What to do at Bac Ha market

Overview

Bac Ha Market is one of the most famous highland markets in Lao Cai and is also an attractive tourist destination attracting a large number of domestic tourists to come and experience. What to do at Ha Bac market is diverse, so if you are planning to visit Bac Ha fair, then, let's refer to the useful information below with Vietnam Escape Tours to have the most complete trip!

How to get to

The precise location of Bac Ha market is in Bac Ha town, Bac Ha district, and Lao Cai province. The distance to this market from Lao Cai's city center is roughly 65 kilometers. Visitors can travel to the Bac Ha market using a variety of modes, including vehicles, motorcycles, and buses.

From Hanoi to Bac Ha

Despite being a small village, Bac Ha is easily accessible from Hanoi. On mountain roads, it takes at least six hours. The nice trip is made possible by the lovely surroundings. You can ride your own motorcycle, take a tour, or hire a vehicle with a driver. If you embark on a tour from Hanoi, you can plan to travel for several days, stop at various locations like Sapa or Ha Giang, and engage in activities like cycling and trekking.

From Sapa to Bac Ha

Many tour companies provide trips from Sapa to Bac Ha market. The Sapa bus station offers direct buses as well. Takes three hours to get by bus from Sapa to Bac Ha. If you're feeling particularly daring, you may hire a motorcycle or scooter and travel from Sapa by yourself to the market.

What to do at Bac Ha market

Walking through Bac Ha Market

Because Bac Ha market isn’t an over-tourism place, the lives of the locals here are very simple and tranquil as you can see walking through the market. Lively trading activities, happy faces of people amongst stunning and magnificent mountainous areas definitely make you feel relaxed and impressed.

Walking through Bac Ha Market

Shopping for unique clothes

Because this area is focused by many different ethnic minorities, traditional costumes of each community are displayed for tourists to admire and purchase. The market's garments are highly colorful. Look closely at the clothing and accessories for sale in this market. By contrasting colors and patterns, you can tell which culture each color and object represents. Each ethnic minority has distinctive traditional clothes, so each stall in the market represents a specific ethnic culture and exclusively offers their fashions. Ask the seller if you're unsure which item belongs to which tribe; they'll be pleased to share their culture with you. Each item is handmade. Costumes, brocade, clothes, bags, blankets, wall hangings, headgear, and scarves are just a few examples of the clothing that is available for purchase. You can buy the vibrant materials individually to make your own clothing as well.

Along with the vibrant costumes, handmade jewelry and other ornamental goods are also sold. Fine carvings, bronze jewelry, bracelets, and earrings make excellent gifts to bring back from Vietnam to friends and family.

Shopping for unique clothes

Enjoying a delicious, local specialties

After walking around the market, also tired, you should turn to a restaurant to rest and immediately enjoy the delicious and attractive specialties only in Lao Cai. The food here is very simple, rustic, not luxury displayed or beautifully decorated, but the stalls are always crowded with diners to enjoy.

The price of dishes at Bac Ha market is also very cheap, just take away about 100k, you can enjoy countless attractive dishes. From snacks such as cakes, fruits, to specialties there are many. Especially coming here without enjoying the dish Thang Co would be a pity. This dish is a famous dish of the Northwest region made from cattle meat, with green, covered, five, viscera, mainly horse meat, now with buffalo and pork meat added.

In addition, do not forget to enjoy many other special dishes such as sour pho, men men, corn cake, seven-color sticky rice, Bac Ha cake, corn wine... These are all famous specialties in the North. Ha with delicious, strange taste. It will definitely bring you an extremely enjoyable and unforgettable experience!

Thang Co - a specialty of Bac Ha Market

Understand more about the northern ethnic groups of Vietnam

If you book a Bac Ha Market 1 Day Group Tour, you will not only take the rest of traveling, but you are also provided with a highly knowledgeable guide, who can tell you about all the history, development and interesting facts of Bac Ha market and Lao Cai province. Because Lao Cai is a highland province, which has many northern ethnic groups of Vietnam, listening to the guide, you also understand more about their unique and diverse cultures.

Lao Cai is a province diverse of minority ethnic groups

In addition, you can also visit the incredible H’mong King’s Palace, with all of its enchanting architecture and gardens, explore the small village of Ban Pho, full of joyful residents and local specialties, go to Bac Ha temple with its exciting festival, or buy ornamental orchids and traditional medicines, precious herbs as gifts.

Best time to visit

Bac Ha Market is only visited by locals from the surrounding villages once a week, on Sundays from early morning till midday (6 am – 12 pm). Many of these Dao and Hmong hill tribes' young and old men and women arrive at the market as early as 4 a.m. to set up their stalls and gather their goods for attractive display.

The ethnic minorities of Bac Ha also hold a number of festivals to celebrate their cultures, which adds to the uniqueness of the market. If you can make it to one of these events, it would be fantastic if you could attend the Bac Ha Market.

The greatest season to visit Bac Ha market is spring because it is when the lovely plum blossom season and a number of festivities take place. According to the lunar calendar, the holidays Say San and Ruoc Dat Ruoc Nuoc fall on January 2 through January 6 and January 15 respectively. These celebrations are essential for a prosperous new year and favorable weather for a bountiful harvest.

Early June is when the Horse Racing Festival takes place. On July 7 of the lunar calendar, the Bac Ha Temple festival is also a great event that you don’t wanna miss.

Tips for the trip

To have a meaningful visit to Bac Ha market, you should note a few things as follows:

Bac Ha Market only opens on Sundays, so you need to arrange a time for the trip

Be careful when buying because not always the goods here are from local people. There will be a lot of Chinese goods for sale at the market

In Bac Ha market, there are often children pulling customers, so you need to be careful

When taking pictures with locals, you should buy them something even if it is of small value.

For tourists, there will still be expensive sales, so don't forget to pay the price when buying.

Please use a motorbike as a means of transportation when traveling here.

Conclusion

If you are preparing for a Northern Vietnam Tour, Bac Ha market is also an ideal destination. And after reading this article, now you know what to do at Bac Ha market because Vietnam Escape Tours introduced to you all the interesting activities, delicious dishes, and unique cultures. Taking photos with people wearing colorful traditional costumes can not be missed if you are a travel lover.