Ban Ba Waterfall - Spectacular Picturesque Destination In Tuyen Quang

Tuyen Quang, about 170 km from Hanoi, is a mountainous province in Northeast Vietnam. This is a historic land possessing many tourist spots related to French Resistance of Vietnam as well as magnificent nature. Tuyen Quang Province is also one stop in my tour with motorbike tour Vietnam.

Ban Ba Waterfall is one of the must-go attractions in this province. It was recognized as the National Monument in 2007. It’s only 70 km to travel, not very far from Tuyen Quang city.

During my trip, I was stunned by the amazing road beginning from Chiem Hoa. The awe-inspiring experience of driving through the lush green rice paddies, then winding around enormous mountain ranges is definitely unforgettable. Cutting across the immense evergreen forests, a 25-km trail led me to the majestic waterfall.

Ban-Ba-Waterfall-Tuyen-Quang

Submerge in Cool Water

All the fresh cool air, deep blue sky together with greenery forest surrounded me when I first came here. Looking up to the top, I saw Ban Ba Waterfallwhich is about 3 km long and divided into three main stages.

Thac Cum is the first cascade which has a “dragon area” at the foot. There are dragon-shaped cliffs lying next to the water flows, so the locals give that name to the area. The second one is Thac Cao, and the third is called Thac Gio. Between these stages, there aresmall waterfalls which are 5-7 m high, small cliffs and emerald ponds. Like other tourists, I couldn’t stop myself from jumping right into the crystal water. The cool will definitely wash away all worries and bring nice relax moments to me.

The surrounding landscapes are ancient forest trees; some of them are hundreds of years old and covered by tangled vines. The bird songs combined with sound from the waterfall createa pristine and romantic scenery. At the foot of the waterfall, ethnic minorities build their houses on the mountain slopes in the midst of the green valley.

Listen to Legendary Stories

There is a story about the origin of Ban Ba Waterfall told by the locals. In ancient time, there’s a couple from adistant place; they came and settled in here. They founded the village Lac Ban. As time passed by, the village became more and more crowded.

Lac Ban Village held an annual contest of releasing bamboo raft into water flows running from mountain peak to prove the man’s bravery. The participants released the raft after hearing three sounds from the wooden drum. Unfortunately, the fierce dangerous water flows engulfed many people. Their families cried days and nights; the tears dropped into flows that created the waterfall today. The water starts from Lac Ban village (the source) then flows to Ban Ba and falls three stages. These days, the sounds heard from the flows are sometimes like the crying sounds of the ancient villagers.

Cultural Diversity of The Locals

Besides enjoying the scenic nature, I also had the chance to explore the customs and traditional culture of the ethnic minorities in here. The Tay people, Nung people and Dao peoples are inhabited together in Ban Ba village. They often organize plenty of creative traditional games in festivals that create the diversity of local culture. Especially, the beautiful “Sli” singing combined with the music played by “Tinh” instrument wasreally impressed me though I don’t understand the lyric clearly.

After a long trip with ADV Vietnam Motorcycle Tours and Dirtbike Travel, I stopped to have a most delicious meal ever with sticky rice, grilled chicken and fish sauce – they all are specialties of Tuyen Quang. These mountainous sceneries and flavors will be embedded in my mind, even when this travel finished.