Ba Vi National Park

I had the chance to visit there this summer. It’s a beautiful, peaceful, and quiet place. The temperature is around 20 degrees Celsius. The rooms are all surrounded by trees, offering a surprising view of the Red River in the morning.

Nice park for a weekend wander and some ok trail running - best run is still up the main road to the french runs and the mountain temple. The park is still wild in some places - nice to be in nature and close to the city.

Ba Vì National Park is an ideal destination for nature lovers and explorers. It offers a refreshing green space, fresh air, and a diverse ecosystem. Visitors can explore notable sites such as Thượng Temple, the Ancient Church, or conquer the Tản Viên Peak. Especially in late autumn, the blooming wild sunflowers make the landscape even more vibrant. However, the entrance fee does not quite match the deteriorating road conditions, as some areas have landslides and large sinkholes. Additionally, the shops around the area have very high prices, so visitors should prepare their supplies in advance to avoid buying them on-site.

The road access to the National Park is under construction, but if you go at lunchtime, when all the workers are eating or sleeping, there will be no delays. Beautiful place, I went there to get off the beaten track and not have to hear motorcycles and cars driving and Honking. ( it’s about an hour away from Hanoi. )

Beautiful motorbike ride in the hills and nice views. Unfortunately when you get off the bike and want to take a walk you literally walk in the garbage. It is a big problem here although there are many trashbins. People keep coming there to have a barbecue and to camp but they do these activities right in the piles of garbage. Sad reality for it being a national park, the impact of people can be really seen here and you can’t overlook it. Also the bathroom next to the camping site is not maintained at all and is dirty and stinks like hell. 🥲

We had up-and-down emotion to get to the Bavi National Park and I will summarize as belows: - Up to the elevation 400m, road is terrible due to road maintenance. We had to wait for 10 min for a concrete truck to work across the road. It is so crowded and dusty without any warning in the beginning of the road. - From elevation 400m to 700m, a quite good road to go will full of plants around. - From elevation 700m to 1100m, a high slope can make your brake broken down when going down. Be careful with this popular problem there. We also made that similar difficulty and a little bit scary to go down. On the cote 1100, it is so special to see the fog and clouds going around. A good moment to enjoy the travel. Note that you will buy a ticket at the foot of the park, vnd 60k per person excluded your vehicle fee. Lưu ý rất dễ mất phanh khi đi xuống từ cao độ 1100m đến 700m vì đường rất dốc. Nên chuẩn bị sẵn số điện thoại trong trường hợp cần cứu hộ xe.

Took a taxi, and he stopped where we wanted along the road towards the peak of the mountain. At the top of the road, he parked, and we walked up the stairs to the left and saw two buildings/ pagodas/ temples that were amazing and an incredible view. The walk/ hike took about an hour or so (2.5km up and down) , and it's upstairs, so be prepared. Total time was about 3 hours.

I did a solo bike trip up here after my HaGiang loop of 11days. Paid entrance fee, early morning ride up the misty, nature filled, fresh air....I was filled with excitement. Did not see any visitors along the way, except for a young local couple on a motorbike. Saw a deserted Catholic Church, some bungalows for rent and trees. Had an eerie encounter near a large stone boulder, felt someone's watching me, when my bike suddenly stop. Unable to start. Long story short, I rolled down the hill for about 1-2km before I was to start my bike and left the place. It's a very spiritual area.