On this biking trip from Kunming to Vietnam, You will have time to wander through ancient Confucian temples and the thriving villages of Chinese, Hani, Thai, Yuanyang - a most delightful vicinity populated by the Yi, Tai, Miao, Hani and several other minority groups. With their resilience and diligence, they created wonders both practical and exhilaratingly beautiful to behold. Crop is grown on steps carved into slopes and together with the clouds enveloping the mid-mountains, the landscape is transformed into a remarkable work of art. 

In our trip we will visit the schools and students of Yuanyang funded by Yunnan America Foundation. You will to talk to the students and visit their villages. Your help will encourage the students to go back schools and finish their study. We will travel through Vietnam's most spectacular mountain range is for cyclists seeking a biking challenge, enjoy climbing and mixing it up with some off road trails. We will travel to the scenic hill-station of Sapa and ride the amazing mountain trails around Fansipan, Indochina's highest peak, before riding over a 2 km high mountain pass, the first of many. This tour goes to a part of Vietnam where few foreigners ever venture and you¡¯ll be amazed at the colourful clothing of the many ethnic tribes as you ride through valleys and river gorges to Dien Bien Phu. Here we¡¯ll visit battlefields and learn how Ho Chi Minh defeated the colonial French and then two long days of riding will be rewarded by a stay at the charming Mai Chau lodge before heading back to Hanoi.

Day 8  Border crossing to Vietnam
Transfer to Customs.Walk through the customs and meet your Vietnmese team. Transfer to Sapa and the start of our adventure in Vietnam.Check into our hotel. Test out the bikes with an off road ride to the village of Ta Phin on trails used by the ethnic locals to get to market. 

Day 9  The day starts from the hotel with a long uphill to the Tram Ton Pass, at 1,900 m the highest road in Vietnam. An exhilarating downhill to a valley will lead us onto an off-road trail to Tam Duong.

Day 10  Another tough uphill starts the day, but the scenery is out of this world and continues with our descent through a picturesque gorge formed by the Nam Nin River. There are many minority villages on the way.

Day 11  It is impossible to count the number of hill climbs and descents on today¡¯s ride, but the reward is being in a remote area with a chance to see many ethnic tribal villages that very few foreigners visit.

Day 12   Enjoy a rest day in the history-rich city of Dien Bien Phu and time to visit the war museum and a local market.

Day 13   After a transfer we climb over Pha Din pass on switch backs that lead up a very fertile valley, lined with stair-stepping rice paddies, and notice that the traditional dress of the locals varies from village to village depending on their tribe. 

Day 14  We ride on a looping country road that passes through a patchwork quilt of crops and after lunch ride downhill to Mai Chau valley to our luxurious lodge.

Day 15  We cycle on single track through the valley to ethnic villages, over wooden bridges and through rice paddies before a transfer to Hanoi and gather one last time for a farewell dinner.

Day 16  Time to explore Hanoi before onward travel.