Three Days, Two Nights: Sapa, Heavens Gate, Sapa-Than Uyen, Lao Cai

DAY 1 (B, L, D)

Have breakfast before gearing up for your exciting ride. It is a tough climb out of Sapa to Heaven’s Gate, so your support vehicle will transfer you out of town to our starting point at the Silver Waterfall. From there it’s a 3km climb up to the highest mountain pass in Indochina where you stop to marvel at the spectacular view of the Hoang Lien mountains before free wheeling down 27km to Binh Lu junction. Heading off the main road, it is 25kms of sometimes rocky road to Than Thuoc, a charming little tea town where you we’ll stop, rest and enjoy a cup of green tea. After tea, depending on your energy level, you will then keep on biking for an other 40km or get a vehicle transfer to Than Uyen town to spend the night in a local guest house.

DAY 2 (B, L,D).

After breakfast we’ll start the day with 10kms up and down to Muong Kim village where you will have time to visit and discover the daily life of the Thai hill tribe. Then your support vehicles will transfer you to up a steep mountain pass where you will glide down 20km to Minh Luong valley where the old growth forest and verdant rice paddies surround us.. After lunch in Minh Luong you will have a wonderful afternoon as you   explore some single track trail to visit local ethnic minority villages. You’ll meet the interesting Lu people with their distinctively black teeth. Our day ends when we arrive in Van Ban town to spend the second night in a hotel.

DAY 3 (B,L,D).

After a good breakfast ride 40km around the other side of the stunning Minh Luong valley. There’s time for a short stop to take photos of the local hill tribe people and the beautiful scenery here. Arrive in Vo Lao, take a swim in the river and a eat a delicious lunch then hop into  the support vehicle to drive back to Lao Cai . Iin Lao Cai there is a time for a hot shower before sitting down for a dinner of local Vietnamese food.

The trip ends when board the Night Train Back to Hanoi.