Dao village trekking in Ha Giang: Khuoi My to Xa Phin, half a day or two days

Dao village trekking in Ha Giang with TVPalm starts at the door of TVPalm Ecolodge in Khuoi My and stays on foot. There are two versions. The half-day walk covers about 5 to 6 km through Khuoi My and Lung Vai, between about 700 and 900 m, in 4.5 to 5 hours.

The two-day trek covers about 12.5 km on day one, crossing a valley to Xa Phin at 940 m, where you sleep in a Dao family home under a moss-covered palm-leaf roof. Groups are 2 to 8 guests. The minimum age is 10. There is no summit and nothing exposed on either route.

These are working villages of the Dao Ao Dai people, a branch of the Dao (also called Yao), and the households on the route are paid directly for the time they give you. Below is what each walk involves, what it costs and who it does not suit.

Dao village trekking: the two walks side by side

The half-day walk

The half-day walk is the shortest Dao village trekking we run. Departures are at 08:30 or 13:30 from Ecolodge reception, and you are back about five hours later. Your guide is a Dao member of the Tay Con Linh Sustainable Tourism Cooperative.

• Khuoi My (about 1.5 hours): packed-earth paths past palm-leaf roofs, open-fire kitchens and carp ponds. You visit one or two family homes and learn how the household keeps livestock, grows rice on the terraces and processes Shan Tuyet tea by hand.
• The suspension bridge and tea groves (about 45 minutes): a simple footbridge over the valley floor, stable but breezy. On the far side is a grove of old Shan Tuyet tea trees, where the guide explains how the Dao climb the trees to pick the top buds.
• Lung Vai (about 1 hour): embroidery, ancestor altars and the ordinary rhythm of the day. If it is the season, you may see tea being pan-fired over wood.
• The walk back along the valley path to the Ecolodge.

Lunch at the Ecolodge is included. Tell us at booking whether you want to eat before or after the walk. This is the walk we suggest for families with children aged 10 and over, for active older travellers, and for guests at the Ecolodge with half a day free.

The two-day trek to Xa Phin

Day 1: Ecolodge – Lung Vai – Xa Phin

You leave the Ecolodge at 09:00, or we collect you in Ha Giang city. The morning passes through Khuoi My and Lung Vai. If the guide judges the day allows it, you can stop at the cold pool above the Lung Vai footbridge and weir. It is deep and clear enough for four to six people to swim, fed by a stream from the old forest. After heavy rain, when the stream runs fast, the answer is no. Lunch is with a Dao family in Lung Vai.

The afternoon crossing takes about 3h30 to 4h with stops. It starts with a steep descent (the first 150 m at about 30%) from about 1,060 m to the valley floor at about 775 m, through bamboo forest and past the Na Mau terraces. Then it climbs 165 m to Xa Phin at 940 m. You arrive around 17:30.

Day 2: Xa Phin – Mao Phin – Nam Te

In the morning you walk among Xa Phin’s moss-roofed stilt houses, often in mist. Then you walk on to Mao Phin, the quietest village on the route, and lunch in Nam Te. From about 14:00 an easy rider takes you by motorbike to Ha Giang city or back to the Ecolodge. Many guests shower at the Ecolodge and take an evening transfer down to the night bus for Hanoi. Day 2 is 10 to 12 km and easier than day 1.

The homestay, plainly

It is a Dao family home, not a hotel. You sleep on a communal wooden floor divided into curtained sections, one per couple, with a thick blanket, a mosquito net and pillows. The bathroom is shared with the family and other guests, and the hot water is heated over a wood fire.

Dinner is a family meal of rice, seasonal soup, wild vegetables, tofu and one or two meat dishes. Your hosts offer herbal rice wine, which you are free to decline. In midwinter there can be frost in Xa Phin, so bring a warm layer. If you want a private bathroom, this is not the right trek for you. For more about the village itself, read Xa Phin: the mossy-roof village of Tay Con Linh.

How we work in the villages

Dao village trekking only works if the villages still want visitors next year. These are the rules we run it by.

• Maximum 8 guests. One local guide for 2 to 8 guests, one porter for groups of 2 to 4 and two for groups of 5 to 8, plus a TVPalm logistics person behind every group.
• Paid at Cooperative rates. Guides, porters and homestay families are paid directly at fair Cooperative rates. The Tay Con Linh Sustainable Tourism Cooperative has 50 Dao members, and around 70% of our staff are local ethnic minority people.
• Not a performance. These are working households. Nothing is staged and nobody dresses up. Ask before photographing people, children, kitchens or an ancestral altar. If the answer is no, it is no.
• No single-use plastic. You use reusable bottles and refill stations, and the guide checks every rest point before the group leaves.
• Where part of the fee goes. A portion of revenue funds our annual tree-planting programme and tourism and language training for local people.

For background on the people whose villages you walk through, read The Dao Ao Dai of Tay Con Linh.

What Dao village trekking includes

Not included on either version of Dao village trekking: personal travel insurance (strongly recommended), drinks, personal gear and tips.

Fitness, health form and who should talk to us first

Dao village trekking here is walking, not climbing. For the half-day walk, if you can walk 5 km on uneven ground with breaks, you will be fine. For the two-day trek, you need to be able to walk about 12.5 km in a day on uneven ground. Either way, good grip on your shoes matters more than anything else you pack. No sandals, and no flip-flops: the guide will not set off if your shoes are not safe.

Every guest completes our health declaration no later than 7 days before departure. Talk to us before booking if you have serious joint or heart problems, are pregnant, are travelling with children under 10, or (for the two-day trek) are over 65. We will give you an honest assessment. In heavy rain or when there is landslide risk, the guide reroutes or shortens the day, and that decision is final.

When to go

September to May is the best season for Dao village trekking. September to December is dry and stable, with golden terraces. December to February is clear and cold, with possible frost in Xa Phin. March to May is green and misty. June to August is wet and very green, and we schedule around the weather. Leeches are active roughly from February to September. They are harmless; long socks pulled over your trousers keep them out.

If you want something longer

Dao village trekking links up with our other routes on the same mountain.

• Add ancient tea: the 3 Days 2 Nights Snow Shan Tea & Dao Villages trek follows the same crossing to Xa Phin, after a full day picking and firing tea in Na Thac (age 12+).
• Add a waterfall: the 1-day Khuoi My – Lung Vai Waterfall trek is 16.7 km with a swim at the bottom (age 12+).
• Add the summit: the 2 Days 1 Night and 3 Days 2 Nights Tay Con Linh treks continue from Xa Phin to the 2,428 m summit. They are much harder, and the minimum age is higher.
• Stay longer: add a night at TVPalm Ecolodge before or after. See rooms and rates.

How to enquire

To book Dao village trekking, email info@tvpalm.com or WhatsApp +84 366 885 955 with your dates, group size and starting point. We reply within 24 hours on working days. Read the booking, cancellation and weather terms on the tour page before you pay. The terms differ between the half-day walk and the two-day trek.