dopamine as I scan the view around me: an ocean of billowing mountains, rising in giant globules like waves in a choppy sea, coloured apple-green against a bluebell sky.
This isn’t the work of some mind-bending edible, but rather that most powerful of substances: adrenaline. For the past two days, I’ve been winding my way round the cliff-edge roads of Vietnam’s Hà Giang province by motorbike, heart as elevated as the narrow, sheer-drop trails I’m navigating, mind split between an unusual combination of debilitating fear and total, abundant liberation.
I’m driving the Hà Giang loop, a 230-mile motorcycle route that cuts through the heart of the Dong Van Karst Plateau, a Global Geopark recognised by UNESCO for its otherworldly limestone karsts, deep-cut valleys and caves.
Traversing the northernmost province of Vietnam, on the border with Yunnan in China, this is considered one of the most challenging drives in Southeast Asia. I soon find out why. Hairpin twists, steep inclines and frequently pot-holed passes scatter the route with relentless determination.
Still, it’s smooth compared to how it used to look, according to my guide, David. Highway 4C – an asphalt road along which much of the loop runs – began life as a narrow path where only pack horses and pedestrians could pass.
In 1959, construction of a proper road began, with the aim of connecting rural villages in the region with the city of Hà Giang. Thousands of local volunteers and workers were taken on to carry out the work, using only basic tools and shovels; a job that took six years under precarious, cliff-hanging conditions. A memorial and museum at the end of the Ma Pi Leng Pass, reportedly the most difficult section to build, honours the 14 men who died during the construction.
Their sacrifice was said to have paved the way for improved socio-economic conditions and greater connectivity across the region, and Highway 4C was named ‘Happiness Road’ by then-President Ho
Chi Minh.
Today, it’s not only locals that traverse this 115-mile-long stretch; adventurous travellers and hardy backpackers have begun flocking too, biking the wider Hà Giang loop in increasing numbers. A growing clutch of local companies now offer guided motorbike and jeep tours here – many providing ‘Easy Rider’ drivers for those who want to experience the thrills as a passenger with an experienced local at the helm.
Having driven mopeds across much of Southeast Asia, I decided to drive myself as part of a four-day group tour – it was incredible, if challenging and, frankly, quite dangerous (a self-driving Brit on another tour ended up having to go to hospital with a blue ankle after falling off his bike). Getting a driver is probably the more sensible option.
The landscapes provided at least some antidote to the terror, though. Limestone karsts cloaked in carpets of olive-green rose like giant jagged teeth from the mist. Terraced rice fields laced the slopes in labyrinthine patterns, as mountains towered around in inky silhouettes, coloured indigo under the sun.
Along the way, we visited sites that still felt undiscovered compared to much of Vietnam: the H’Mong King Palace, a wood-framed, Chinese-inspired mansion built in the early 1900s by the head of the most powerful family in the region; the Lung Cu Flag Tower, where a giant Vietnamese flag billowed from the top of a hill, marking the northernmost point of the country; and Dong Van, an atmospheric town where artisanal markets, historic stone houses and French-colonial buildings lined a colourful Old Quarter.
But it was the insight into authentic, rural Vietnam that really made the trip for me. Around 19 ethnic groups live in the Hà Giang province, each with their own distinct traditions and language; the biggest are the H’mong, whose livelihoods are centred on farming rice and corn on the terraced slopes.
We regularly passed H’mong, Tay and Dao farmers at work in the fields, and witnessed H’mong women weaving colourful threads on wooden looms in the village of Lung Tam, reviving centuries-old craft traditions.
On one especially memorable stretch, we rode beneath colossal white limestone cliffs, dwarfing us in their immensity, as our guide told us about their significance to the H’mong people.
Legend tells that a fairy planted a medicinal plant at the top that was said to be impossible to reach – when a woman in the village fell ill, her husband climbed to the peak and successfully brought back the plant to save her.
Today, rituals are still held here in honour, and this ongoing celebration seems an appropriate symbol of how age-old beliefs and traditions have been largely upheld in the region.
How this heritage continues to be preserved as increasing numbers of tourists come to bike the Hà Giang loop is one of the key questions being addressed by local leaders, with tourism planned to contribute 13 to 14 percent of the region’s GDP by 2030 (up from eight to nine percent currently). Let’s hope tourism here is able to bring benefits rather than detriment to local communities.
For now, this still-intrepid, not-yet-mainstream route provides a chance to see some of Vietnam’s most extraordinary landscapes without the crowds of the country’s better-known spots.
Perhaps more importantly, it provides a rare opportunity to live wild, free and on the edge for a few days. I’ll long remember the sense of complete liberation I felt gliding along its superlatively scenic, oft-deserted roads, high on adrenaline and humbled by nature’s humongous forms.
Need to know: Northern Vietnam
Getting there: Vietnam Airlines flies non-stop from Heathrow to Hanoi in around 11 hours. From Hanoi, the city of Hà Giang (where the loop begins) is around a five-hour taxi ride or seven-hour sleeper bus north.
Getting around: While it is possible to drive the loop independently, a tour is the easiest (and safest) way to get around. A number of local operators offer guided three- to five-day motorcycle tours here, including QT Motorbikes & Tours; drivers are available if you want to travel as a passenger. If you’re driving a motorbike yourself, you’ll need an international motorcycle license.
Best time to go: You can ride the loop year-round, but January to March and September to November are the best weather-wise; during the latter, flowers come into bloom and you can expect plenty of sun and clear
blue skies.
Where to eat: You’ll find plenty of local restaurants in towns along the route, plus roadside huts selling the likes of coconut-infused coffee against sweeping mountain views. Dishes to look out for include thang co (a traditional H’mong stew) and buckwheat cakes.
Where to stay: Homestays, hotels and hostels can be found in local towns along the route, and tours will arrange accommodation for you (although don’t expect super luxury; most are fairly rustic).
Further information: vietnam.travel/things-to-do/ha-giang-loop-four-day-road-trip
