Cao Bang is a mountainous province located in the Northeast region, with a border of over 300 km long, bordering China. The terrain is rugged but nature is beautiful, including mountains, cave systems, and lakes… Cao Bang’s beauty is doubled.
What season is beautiful in Cao Bang?
From August to September is the beautiful season of Cao Bang when the Ban Gioc waterfall pours a lot of clear and green water, many sections of terraced fields are ripe yellow.
Rainy season from June to September, the water gushes out, splashing white foam. The dry season is from October to May next year, it is colder, and the water flows smoothly and is blue.
If you want to see the combined nine waterfalls, you can go in October. To experience the wild sunflower or buckwheat season, you should go in November and December. March has pear blossom season.
In the early morning and evening in the mountains of Cao Bang, the weather will be cold, the temperature can drop to 15-16 degrees Celsius. If traveling by motorbike, remember to wear warm clothes and bring a raincoat.
Move
Cao Bang is about 280 km from Hanoi. From Hanoi to Cao Bang city, there are bus companies such as Thanh Ly, Khanh Hoan, 42… at the bus stations of My Dinh, Giap Bat, and Gia Lam. Tickets per person are about 200,000 – 300,000 VND. Travel time is about 6-7 hours.
In the city, you can find motorbike rental locations. The price is about 200,000 VND a day, excluding gas. Remember to fill up the tank with gas because there are not many gas stations on the road.
If you take a private car, you can move in the direction of the Hanoi – Lang Son highway, along National Highway 4 to Cao Bang. Another direction is the Hanoi – Thai Nguyen highway. To Thai Nguyen, continue to take Thai Nguyen – Cho Moi highway and then go to Bac Kan, continue on National Highway 3 through Phu Thong – Ngan Son – Cao Bang.
From Bac Kan to Cao Bang, the road is small but flat, the sedan car runs well. There are a lot of turns, especially after passing Ngan Son. The road through Bac Kan is more winding than through Lang Son.
Stay
Going to Ban Gioc waterfall, guests can stay in Trung Khanh district or go to Cao By city about 80 km away to have more options. Near Ban Gioc waterfall, there are Yen Nhi homestay, Khuoi Ky Homestay, Lan’s Homestay Ban Gioc… priced at about 200,000 VND a night.
Some addresses in the city center are Primrosé Homestay Cao Bang, Son Tung Hotel, Jodevi Homestay Cao Bang, and Jeanne Hotel… with an average price of 300,000 VND per night.
If you have a lot of money, my suggestion is Saigon – Ban Gioc, the only 4-star resort in Cao Bang. The resort is located right near Ban Gioc waterfall, in Dam Thuy commune, Trung Khanh district.
Where to play?
The 3-day, 2-night itinerary is enough for visitors to visit historical sites and scenic spots of Cao Bang.
Pac Bo relic site
From Cao Bang city, tourists drive 50 km towards Ha Quang district bordering China, and visit the Pac Bo relic site . Because this place has many attractions and wide grounds, you should spend about 4 hours fully exploring.
After passing through the entrance gate, visitors will see landmark number 0 of the Ho Chi Minh route extending north-south, opposite the Uncle Ho memorial area. To reach the Lenin stream and the Mack mountain, you will walk through Pac Bo village.
Appearing in front of your eyes after walking through Pac Bo village are Mount Mack and the Lenin stream. Follow the clear blue water and go to the upstream is Coc Bo cave, where Uncle Ho used to live, work and lead the revolution. Not far away are historical sites such as the stone table where Uncle worked, Mr. Ly Quoc Gun’s house…
If you have time, do not ignore milestone 108, which is the first place Uncle Ho came to Vietnam when he returned home after many years of traveling abroad; and the heroic martyr Kim Dong memorial area. Tickets to the Pac Bo relic site are 25,000 VND per person. If using an electric car, visitors pay an additional 20,000 VND per person.
Ban Gioc Waterfall
To avoid the crowded scene of Ban Gioc waterfall, visit early in the morning. Tickets to the waterfall are 45,000 VND per person. The road to Ban Gioc passes through Ma Phuc pass, Khau Lieu pass and many beautiful fields.
As the largest waterfall in Vietnam, Ban Gioc divides the boundary between Vietnam and China. To get close, you need to hire a boat to go to the foot of the waterfall to fully admire the majestic beauty of this waterfall.
If you come here in the afternoon, you can stay until about 7pm to admire the nighttime artistic light show. The program usually lasts 1 hour 30 minutes, you should ask people for a specific time.
Quai Son River
The Quay Son River originates from Guangxi province, China, and flows through Vietnam’s territory near Po Peo border gate, Trung Khanh district. The section of the river that crosses Vietnam is 49 km long. This is a place that always attracts tourists by the beautiful scenery on both sides.
Buddha Tich Truc Lam Temple
The temple is just a short distance from Ban Gioc waterfall. From here, visitors can zoom in to see the entire waterfall and majestic mountains.
Khuoi Ky ancient stone village
The ancient stone village is located about 3 km from Ban Gioc waterfall, nearly 100 km from the center of Cao Bang city. Khuoi Ky village has 14 Tay ethnic households living in stone houses on stilts that have existed for hundreds of years. These stone stilt houses date from about 1594 – 1677, when the Mac dynasty went to Cao Bang to build a citadel to protect the country.
Nguom Ngao Cave
Nguom Ngao Cave is located right next to Khuoi Ky village. In the Tay language, Nguom Ngao means “Tiger cave”. This is a large cave with a length of more than 2,100 m and many unexplored branches.
Visitors enter through the Nguom Lom gate and exit through the Nguom Ngao gate. This path is paved with concrete and has bright lights. However, this path is interrupted in the middle of the cave – where the ceiling of the cave is highest. Entrance ticket 45,000 VND.
Nguom Phuc Cave
Nguom Phuc has a depth of 100 m, located deep in the rocky mountain range bordering Le Loi commune of Thach An district (Cao Bang) and Quoc Khanh commune, Trang Dinh district (Lang Son). Stretching from the door to the inside is a very beautiful system of pristine stalactites. To explore, you must overcome difficult terrain. This place is still not known by many tourists.
Ho Thang Hen
Thang Hen Lake is located at an altitude of 1,000 m above sea level, in Quoc Toan Commune, Tra Linh district. From the center of Cao Bang city, it only takes you about an hour by motorbike to come here. Liked by many backpackers as a fairyland, the lake is located in the middle of a majestic mountain area, the blue water surface reflects the shadow of the craggy cliffs.
God’s Eye Mountain
About 39 km from the city, Mat Than mountain is located in the Thang Hen lake complex of Cao Bang Geopark . In the Tay language, the mountain is called Phja Piót, which means the mountain has a hole in it. Locals often call it “Thung Mountain” and tourists also gradually get used to this name.
Surrounding the mountain is a large valley with green grass stretching, a wild, the peaceful and quiet scene with herds of horses grazing. The turn to the mountain is a bit difficult to find, visitors should ask the locals in advance so as not to get lost. On the way to the mountain, visitors will pass through Ma Phuc Pass, a beautiful scenic spot when traveling by motorbike.
Khau Coc Cha Pass
The pass is about 2.5 km long, located on National Highway 4A, connecting Xuan Truong commune to the center of the Bao Lac district. Climbing the mountain road to the pass scenic spot takes about 30 minutes. From here, you can see the pass with 14 bends winding on the high mountainside.
Bao Lac Market
Try to visit the Bao Lac fair to have breakfast and buy specialties. Local people trade cheap, delicious food. The market meets on the 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, and 30th days of the lunar calendar.
Ban Giuong
Giuong village (Duong) belongs to Tien Thanh commune, Phuc Hoa district. The population here is mainly Tay ethnic group with about 75 households. Coming here, you will be immersed in the clean, cool air that is rarely found anywhere else. This land is also famous for the Nang Hai festival, which is recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage. In particular, the scene is even more impressive if visitors visit in the ripe rice season.
Lung Pan bamboo forest
This place has the largest bamboo planting area in Cao Bang, the landscape of the bamboo forest is as green and beautiful as the film set of Thap Dien Mai Phuc, so it is also an attractive check-in point. Lung Pan – Nguyen Binh – Cao Bang road is about 100 km.
Xuan Truong Valley
In March, pear flowers adorn Xuan Truong valley. People living in this valley grow pears and catch tigers to get the fruit to eat. Not filled with white like the valley of plums and apricots in the Northwest, but in the garden, in front of every house, there are pear flowers.
Chestnut Garden in Chongqing
Trung Khanh district, about 60 km from Cao Bang city, is the capital of chestnuts. Just park on the side of the road, go in for a few 20 meters, and you can visit the chestnut orchards. Visiting the garden in the spring, you will feel the sweet scent of white chestnut flowers. The harvest season for ripe chestnuts is in late autumn and early winter, October and November.
Ho Ban Viet
In the direction from Trung Khanh town to Ban Gioc waterfall about 10 km, then turn about 3 km to Ban Viet hamlet, Phong Chau commune (Trung Khanh), visitors will come to Ban Viet lake. The best time to visit the lake is in the autumn and winter when the trees change leaves. This place is suitable for picnic activities, camping, trekking, SUP paddle…
Phia Oac Mountain
Cao Bang has many peaks above 1,000 m above sea level, of which Phia Oac is 1,931 m high, the second highest mountain in the province (Phia Da mountain in Son Lap commune, Bao Lac is the highest with 1,987 m).
Cloud season in Phia Oac lasts from December to March next year, especially in February, thick clouds appear in the forest early in the morning or at sunset. When the temperature drops lower, frost can appear on the top of this mountain.
Cao Bang specialties
When you come here, don’t forget to enjoy specialties such as roasted duck, roasted pork noodle soup, fried young bees with bamboo shoots, humiliation, chicken or pork leg stew with chestnuts, and five-color sticky rice… Banh cuon is also a dish you can easily find. found all over the city, the price is about 25,000 VND.
Sour Pho is a specialty of Cao Bang. Noodles are chewy, eaten with beautiful deep-fried crispy bacon, thinly sliced pork liver, fried pork stomach, and roasted duck meat. The dish also has deep-fried yams. This is a big, fluffy and sweet potato only found in Bac Kan and Cao Bang. The indispensable flavor of honeysuckle leaves, peanuts, basil, coriander, cucumber…
Agarwood fish is a famous delicious fish in Ban Gioc waterfall, sold a lot in Trung Khanh market. Clean fresh fish, cut open the belly and then add onions, dill, chili… inside, wrap it with banana leaves and put it on the charcoal grill. When cooked, the fish gives off a delicious aroma.
Banh bao Chao, also known as duck Chao cake , is sold a lot in winter, from November to February next year. The cake looks quite similar to salty donuts, but the filling is made from duck meat.
8 colors dry vermicelli, famous in Hong Quang 2 hamlet, Hung Dao commune, about 9 km from Cao Bang city. Yellow vermicelli made from plain corn, red from brown rice, moringa in green, blue pea flower flavor; Purple vermicelli noodles, purple sweet potatoes…
Vegetables of the night hien or vegetables of declared beef are wild vegetables, but not all regions have them. From after Tet to the seventh lunar month, vegetables grow abundantly and deliciously. You can buy vegetables for about 30,000 VND a bunch.
Trung Khanh chestnuts are a delicacy that should not be missed, but only seasonally. Cao Bang people have a unique way of eating, which is boiled chestnuts, then dry roasted, peeled and filled. The kernels are ground into a powder, mixed well into the nuggets from the Pi Pit sticky rice variety. The dish is attractive with the aroma of nuggets, and the fleshy taste of chestnuts.
In particular, the easiest to find and buy as gifts in Cao Bang City is smoked meat. Pork after marinating spices, rock ginger, and wild honey is smoked under charcoal and sugar cane, giving the meat a bright red color and smell.
