Snow Shan tea in Ha Giang: picking and firing your own leaf with a Dao family

Snow Shan tea in Ha Giang is picked by hand in an old Shan Tuyet garden and fired in a Dao home. On our route that means about 3.25 km on foot, from the Na Thac village gate at 379 m up to an old tea garden at 609 m.

You pick one bud and two leaves and carry them down. Then you spend the afternoon in a Dao family kitchen, taking that leaf through withering, pan-firing, rolling and drying by hand over a wood fire.

Groups are 2 to 8 guests. Nobody under 12 joins, and every guest completes a medical self-declaration at booking. We run the Snow Shan tea day on its own, or as the first day of a three-day trek.

This page sets out what you actually do, what it costs, what is included and who it does not suit. For the tea itself (how it grows and how it is made), read Shan Tuyet tea from Tay Con Linh.

Two ways to do it

The Snow Shan tea day is the same on both. The three-day trek adds a crossing of one mountain to Xa Phin and a walk out past Huou Waterfall.

The Snow Shan tea day, hour by hour

The times are a guide. The only fixed point is 08:30 at the gate. After that the guide sets the pace.

• 08:00: pick-up at your hotel in Ha Giang city, or the Ecolodge electric car down to the gate.
• 08:30: Na Thac welcome gate, 379 m. A footwear check and a short briefing, including what to ask before photographing people and which parts of a house are private.
• About 08:50: up through the heritage terraces. The guide explains how water passes from one family’s field to the next, and what happens in a dry year.
• About 09:15: a field hut for tea and fruit, then the herbs of this slope and what each one is used for.
• About 10:00: the old Shan Tuyet tea garden at 609 m, the high point of the day. You are shown which leaf to take and why, then you pick your own.
• About 11:00: you pick vegetables with a family at their hut. What you gather is what gets cooked.
• About 11:45 to 15:30: in a Dao family home. You cook and eat lunch by their fire. Then you take your leaf through the full process by hand and taste three or four teas side by side, while the family explains how a household earns across twelve months when no single crop earns enough.
• About 16:00: the last 800 m on a village lane back to the gate. You are back at your Ha Giang city hotel by about 17:00.

You do the firing yourself. Nobody does it for you. You drink your tea the same afternoon. If you want tea to take home, the household sells what it fires on days without visitors, and you buy it from them directly.

How old are the Snow Shan tea trees?

They are old, and some of the Snow Shan tea on this slope is centuries old. The families who tend the eldest trees will tell you they are close to a thousand years old. Nobody has ever cut one down to count the rings, and we will not print a number we cannot check.

What we can say is why the trees are still standing: the Dao Ao Dai families here chose, generation after generation, not to clear them. Visitor income is one reason that choice still makes sense. Ancient Shan Tuyet trees across the Ha Giang region have also been recognised and listed for protection as heritage trees. For a closer look, read our field guide to ancient Shan Tuyet tea trees.

The three-day version

Day 1 is the tea day above, followed by a night in a private room at TVPalm Ecolodge, with dinner from the lodge’s kitchen garden.

Day 2 is the long one. You walk through Khuoi My to Lung Vai: a household that farms deer, corn wine coming off a wood fire, black cardamom under the forest canopy and, if the guide judges the water safe, a cold pool deep enough for four to six people to swim.

After lunch the path drops steeply. The first 150 m fall at about 30%, then the path follows a long contour down to the valley floor at 775 m and climbs 165 m to Xa Phin at 940 m. Total: about 12.5 km and six hours on foot. If the trail is unsafe after heavy rain, the group does not attempt the crossing. You return to the Ecolodge for a second night instead, and we tell you exactly why.

Day 3 starts at a Xa Phin tea workshop, then walks down to Huou Waterfall (no swimming there: we have not finished a safety assessment of that pool), on to Mao Phin and lunch in Nam Te. The route ends at Na Mau around 16:00. About 4 hours on foot, mostly downhill and hard on the knees.

How it is run, and why

• 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 directly. The tea grower, the household you cook with, the homestay and the porters are paid directly. TVPalm does not take a cut of what they are paid. The work is organised through the Tay Con Linh Sustainable Tourism Cooperative, which has 50 Dao members.
• Nothing staged. We do not stage ceremonies, nobody puts on costume for photographs and nobody repeats a job because a camera missed it. What a household is working on changes with the month, and we do not promise a particular task in a particular week.
• No single-use plastic. You get a metal bottle and refill it at every stop. Single-use plastic stays at the Ecolodge.
• Where part of the fee goes. A share of every booking funds our annual tree-planting programme and tourism and English training for local Dao people.

What is included

Not included on either: flights, visas, comprehensive personal travel insurance, personal drinks and tips. On the three-day trek, the night before day 1 is not included either.

Who should not book

• Children under 12.
• Pregnant guests, and anyone with a condition that makes walking on uneven, sometimes slippery ground difficult.
• Anyone expecting a quick visit or a fixed show. Gate to gate is roughly 08:30 to 16:00, and most of it is spent in one house.
• For the three-day trek: anyone who needs a private bathroom on both nights. Night two is a family home, not a hotel.

Every guest completes our health declaration no later than 7 days before departure, or as soon as possible if you book late. Tell us about any condition that affects walking when you book, not on the morning. Bring shoes with real grip: earth and stone turn slippery after rain, and that is where people fall.

When to go

October to April gives drier ground and clearer views. From December to February mornings can drop close to freezing in Xa Phin, which has no heating. May to September is the rainy season: hot, very green, slower underfoot, with leeches on the forest edges. We issue gaiters. We run the route all year, and what the households are doing changes with the month.

Frequently asked questions

Is Snow Shan tea the same as Shan Tuyet?

Yes. Shan Tuyet is the Vietnamese name, and Snow Shan tea is the common English translation. It refers to the fine white down on the young buds.

Is this a trek or a village visit?

The one-day version is mostly a village day with a gentle walk to reach it. If you want a real climb as well, take the three-day version or a Tay Con Linh summit trek.

Can I stay at the Ecolodge before or after?

Yes. The Ecolodge is in Khuoi My, about 10 km west of Ha Giang city. If you sleep there the night before, take Option 1 and skip the city transfer. See rooms and rates.

How to enquire

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 and confirm availability with the households before we send a quotation. Read the booking, cancellation and weather terms on the tour page before you pay.