Bac Ha district
Located 110 km from
Sapa, Bac Ha
district belongs to
Lao
Cai province, it is not any less attractive than it's
neighbour. At the altitude of 1200m above the sea level, Bac Ha is famous
for Can Cau saturday market and Bac Ha Sunday market, there are plenty of
attractions to discover in this small town such as Ban Pho village, palace
of Hmong King Hoang A Tuong, Bac Ha is also famous for corn wine, Tam Hoa
plum, Bac Ha chilli sauce and Thang Co dish.
For most foreign tourist, the main aim of coming to
Bac Ha is the hill tribe
markets, of which Bac Ha Sunday market is the best. Every Sunday, people of
Hmong, Red Dzao, Zay travel tens of km over the mountain to reach the
market, one can find everything here from customer goods to food, wine, rice, clothes, souvenirs and especially there is a section for trading
buffaloes, horses, dogs, cats...people come here not only for trading, the
market is considered as a social activity for mountainous people. Coming to
Bac Ha market, one cannot miss a bowl of Thang Co, a local specialty cooked
with horse, buffaloes, it is said that the pan that cooks Thang Co is never
washed to keep the flavour. In winter days, people crowd around the Thang Co
stall, drink Bac Ha wine made from rice or corn, Bac Ha wine is very very
strong, after markets, young men can be seen sleeping right on the road,
with their wives and horses waiting beside.
Ban Pho village is 2km from centre of Bac Ha, the village is inhabited by
Flower Hmong people, this is where the famous Tam Hoa plum is grown, in
Spring time, throngs of trucks coming to Bac Ha to buy plum and bring to
Hanoi and other provinces, in the village, there is Hoang A Tuong palace,
considered by Hmong people as their King in the French colonial time. over
many decades, the palace still retains its original architecture of the old
time.
Many tourists stay the night in Bac Ha to visit the morning markets and travel to Sapa the following days. There are a few hotels in Bac Ha.