Dong Van Karst Plateau Geopark

The quarter was built in the early 20th century and has a few families of the Hmong, Tay still living in it. The oldest house is the house of Luong family, built in 1860. The common architecture here is the two-story house and yin and yang roofs. Hostels and hotels are common, but may fill up quickly in peak season. Saturday nights, the plaza has a community party. On Sunday mornings there is a regional market—arrive before 9am to see locals shopping, and after for tourist wares.

Above Dong Van, the French built a fort in 1925. The remains, partially restored in 2013, overlook the entire town.

This historical landmark of the local Hmong ethnic group was built in the early 20th century in the form of the letter 王 (meaning "king" in English). Vuong King (Vuong Chinh Duc) became rich from dealing goods, especially opium, as Sa Phin is in the middle of the Golden Triangle region. The building imitates ancient Chinese architecture from the Man Thanh dynasty, and features carvings in Hoa Nam style. The 1120 m² grounds were chosen for feng shui, and also sight lines, as it was also a military fortress. Duc set up his own army unit of loyal Hmong people and equipped them with weapons, some of which are on display.

This village showcases minority culture. The turnoff to the right is clearly marked by a labeled gate.

Built on the top of Dragon Mountain, and modeled on the flag tower of Hanoi. Plug in the 12.9 m flagstaff is a national flag with an area of 54m², representing for 54 ethnic groups of Vietnam. At the foot tower, there is a commemorative house, where displays production tools, costumes and cultural products of the ethnic groups in Ha Giang. From distances, Lung Cu is very spectacular with three quarters of the land covered with stone, a national flag pole erected on the top of the mountain, which is surrounded with magnificent and majestic mountain forests at 1,600 m above sea level.

Ma Pi Leng is a high mountain pass on the famous Sky Path. This is one of the most complex parts of the karst plateau typified by continuous karst pyramids, karst cones, slopes and karst walls. At a length of 7 km and 70-90° steep cliffs, this is the most spectacular landscape on the karst plateau. The canyon below the pass is the deepest of its kind in Vietnam. The pass itself can be reached by motorbike, however, it is a dangerous and narrow concrete path.

A traditional extended family house, open to visitors.

A peaceful and calm town that is home of Hoa and Hmong ethnicities. The houses here embrace the traditional architecture of wooden columns and mud walls.

A Hmong village very close to the border, known for its Chinese-style houses with yellow bricks.

A hexagonal, wagon-like Hmong “cultural tourism village” geared towards visitors. Among other things, herbal baths are offered.

Village in the Nho Que valley. There are tour boats in the narrow river with turquoise water (round trip 1 hour) as well as kayak rentals.

On sale are local products made by Hmong, Han, Dao, Giay and Tay ethnic people. To reach the market on time they have to leave their homes very early in the morning or even one day earlier. At the market, people in different ethnic groups mingle with people from outside their small village to find their life-partners.

A 7-km hiking trail, high above the highway, near Ma Pi Leng Pass. It is accessible by stopping at the side of the road, and looks rather like a sidewalk going up the mountainside. Motorbikes are allowed for most of the road, and locals will ride past you if you are hiking. The end of the Sky Path is a gorgeous ~2km hike along a narrow trail cut into the karst cliff walls with stunning views of the landscape, river, and local farms.