One of the things I find both good and bad about backpacking South East Asia is that everyone seems to stick to the routes known as the Banana Pancake Trail. These tried and true sequences of major cities and smaller towns are ideal for the first time traveler. But as I approach my 30th birthday and with Vietnam being my 40th country I desire more remote, unspoiled, and debouchery-free travel experiences. Cao Bang Province was perfect to escape the crowds of Hanoi, and is a good alternative to the over-touristed Ha Jiang motorbike loop.
In planning my Vietnam Itinerary, the Ban Gioc Waterfall stood out, but it didn’t seem to be on the international travel radar. And like with any remote place, it would take some time to get there. From Hanoi I boarded my very first overnight sleeper bus, with near fully reclined seats for the seven hour journey to the capital of Cao Bang Province — Cao Bang city.
One blog I read suggested an overnight stay in the city before heading onward to the falls, and this is what I did. It is completely possible and simple to catch a morning bus straight away from Cao Bang city to the waterfall — but if you have the time I too recommend staying in Cao Bang city to experience its charm.
This journey from Hanoi to the Ban Gioc Waterfall was a sequence from large city, to small city, to remote village. The center of Cao Bang city is surrounded by the Sông Bằng River, and there is a very scenic river walk that I enjoyed for sunset. Being relatively unknown to the backpacker community there were no hostels here, but rather a variety of home stays — my dorm was practically empty, and cost $4 for the night.
Following the overnight in Cao Bang city I took a 2.5 hour bus ride for $3.6 towards the falls. This ride alone was probably one of the most scenic bus trips I’ve ever had, with the terrain changing from mountain passes to the fantastical limestone karsts that dot this region (and others throughout northern Vietnam). The bus conveniently goes straight to the falls entrance, though I was able to ask the driver to drop me off earlier so I could walk to my next homestay.
Cao Bang Province is primarily known to Vietnamese tourists, but I was fortunate to have my homestay near the falls all to myself. I only encountered one western traveler in the entire two days I stayed in the area. I had booked a dorm room, but my non-English speaking host brought me to a private room, giving me a free upgrade probably since no one else was there. Having arrived slightly past noon, my host gestured her hand towards her mouth, and proceeded to cook me a huge lunch — with lots of rice, a rather thick omelette, and some kind of root vegetable cooked in a garlic.
The next day was the most action packed day of my trip thus far — with three different activities from sunrise to sunset. First was the falls — I woke up at 4:50 AM and walked 30 minutes through small villages with barking dogs and other animals running loose. There is usually a $2 entrance fee to the falls area, but since I had arrived so early there was no one to sell or collect tickets. The photo above was shot at 6:30 AM. There was not a single tourist here. The humidity was already a bit overwhelming, but the scene before me was so worth the journey.
The Ban Gioc waterfall has a primary section with one side on Vietnam and the other on China. It is known as the fourth largest bordering waterfall in the world. Each country has their own tour boats that take visitors out for an up close experience. They say you can high-five Chinese tourists this way, but throughout the day I didn’t see any activity on the Chinese side. There is also a subsidiary falls, shown above. This one is more photography friendly. The main falls is best shot by drone to capture the upper terraces not visible from the ground. By around 8:00 the first groups of tourists arrived, still in relatively small numbers for such a stunning location — I took this as my cue to leave.
To escape the daytime heat I made my way back to my homestay and then down the road a short distance to the Động Ngườm Ngao cave. I have always loved caves but I don’t like guided tours. After paying the $2 entrance fee I was shown to the cave entrance, and told to wander in — without a guide. I loved this — I went almost a half hour without encountering any other visitors. I had one of Vietnam’s most beautiful and expansive caves nearly all to myself. The cave had well lit paths throughout and sections to wander off if desired.
I got lunch at a little roadside family restaurant — with a typical basic and unsophisticated design, but with good food nonetheless. I felt silly sitting alone as large group of Vietnamese tourists arrived for their lunch with a hoard of screaming children. Afterwards I had just enough time to squeeze in a nap, with the heat being a perfect excuse to do so.
My final activity of the day had me walking almost the full way back to the falls, to climb a hill to the Trúc Lâm Phật Tích Pagoda. Even at 4:00 the humidity was so extreme that the simple hike was enough to break out in sweat. I’m slowly learning to contend with this reality in Asia. The pagoda was nice, but the real draw of this location was the view of the dramatic limestone karsts from above. I probably sat up there for about 90 minutes, listening to music and vibing with the scenery. This is one of those places that truly feels like a different planet.
The next day I had until 2:00 to stick around the area before checking out of my homestay. One of the things I liked best about the waterfall and the surrounding villages was how walkable everything was — of course I could have saw way more with a motorbike, but there was so much to see in just a couple miles radius. Before checking out I took a long walk through some nearby villages. Here I took in new perspectives on this other-worldly landscape as I walked along the border belt with China.
Up Next: Vietnam III. “Ha Long Bay Overnight Tour“
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