Bac Son Valley Travel

Best time to visit

July and November are certainly the best time to visit Bac Son, even though the area is green year-round creating impressive views for photographers. During both of those periods, the rice fields are ready to be harvested and the landscape is covered in the yellow color. 

Geographically, in addition, Bac Son flat terrain is favorable for irrigation, so rice is planted 2 seasons and it often harvested later than most other areas from half a month to a month. Rice is not grown in Bac Son at the same time so some fields are harvested sooner, some fields are harvested later, these all make to the colorful arrays.

Check the below table for the general idea of Bac Son Valley weather throughout the year.

Bac Son Valley’s current weather and 7-day forecast

BẮC SƠN WEATHER

Bac Son is an ideal place for adventurers. There is numerous things to do in Bac Son. Check it out !

Na Lay mountain 

Conquering Na Lay peak is a very interesting experience which most of the travellers to Bac Son want to do. You need to climb over 1000 stepped steps to reach its peak which is  600 meters above sea level. The pathway is good for those who like adventure travel and is in good shape. With its amazing view of awesome rice paddies, the Bac Son valley looks like a colourful picture which makes you feel lost in a real paradise. 

Quynh Son village

The main tourist attractions where most of the visitors staying overnight in a homestay with local family of Tay ethnic group. The village is about 2 kilometres from the town,  lies inside the Bac Son valley with over 400 traditional stilt houses facing to the South and its back leans on the mountain. The whole village looks like a colourful pic with the black of the mountain, the lush green of the rice field, the emerald water of its stream. On the other hand, you can also meet friendly locals who welcome you with a warm smile and kind-hearted. 

Bac Son flower valley

Situated in Tran Yen commune, Bac Son district, 13 kilometres from Quynh Son village, known as the largest flower valley in Vietnam with over 20.000 square meters, opened in November 2018. This is an ideal place for those who love flowers with various type of colourful flowers shining in the endless flower field surrounding by massive mountainous region. 

Bac Son uprising museum

If you are a history lover, Bac Son uprising museum is a place you shouldn’t miss. Located in the highway No 1B, 2.5 kilometres from the town. The museum showcases the Prehistoric period and Bac Son during the French war with some details about the movement against the French colonial. 

Nong Luc temple

Built in 1927 under the reign of Nguyen Dynasty, Nong Luc temples is known as one of 20 religious sites in Bac Son with a unique architectural style, with a combination between the traditional style of the Northern region and the stilt house of the Tay ethnic group. There is a lots of art motif to be explored. 

Dang Mo waterfall

If you are in a search of a place to cool off, have fun and connect with nature, Dang Mo waterfall is a good choice. What makes the waterfall unique is because of its pristine natural beauty and hidden charm need to be explored in the forest. It is about 20 kilometres or 40 minute-drive from Bac Son, in my opinion, you can spend your second to explore the waterfall after a night staying in Bac Son.

There are several guesthouses and homestays in Bac Son. But, staying with a local family in a homestay is a better choice because you can sleep, eat, interact with locals to learn more about local living and most of the foreign visitor have chosen this option. On the other hand, most of the guesthouses mainly serve for Vietnamese which isn’t enough for Western standard. Please bear in mind that, you will be staying in a community room sharing with others because there is no private room in the homestay. 

Some of the good homestays in Bac Son:

Homestay Bac Son

Address : Tham Pat village, Quynh Son, Bac Son

Mobile : 0847 989 333

Trong Dung Bac Son Homestay 

Address : Tham Pat village, Quynh Son, Bac Son

Mobile : 097 925 13 25

Homestay Duong Cong Trich

Address: Na Rieng 2 village, Quynh Son, Bac Son

Mobile : 097 825 10 55
 

We not only explore beautiful tourist attractions in Bac Son but also taste local cuisine in Bac Son with the best dishes which you must-try such as black round sticky rice cake (Banh Trung den), sticky rice in the bamboo pipe (Com Lam), roasted duck etc…

Black round sticky rice cake

It is known as a signature dish of Bac Son, made of sticky rice, mung bean and pork. Thanks to its soil and weather condition, which makes the sticky rice flavorful, soft and sweet. After soaking the rice for about 6 to 8 hours, then drain the water from the rice and let it drip dry in a colander and mix with ashes from sticky rice plants filtered. It is wrapped by hand in a cylinder shape with 30 centimetres long, 7 centimetres of its diameter, tied by a bamboo string. Before bring it to boil, people dip in into water one more time then move to a big saucepan, add water and boil it in 4 to 5 hours. It is cut into small round shape before serving. 

Brown sticky rice

It is also known as the featured dish of Bac Son valley, dyed into purple by the leaves of the violet glutinous rice plant. Every single grain of rice is well-selected, the leaves are pounded, squeeze to get the water. After washing rice, soaking rice with the water from the leaves of violet glutinous rice for about 4 to 6 hours in order to make the purple of the leaves sinking in rice. 

It is served with sesame salt which makes a unique taste of brown sticky rice in Bac Son valley

“Khaunhuc”

This pork & taro dish is commonly served during the celebrations of the local ethnic minority tribes, which is a time consuming, meticulously prepared dish, with every ingredient needing to be present to truly be called “khau nhuc”.
A combination of roasted pork loin marinated with spices and honey, the flavor, aroma and the texture are what sets the dish apart. Tau soi leaves, a pickled herb used by the Tay ethnic minority, is finely chopped and mixed with soy sauce and a special mix of dried spices, and applied to the meat to marinade for 15 minutes.

“Khaunhuc” is served on the plate looking something like an up-ended basket.  All the strips of pork loin are woven together and cover a core of steamed taro.

Roast duck (with ‘moc mat’ leaves)

It begins with a perfect stuffing mixture made of finely chopped onion, garlic, chili, pepper, cardamom, anise and a local herd called ‘moc mat’.

The mouth-watering, glossy skin is produced by dipping the duck in boiling water laced with honey, roasting it over coals for 15 minutes and then deep-frying for another 15 minutes. Cooked whole and served carved into pieces, the meat it juicy and tender and has a spicy kick to it. The thin, crispy skin does not have a fatty feel to it because of the unique three-stage cooking process.

This roast duck from Lang Son is surely the equal of its more famous cousins from across the border.

Since Bac Son is just 100 miles from Hanoi, so the easiest way to visit this valley is by a road trip from Hanoi using Highway 3 to Thai Nguyen and turning to National Highway 1B. 

The cheapest way is by bus, but you will have to catch one in the station and walk to the homestay when you arrive. 
Motorbike is an extremely great option for budget adventurous travelers. You can both take pictures of the landscape on the way and venture around Bac Son to your heart’s content. The disadvantages are that you may need decent health and knowledge about the region. 

Lastly, even though private cars are available all around the capital of Vietnam, we would not recommend this way since it is quite expensive.

Contact us to get more information