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Trek through the northern valleys - Vietnam

Vietnam is a splendid country whose geographical silhouette is shaped like a dragon, a symbol of strength and goodness in the Far East. Here, everything is sun-drenched rice paddies, bamboo hedges and conical hats, images of an eternal Asia, miraculously preserved, vibrant and authentic. The north of Vietnam is certainly the most spectacular of the three regions that make up the country, with its mountains, karst landforms and rice paddies, as well as the ethnic minorities who live there with their flamboyant costumes and legendary hospitality.

Itinerary

• Day 1: MONTREAL - HANOI : Participants meet at Montréal-Trudeau airport and take off for Hanoi with connecting flight.
  Meals and overnight stay on the plane
• Day 2: MONTREAL - HANOI : Arrival at Hanoi airport. Welcome by the guide and driver, then transfer to the city (30 km ~ 45 min. drive).
  Check-in at your hotel.
  Dinner included
• Day 3: HANOI : Breakfast at your hotel. Visit Hanoi on foot with your local French-speaking guide. Lunch during the tour and return to the hotel later in the day. You'll have a meeting with your guide to discuss the days ahead. Dinner in Hanoi's old quarter to sample local specialties.
  Night at the hotel
  Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
• Day 4: HANOI – QUANG BINH – RIA VILLAGE : Breakfast at the hotel, then transfer to Quang Binh (270 km – 5.5 hr drive) for the northern mountains. As soon as you leave Hanoi, the scenery changes dramatically. You drive along karst peaks covered with lush vegetation. You pass rice paddies, orange groves, dragon fruit plantations, sugar cane plantations, tea plantations... You dine in a local restaurant, then continue your journey towards the Lo River mountain range. You arrive at the village of Ban Ria, Quang Binh district in Ha Giang province. This is the starting point of your trek. You meet your local team: local guide, porters, cook... and off you go for an 8-day trek. This afternoon, you'll walk for around 2 hours in Tay ethnic territory through plantations of cinnamon, latan and manioc. A steep descent through rice paddies takes you to the village of Thon Thuy, where you stay with a Tay family.
  Dinner and overnight stay with a Tay family.
  Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
  Distance: 5 km / Approx. walking time: 2 hrs / Elevation: +400m/-50m
• Day 5: RIA - TAN TUONG - NAM DAT : Breakfast with the locals. The trail continues gently uphill through palm trees and corn plantations to the village of Na Bung, another Tay village. Finally, on a slightly uneven path through bamboo forests and meadows, you reach the upper reaches of the village of Tan Thuong, home to the Flower Hmong. We break for lunch, then descend to the lower reaches of Tan Thuong village, where you spend the night with a Tay family in the hamlet of Nam Dat.
  Supper and overnight stay with a Tay family.
  Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
  Distance: 16 km / Approximate walking time: 6 hrs / Elevation: +800m/-1000m
• Day 6: NAM DAT – NAM QUA - LONG CHUN : After breakfast, you leave your host family and set off for another beautiful day of varied walking through woods, villages and rice fields. You descend the valley to the hamlet of Tan Nam, then head for the shore of Song Chung Lake. A boat trip on the lake takes you to the other shore, where you'll find the Red Yao village of Nam Qua. Lunch with a local family. After a short break, you're back on your way to the village of Long Chun. In this area, several minorities live side by side. You'll pass through Yao, Hmong and Tay villages.
  Supper and overnight stay in Long Chun village, home to the Dao Rouge ethnic group.
  Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
  Distance: 15 km / Approx. walking time: 5 hrs / Elevation: +1100m/-500m
• Day 7: LONG CHUN – NAM CAI – HONG SON : This morning you hike through a primary forest, observing the beautiful nature of this mountainous region. You're walking in a completely different atmosphere from your first few days. After a picnic lunch, you walk along a stream for a few moments, then continue through a beautiful mixed forest of chestnut, bamboo and banana trees... You'll also come across cardamom crops, an important source of income for the locals. In the afternoon, we continue walking through a variety of landscapes: villages, rice terraces, bamboo forests and streams. Finally, a steep descent through bamboo groves takes you to the village of Nam Cai, where you dine with a Man Ta Pan family.
  Dinner and overnight stay in the Hong Son village of the long-tunic Dao ethnic group.
  Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
  Distance: 15 km / Approx. walking time: 6 hrs / Elevation: +800m/-600m
• Day 8: HONG SON - SON THANH - NUNG CU : You continue your walk through the narrow rice terraces that reproduce the natural curves of the mountain. You pass around the Nam Khoa pass, then descend to the village of Nùng Cu, inhabited by the Nung minority. The women of this ethnic group are certainly the most coquettish, dressed in sampot and wearing a turban fastened with a silver brooch on the bun. They wear silver jewelry. The indigo color that dominates their traditional garments is extracted from a locally-grown plant of the same name.
  Dinner and overnight stay with Nung locals in their typical traditional house.
  Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
  Distance: 14 km / Approx. walking time: 5 hrs / Elevation: +600m/-600m
• Day 9: NUNG CU – KHOA TRUNG – NAM AI : A beautiful day's walk, through rice paddies, tea fields and villages clinging to the mountainside. Leaving your host family, you continue downhill to the village of Nam Khòa, where you cross a stream to the other side of the valley. From Nung territory, you move on to the Red Dao. You pass through Khoa Trung, a beautiful village inhabited by the Dao Rouge ethnic group. Afternoon walk through landscapes of rice terraces, bamboo forests and tea fields.
  Dinner and overnight stay at the Nam Ai village of the long-tunic Dao ethnic group.
  Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
  Distance: 13 km / Approx. walking time: 6 hrs / Elevation: +700m/-400m
• Day 10: NAM AI – K38 – TAO HO PIEN : In the morning, you'll follow small paths up and down the mountain, following the mountain curves. You reach the Tay village for lunch. In the afternoon, you climb to the village of Phin Ho, famous for its tea. Continue up to the Phin Há pass (1068m altitude), then descend through magnificent rice fields to the village of Ta Ho Pien.
  Dinner and overnight stay with H'mong locals in their typical traditional house.
  Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
  Distance: 15 km / Approx. walking time: 6 hrs / Elevation: +700m/-400m
• Day 11: TAO HO PIEN – NAM NGHI – NAM HONG : After breakfast, the trek continues through beautiful rice terraces and the Dao and Hmong villages of Nam Nghi and Giang Ha. The effort is amply rewarded by magnificent views of the steep hills carved by the hands of ethnic minorities over the centuries. Afternoon arrival at Nam Hong village. At the end of the day, free time to relax.
  Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel
  Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
  Distance: 12 km / Approximate walking time: 4 hrs / Elevation: +400m/-150m
• Day 12: NAM HONG - HANOI : After breakfast, we leave Nam Hong and drive to Hanoi (320km ~ 6.5 hr drive).
  Arrival in Hanoi at the end of the day.
  Dinner and overnight stay in Hanoi
  Breakfast, lunch and dinner included
• Day 13: HANOI - MONTREAL : Breakfast at the hotel.
  Transfer to Hanoi airport (35km-1h) for your return flight.
  Breakfast included

The Challenge Against Cancer program is a series of fundraising travel campaigns to benefit cancer research. The Challenge against cancer is a unique program that offers our participants the chance to show their support for cancer research while discovering the world and surpassing themselves through various sporting activities. This unique adventure has a special and specific goal: to motivate our participants to raise funds for the advancement of cancer research.

Learn more about the Challenge Against Cancer program