02 Days - Ba Be Lake Kayaking Tour

Highlights of the trip:
- Get off the beaten track in a 4x4
- Get inside tips from a local
- Vegetarian meal option available
- Informative, friendly and professional guide

Detailed Itinerary:
Day 01: Hanoi - Bac Kan - Ba Be Lake Kayaking (L, D)
Pick up at hotel at 07.30am and head towards Ba Be National Park driving through the mountainous provinces of Thai Nguyen and Bac Kan. Along the way we enjoy the marvellous views of rice paddies, tea plantations and bamboo paddle wheels on the banks of the river. We have lunch en route in a local restaurant and try several local dishes. Upon arrival in Boc Lom quay we transfer to our kayaks and paddle down the Nang River towards Ba Be Lake. You will enjoy the dramatic landscapes of chalky cliffs, not bare, but with small wild gardens clinging to the flanks, lianas with their long roots seeking the earth. We visit the Puong Cave, studded with stalagmites and stalactites and home to thousands of bats (18 different species) before continuing on to Ba Be Lake and Bo Lu Village where we check in and have dinner, overnighting in Dat Diem's Homestay, a beautiful Tay traditional house on stilt.

Day 02: Ba Be Lake - Hua Ma Cave - Hanoi (B, L)
After breakfast we walk around the lake shore to enjoy the sunrise and we will also get a view of the whole lake from a high viewpoint. We stop to visit the village of Pac Ngoi where the TaY people make their living by fishing and farming. You will also see many local stills where the villages make their corn wine. We continue to the Hua Ma cave, one of the least touristy caves, which locals still regard as a religious site. We drive back to Thai Nguyen Province having lunch on the way at a local restaurant. We arrive back at Hanoi late in the afternoon and deliver you to your hotel. End of our service

Inclusions:
- Overnight accommodation
- Entrance fees
- Meals as per itinerary (B=breakfast, L=lunch, D=dinner)
- Professional guide
- Hotel/port pickup and drop-off
- Transport by private vehicle

Exclusions:
- Alcoholic drinks (available to purchase)
- Drinks
- DVD (available to purchase)
- Souvenir photos (available to purchase)

Additional info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking, unless booked within 1 day of travel. In this case confirmation will be received as soon as possible, subject to availability
- Vegetarian option is available, please advise at time of booking if required
- A current valid passport is required on the day of travel
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately

Pac Ngoi Village has more than 40 traditional stilt houses locating on the slope of mountains which surround Ba Be Lake, emphasizing the beauty of this famous ecotourism destination. The village belongs to municipality of Bac Kan province. Surprisingly, while the traditional stilt houses have almost been eradicated in many other provinces, the antique, unique and original houses of ethnic groups are still highly valued and preserved in Pac Ngoi despite the presence of modern architecture.

Historical and Cultural Importance
According to the local government, it is not the lack of money that keeps the inhabitants from building new and convenient houses but the love for their ethnic heritage. They strive to preserve and protect those cultural values from disappearing forever, because without these beautiful stilt houses, Pac Ngoi Village is no longer Pac Ngoi village.  

Visitors coming to Pac Ngoi are not only entitled to witness with their naked eyes the most wonderful scenery of Northern Vietnam: a plethora of austere yet interesting stilt houses blending themselves with the glimmering mist and the shinning Ba Be Lakes, but also to stay in the rhythm of the Tay culture.

This claim can be easily proven by the fact that visitors have to remove their shoes once they step the very first steps on the staircase of a stilt house. Inside the house, ethnic people gather around the gleaming fireplace, forgetting themselves in the sophisticate stories about the economy or the politic. They create a world that shares nothing in common with the big cities where electronic lights and high buildings are ubiquitous. They are just there, in their beautiful social center, waiting to share their most interesting stories about life with you.