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Thac Ba Lake, located in Yen Binh, Yen Bai, is one of Vietnam's three largest artificial lakes. It covers an area of about 20,000 hectares and is home to over 1,300 islands of different sizes. With a majestic natural landscape, Thac Ba Lake is attractive to a host of globetrotters, especially motorbikers, due to its charming beauty with a poetic lake. It is not only the main source of water supply for generating electricity but also an essential fresh air habitat and an ideal spiritual place. This destination is considered a pearl of the Northwest region and compared to "Halong on land".
Thac Ba Lake is regarded as a pearl of the Northwest region and compared to "Halong on land".
Thac Ba Lake is in the Chay river basin in Yen Binh district and a part of Luc Yen district. From Hanoi, you move a distance of 140 km along Highway 2 to the west to get to the lake. Construction of the artificial lake started in 1962 and was completed in 1970. The primary purpose of this construction is to block the Chay river to create a lake serving water to the Thac Ba hydropower plant.
In addition to the Chay River, the main water source, Thac Ba Lake, gets water from a large canal system such as Hanh or Cat canals. The silt of the Chay River and the system of large canals contribute to raising the level of all the villages along the lake. Around the area of Thac Ba lake, there are up to 13 ethnic groups, including Tay, Nung, Mong, Dao, Phu La, Cao Lan, and many others. They live on the mountainside or along the lake and still retain the new features, unique cultural characteristics, customs, traditions, and festivals.
Enjoy the beauty of nature at Thac Ba Lake
Coming to Thac Ba Lake, you can take a boat, immerse yourself in nature and take in the cool air. After enjoying the majestic scenery of mountains and islands, you should pay a visit to Thuy Tien cave, Xuan Long cave, Cao Bien mountain, Chang Ro mountain, Thac Ong temple, and Thac Ba temple. Besides, you can explore ancient forests or go along the Chay river and come to Ngoc Luc Yen to visit Sao cave, Dai Cai temple, and Khai Trung plain. The discovery of these famous sites will bring you more knowledge of the distinctive culture of the Tay and Yao ethnic groups.
With a length of 80 km, a width of 30 km, and an area of over 23,400 hectares, Thac Ba has a cool and pleasant climate. In the middle of summer, the temperature around the lake is always 1-2 ºC lower than that of other areas. The moisture from the water surface will bring you great comfort even on the hottest days.
There are many stunning attractions when visiting Thac Ba Lake by motorbike
If you are an adventure lover, it is highly recommended to travel by motorbike. Riding a motorbike will give you increased flexibility. Thac Ba Lake is 50 km from Yen Bai city. From here you can get to Ngoi Tu village easily by motorbike. After arriving in Ngoi Tu village and checking in your hotel/ homestay, you can spend time taking some rest and walking around the peaceful cultural village.
Motorbike is the best means of transport for traveling Thac Ba Lake
Homestay is an ideal accommodation for those fond of discovering the culture of new lands. When choosing to stay in a homestay, we will live with a local family instead of staying in a hotel or motel. This accommodation will help you to understand more about their lifestyles and cultures. You will visit the beautiful villages with traditional cultures, nature reserves, ancient forests, and golden terraced rice fields. This short trip will not take you too much money.
Stay at a beautiful homestay in Ngoi Tu Village, Vu Linh
Visitors to Thac Ba lake often choose to stay at a homestay next to Thac Ba hydroelectric lake in Ngoi Tu village in Vu Linh commune. Ngoi Tu attracts tourists because of its ideal location, with one part as the mainland and the other bordering the immense lake. What’s more, it is home to unique cultural and traditional values of ethnic minorities of Dao, Cao Lan, and Nung. Coming to Ngoi Tu, you will have an occasion to eat the local dishes, immerse yourself in the charming scenery, and enjoy folk songs and dances.
Thac Ba Hydropower Plant, located on the Chay River in Yen Binh district, is the first hydroelectric plant built in North Vietnam during wartime.
Located on the tranquil Thac Ba lake, Ngoi Tu Cultural Village in Vu Linh commune, Yen Binh district appeals to many domestic and foreign tourists in the form of community-based tourism. Ngoi Tu is endowed with a dramatic landscape and has long-standing cultural values. With these unique features, Ngoi Tu is a potential land for developing community-based tourism.
Thac Ba Lake is an artificial lake that was made simultaneously with the hydropower project of the same name. The area of 23400 hectares is surrounded by lush green vegetation. The blue lake brings cool air, while the surrounding scenery is poetic and charming. The best way to admire the lake's spectacular beauty is to take a boat trip.
If you are interested in spiritual tourism, don’t hesitate to explore the Thac Ba temple. The temple comes with unique architecture and sacred and ancient space. Surrounding the temple are green trees and a magnificent landscape that give visitors a sense of peace and tranquility.
On the trip to Thac Ba Lake, Thuy Tien Cave is also worth a visit. The cave is associated with a love story in the old days. Legend has it that the towering mountain here is where Mercury’s son Trong Hai and Jade Emperor’s daughter Thuy Tien occasionally met and loved each other. After that, their fathers decided to build this cave to live together. It is said that all the strange images inside the cave are closely connected with their love story. When entering the cave, you will feel an air of mystery covering the whole space.
Near Thuy Tien Cave is Xuan Long Cave, which is hidden in rock mountains. Going deep into the cave for the discovery, you will be amazed at natural stones with strange shapes.
Dat O Do is the place to worship the Master, who taught people to have handwriting. The local people set up this temple to commemorate the Master. Beside the temple is a pagoda, forming a cluster of relics: Ong Do temple & pagoda.
Cao Bien mountain is next to Thac Ba lake, in Phuc An commune. Quite a few tourists like climbing up the mountain to see the whole lake. Besides, you can better understand the culture and customs of the people living around the lake.
Thac Ba Lake produces thousands of tons of seafood per year. On the journey to discover Thac Ba Lake, you can not ignore delicacies made from fish. Fish of all kinds and weights are processed to create delicious foods with characteristic flavors. Fish are marinated with various spices such as cashew oil, honey, lesser galangal ginger, lemongrass, chili, and garlic before being grilled on charcoal.
The fish that are used for making fish salad must be the fish living in the lake. After being cleaned, they are sliced, spiced, and mixed with powdered grilled rice and types of chopped herbs.
The lake provides you with a rich source of shrimp of high quality. Shrimp on the lake are mainly caught by small-scale boats of the locals. Afterward, they take the collected shrimp to the market before transferring them to the plains for trade. The homestays around Thac Ba Lake usually serve you fried shrimp in meals.
The main ingredients of this food include ant eggs and other traditional ingredients. This food has a special flavor while retaining a rolled food's distinctive taste. The greasy ant eggs wrapped in crispy rolls excite many tourists. However, due to the limited amount of ant eggs in nature, it isn't easy to collect the ingredients for processing this food.
Five-color sticky rice is a familiar dish in the Northwest region. The sticky rice here is especially glutinous and fragrant. Its color is created by kinds of forest leaves and fruits. While traveling in Thac Ba Lake, you should not miss the opportunity to try this food.
Bamboo-tube rice cannot be absent from the list of tasty foods in Thac Ba. The locals put rice in bamboo tubes before baking them on fire. Depending on the type of rice and the mixed ingredients, the food will have different flavors from region to region.
Chickens are raised right on the lands around the lake by homestay owners. If you want to enjoy this chicken dish, ask the host to prepare it for you in advance. The chicken is grilled with aromatic litsea that produces the fragrant smell of resin. Adding ginger, lemongrass, and Zanthoxylum rhetsa increases the aroma of the food. While the chicken is being grilled, its fat flows down the charcoal fire, bringing the aromatic flavor.
In addition to the dishes mentioned above, Thac Ba lake has countless delicious dishes such as chicken cooked with sour bamboo shoots, banana inflorescence salad, dried buffalo meat, shrimp paste, and Dai Minh grapefruit. All of these dishes carry exquisite flavors of Thac Ba.
Check out our most scenic motorbike tour routes via Thac Ba Lake, which are best for off-road riding. Just choose the one that suits your plan most and head to Vietnam in no time!
Motorbike Route: Hanoi → Mai Chau → Moc Chau → Phu Yen → Thac Ba Lake (Vu Linh) → HanoiComing to
Northwest Vietnam, you will have an occasion to immerse yourself in spectacular landscapes with rocky mountains, terraced rice fields, and magnificent waterfalls. This mountainous region also leaves tourists with a considerable impression of local cuisine. The Northwest Vietnam Motorbike Tour from Hanoi to Thac Ba Lake - 4 days will allow you to experience as much as possible.
Check out the detailed itinerary!
Motorbike Route: Hanoi → Phu Yen → Mu Cang Chai → Sapa → Thac Ba Lake → Hanoi
Northwest Vietnam offers expansive and picturesque views of typical rice terrace fields. Traveling among these cool majestic mountains and featured terraces will be a memorable experience for tourists. The number of visitors interested in enjoying peacefulness, ready to leave the bustling cities and get close to nature, has increased. Only with 149USD/day/person when signing for a group of 4 people will you get good motorbikes, kind services, and the best opportunities to experience real travel life. Let’s do it!
Motorbike Route: Hanoi → Thac Ba Lake → Sapa → Bac Ha → Ha Giang → Dong Van → Bao Lac → Ba Be → Ba Khan → Hanoi
What type of tourism are you into among environmental tourism, historical tourism, cultural tourism, and adventure tourism? Regardless of which one you like, an off-road adventure can offer you most of the types above with unforgettably thrilling experiences and feelings. Let’s get onto two wheels passing through the untamed nature and the landscapes as beautiful as a watercolor painting. Our 9-day North Vietnam Motorbike Tour from Hanoi to Ba Khan will bring you to some of the most mind-blowing natural wonders and the heaven of serenity that are hardly found elsewhere.
Motorbike Route: Hanoi → Mai Chau → Phu Yen → Mu Cang Chai → Than Uyen → Sapa → Bac Ha → Hoang Su Phi → Ha Giang → Dong Van → Meo Vac → Bao Lac → Lago Ba Be → Thac Ba Lake → Hanoi
The 11-day North Vietnam Motorbike Tour from Hanoi to Thac Ba Lake is one of the most remote tours in the whole country. However, that intact and pristine area is home to several glorious, naturally preserved, and almost intact destinations by humans. They range from limestone mountains, rice terraces, river valleys, and green meadows. By exploring the north of Vietnam by motorbike, seeing the diversity of nature and people, and witnessing their daily life in the remote area, you can get out of your comfort zone, explore the other aspects of life, and somehow understand the voice of mother nature.
Motorbike Route: Hanoi → Mai Chau → Phu Yen → Than Uyen → Sapa → Bac Ha → Ha Giang → Dong Van → Meo Vac → Quang Uyen → Ban Gioc Waterfall → Cao Bang → Ba Be Lake → Thac Ba Be → Hanoi
Northern Vietnam is a magnificent spot that has enchanted a large proportion of tourists annually with its various geographical features and topography; high mountains, forests to plateau. The 12-day North Vietnam motorbike tour from Hanoi to Thac Ba lake hosted by BM Travel Adventure will bring you out of the hustling Hanoi to the heavenly pristine regions of northern Vietnam, such as Mai Chau, Phu Yen, Mu Cang Chai, Tu Le, Than Uyen, Sapa, Ha Giang, Dong Van, Meo Vac, Quang Uyen, Ban Gioc and Ba Be Lake where your heart must beat faster with the breathtaking scenery and thrilling adventurous experiences.
Thac Ba Lake is a wonderful destination that any biker cannot miss on a trip to Northwest Vietnam, with breathtaking landscapes and a range of outstanding destinations. Thac Ba Lake mainly develops community tourism, so the expense of the journey to explore Thac Ba Lake is relatively reasonable. In short, with the poetic and magnificent landscape, Thac Ba is regarded as one of Vietnam's most beautiful artificial lakes. Traveling from Hanoi to Thac Ba Lake by motorbike certainly will give you memorable experiences. If you intend to take your next vacation in Northwest Vietnam, spend time visiting Thac Ba Lake for the most enjoyable experiences.
You may also like to read more Vietnam Destinations
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