Cycle Cao Bang 2018 – Cycling the Border Belt

ROUTE DESCRIPTION

After arriving at the homestay you’ll enjoy a home-cooked local lunch and then have the opportunity to warm up your cycling legs with one of two route options* around the local area.

Route option one is a short loop that takes you along quiet concrete paths and around photo-worthy limestone karsts to a paper-making village, where you’ll be able to have a go at making your own paper using a process that locals have been using for generations.  After putting your skills to the test you’ll take a leisurely ride back to the Phia Thap homestay village over dirt trails and sealed roads.

Route option 2 has you leaving the paper village in the opposite direction along a concrete path before you turn off onto a narrow trail with a number of water crossings.  Winding your way around the mountains you will pass through a village and then start a 15km loop along dirt and sealed roads back to the homestay.  This 2^nd route option includes a nice climb to get the legs warmed up.

Note that in the event of a late arrival to the homestay there may not be an option to do the 20km loop.

ROUTE MAP

Day 1 Route Option 1 Map and Elevation Profile

Day 1 Route Option 2 Map and Elevation Profile

• Additional drinks and snacks are available for purchase from a number of local shops in the villages along the route.

ROUTE DESCRIPTION

It’s the biggest day of the tour distance-wise.  We start with a 40min bus ride towards the waterfalls to the town of Trung Khanh, leaving behind most of the busy highway that goes to the Chinese border.  After topping up the water bottles and grabbing some snacks we head north out of town, through amazing river scenery and passing rice paddies and water wheels.

Crossing the picturesque Quay Son river near to the Chinese border crossing we then turn south-east along sealed and dirt roads and enjoying a number of small waterfalls along the way to the amazing Ban Gioc waterfall.

After relaxing over a beer at the base of the falls you have free time to enjoy the views and take photos.  From here we will take the bus back up the hill to the new homestay where you can relax or take a short but steep walk to the local temple which offers amazing views over the falls. We’ll also use the afternoon to participate in a Community Project that will directly benefit the local community.

ROUTE MAP

ROUTE DESCRIPTION

Today we say goodbye to the waterfall region and head back to Trung Khanh by bus, where we jump back on our bicycles and ride country roads back to Quang Uyen (with a 7km fast section on the main road where you will need to be extra careful).

Riders can grab a coffee at one of the local cafes in Quang Uyen before continuing along the northern loop to Phia Thap homestay for lunch and accommodation for the night.

ROUTE MAP

ROUTE DESCRIPTION

This 25km ride along dirt and sealed roads will take in a local basket-weaving village where you will not only see baskets being made, but also have a go at making one yourself. We then continue south until Tu Do where we turn south-west and head down towards Cao Bang.  We finish this last day of riding at the intersection of the back road and the highway, where we will meet the bus and be transported to Cao Bang for lunch.

We then head back to Hanoi, stopping for lunch along the way.

ROUTE MAP