Forget the beaten paths, maps, and GPS. To discover Vietnam, you must experience it fully.
Far from roads and cities, a path opens up to you, following the very rhythm of the jungle, through the shade of bamboo groves, the freshness of flowing waters, and the raw brilliance of limestone cliffs. In 2025, this adventure promises to be the most unforgettable experience for exploring the Land of the Dragon.
This is not a simple hike. It's a series of transformations, an initiatory journey where, as the landscapes unfold, your own perspective is transformed. It's an opportunity to go further – into nature, into culture, and deep within yourself. Follow this wild thread that traverses Vietnam's green backbone, from the mist-soaked lowlands of Cát Tiên to the iodine-scented air of Cát Bà, weaving together mountains, rivers, caves, and ancestral villages.
It's a journey for those who aspire to a deep immersion – in nature, in culture, and in themselves.
Wild beauty of Cat Tien National Park - Mr Linh's Adventures
The South: where the forest observes you
Your journey begins in
Cát Tiên National Park, where at dawn, the mysterious calls of gibbons pierce through the mists, answering the croaking silence of the swamps.
It's there that nature observes you, vibrant and awake. Your steps will lead you beyond the majestic
Tung trees and through a network of giant roots, standing like sculptures from the forest floor. Beneath the mangroves, crocodiles glide stealthily through the murky waters, while bears slumber in their rehabilitation sanctuaries.
The jungle watches, silently, until you earn its trust.
Pushing your limits in Phong Nha-Ke Bang - Mr Linh's Adventures
Central Vietnam: into the Earth's depths
As the forest thickens northward, the trail guides you to a mysterious stone cathedral :
Phong Nha–Kẻ Bàng.
Here, limestone cliffs emerge from the earth, like myths forged by ancient ages, harboring abundant biodiversity in the heart of a timelessly beautiful landscape. Below, caves open like gaping mouths, swallowing time and echoing an immemorial silence. It's a place where dense, lush jungle and carved karst merge into a sacred geometry. Descend into the depths of
Hang Ba,
Hang Én, or even beyond, to secret chambers that only a few initiates have the privilege of discovering.
Pu Luong Nature Reserve nicknamed 'Little Sapa.' - Mr Linh's Adventures
Pù Luông, at the gates of the northern rice fields
The trail now curves towards higher elevations, leading you to
Pù Luông, where rice fields unfold like green waves against the mountains.
Taste the freshness of the bamboo groves, and share the warmth of the smiles of the Muong and Thai people. Here, forest and culture coexist harmoniously, in villages with stilt houses, where steps are slow and gentle. Hiking here becomes a meditation in motion. More than the distance, it's the feeling that time expands and transforms underfoot, lulled by the incessant murmur of water wheels.
"And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul." John Muir - Photo : Mr Linh's Adventures
Ba Bể, the wild wedding of water and rock
Then, heading north to
Ba Bể National Park, where limestone and water embrace.
Sneaking through dense jungle, a trail leads to the shimmering
lake of Ba Bể. There, dugout canoes glide silently between majestic cliffs draped in lush vegetation. In Puong Cave, bats seem to whisper ancient tales, while in the distance,
Dau Dang Waterfall softly rumbles. As the kind and untamed embrace of the forest closes in on you, the smiles of the Hmong, Tay, and Dao people accompany you, thus sealing the enduring memories of this place.
Cao Bang, on the border with China - Mr Linh's Adventures
The northeast: wild and unknown
Leaving the soothing shores of Ba Bể for the more remote regions of
Cao Bằng, the trail intensifies, as if nature itself invites you to a deeper commitment.
Human encounters become rarer, giving way to a precious solitude, while the climbs become more demanding, sculpting effort into the body. The villages then reveal themselves, no longer as obvious stops, but as fleeting whispers between the limestone slabs that dominate the landscape. The hike takes you through an increasingly dense jungle, to the extreme edge, approaching the Chinese border. It is here that the majestic
Ban Giốc waterfall rumbles with a revealing power – an enchanting spectacle of a passage, a border between two states of being. In this space where limits blur and where time itself seems to be forgotten, every step becomes a part of revelation. From the mysterious Nguom Ngao cave to the secret jungle passages near Trùng Khánh, every stone, every corner of this land seems imbued with a sacred character and a new truth that unfolds.
Landscapes from the ends of the earth... - Mr Linh's Adventures
Cát Bà: wild archipelago of the Gulf of Tonkin
From the depths of the jungle, the path now stretches towards the immense turquoise of the Gulf of Tonkin, leading you to the iconic
island of Cát Bà.
Here, a landscape of supernatural beauty unfolds with majestic karst cliffs rising out of the shimmering waters, their summits crowned with lush jungle. The trails, winding through this coastal rainforest, reveal hidden treasures. You will cross paths with ancient trees with deep roots and an old cave that served as a war hospital, now silent, buried deep in the heart of the mountain. The air here is imbued with the salt of the sea, carrying both the sea breeze and the mysterious shadow of the jungle. A final ascent, leading to
Ngu Lam peak, offers a panorama of unforgettable, almost mystical splendor. It's a symphony of the deep green of the jungle, the infinite blue of the ocean, the raw stone of the karsts, and the immensity of the sky. A final tableau that forever engraves the essence of this encounter between land and sea, like a spiritual revelation anchored deep within your being.
Wild escape on Cat Ba Island - Mr Linh's Adventures
Hanoi: the echo of the jungle
The journey does not end in a peaceful silence, but in a striking contrast that startles the senses.
From the deep echo of gibbons and the murmur of jungle waterfalls, you are suddenly plunged into the vibrant symphony of
Hanoi, this millennial capital. Here, the cacophony of horns and the profusion of aromas fill the air, but the ancestral rhythm of the jungle continues to resonate within you, persisting in your mind. You are no longer the same. The wild landscapes have carved a new depth within you.
This journey into the veins of Vietnam is much more than a simple hike ; it's an odyssey like a metamorphosis, a story of Vietnam told by its forests, a path sculpted not only in kilometers, but in sensations and inner revelations.
Once you have traversed it, the deep silence and untamed spirit of this adventure will accompany you forever.