As a mountainous district northeast of Quang Ninh province, Binh Lieu is about 270 km from Hanoi. It has a mild year-round climate, diverse topographical structure, and beautiful natural scenery, like a “mini version of Sapa.”
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What season is beautiful in Binh Lieu?
Each season, this place has its exciting point to attract visitors. In the spring, tourists can participate in unique festivals such as the Luc Na communal house festival, the Soong Co singing festival, the day “abstaining from the wind, or watching the maple leaves and red leaves.
In summer, waterfalls roll while the terraces are green. In autumn, the meadows of reeds along the two sides of the road to the landmark bloom attract many tourists. In winter, if you’re lucky, you can see the ice with your own eyes. The end of the year is the harvest season and the occasion of the flower festival, the new rice celebration.
Homestay
Accommodation services in Binh Lieu do not have many options. You can stay at several local homestays, such as A Dao, A Piu, Hoang San, and Song Mooc, priced at 30,000 – 60,000 VND per night in the form of a dormitory room or affordable guesthouses costing about 250,000 VND per night.
How to get to Binh Lieu
If you are traveling by motorbike, you need to follow the route Hanoi – National Highway 1 – National Highway 18 – Que Vo (Bac Ninh) – Pha Lai – Sao Do – Dong Trieu (Quang Ninh) – Uong Bi – Ha Long – Bai Chay Bridge – Cam Pha – Cua Ong – Mong Duong – Tien Yen – Tien Yen intersection, turn left to National Highway 18C, go towards Hoanh Mo about 28 km more.
If you go by car, the way is much faster and simpler. From Hanoi along Hai Phong highway, turn onto National Highway 10 to Thai Binh, about 40 km to Uong Bi.
You should take a private car or a bus to Binh Lieu (about 180,000 VND / time) and rent a motorbike (200,000 VND / day) to ensure your health.
Experience
Border landmark
The border patrol route to the west of Binh Lieu will fascinate the backpackers. The road is not too twisty and challenging to go, but it also crosses the mountains and poetic fields for you to admire the poetic scenery.
As a border area with nearly 50 km of border with China, in Binh Lieu, you should rent a motorbike or walk along hilly trails to conquer the Vietnam – China border landmarks. The four main milestones that should not miss include milestones 1300, 1302, 1305, and 1327.
After about an hour of running from Binh Lieu town towards Hoanh Mo on National Highway 18C, turn right into the village of Ngan Chuong and then turn left in the direction of landmark 61 for about 8km to reach landmark 1300, 1302.
Next is the journey to conquer the landmark 1305, the landmark located at the highest mountain peak in Binh Lieu district. From landmark 1302, run for another 9 km. You will come to a trail in the middle of the mountain nicknamed “dinosaur spine.”
At any time of the day, walking on the “back of dinosaurs” covered with grass, you can also see the incredible natural scenery and feel so small in the vast sky. Trekking through this place in at least 2 hours, if the weather is good, you will reach landmark 1305.
With landmark 1327 in Phat Chi village, Dong Van commune, you can ask the border guards to know the route better. On the way to landmark 1327, you will pass many more milestones.
Conquering Cao Xiem’s peak
Cao Xiem Peak, also known as Khau Khoang Peak or Flag Pole, is a tourist attraction in the border district of Binh Lieu, Quang Ninh province. With an altitude of 1,429 m above sea level, Cao Xiem is also known as the “roof” of Quang Ninh province.
The road from the foot of the mountain to the top of Cao Xiem is more than 7 km long, so it is possible to combine climbing and camping during the day. The path is mainly a trail that follows the mountainside with many rocky mountains and crosses the vast grassy hills.
Hunting clouds on the top of Cao Ly Peak
Cao Ly is a high mountain range stretching over 40 km2 with eight peaks over 1,000 m high in the border district of Binh Lieu. Goryeo mountain, also known as Co Don mountain, more than 10 km from the center of Huc Dong commune, is a camping and picnic spot suitable for groups of young people or small families.
If around July-September, Goryeo attracts tourists because the flowers bloom and dye the hills purple. Then by the end of October, this place is an ideal hunting spot for the sea of clouds. The camping site is about 30-40 minutes walking from the top, motorbikes and personal cars can reach the campsite.
Khe Van Waterfall
When discovering Goryeo mountain, visitors move 15 more, combined with visiting Khe Van waterfall, which has three floors and is the highest in Quang Ninh province. If you go from Binh Lieu town, you ask for the way to Huc Dong commune to go to Khe Van Waterfall, and you will see three beautiful cascades in the place that used to be the dating place of San Chi boys and girls.
Khe Van waterfall is located in Huc Dong commune, Binh Lieu district, Quang Ninh province, 100 km from Ha Long city and about 12 km from the center of Binh Lieu town to the southeast.
The waterfall is nearly 100 m high, divided into three different floors. Each cascade has a diverse beauty.
The first floor of the waterfall welcomes visitors with ample space. In the middle is a rock protruding like an elephant in a horizontal position, surrounded by hundreds of large and small stones.
Up to the second floor of the waterfall, visitors will see the water flowing down is divided into two, a large side and an impressive small side. Finally, when you have conquered the top floor of the waterfall, visitors will not be surprised by the majesty of nature.
Highland market
On the weekend, when visiting Binh Lieu, visitors can walk around the market in the town center or the market in Dong Van commune. The market meets every Saturday, Sunday, and every week. People from all over the village from neighboring communes and districts also bring goods, agricultural, and forestry products to the market to exchange and trade.
Many typical items are only available at the fair, such as bath leaves, medicinal herbs of the ethnic minorities, wild honey, and bamboo shoots. People come to the market to buy, sell, eat and drink from morning to late afternoon, but it’s crowded. Especially from 10 am onwards, the car is full of yards and goods are displayed all over the road.
Discovering the culture
Binh Lieu has over 96% of the population are ethnic minorities, most of which are Tay, Dao, San Chi, Kinh, and Hoa. Visitors to Binh Lieu will be immersed in the culture and identity of the people. People here.
In particular, a branch of the Dao ethnic group is the Dao Thanh Phan ethnic group, who continually stand out with their costumes with many motifs and red as the primary color. The Dao Thanh Phan people believe they live in high mountains, so they must wear colorful clothes to avoid wild animals.
Depending on your schedule, you can also visit the top of Quang Nam Chau, Keo Lan mountain, Cao Ba Lanh mountain, or visit Luc Na communal house worshiping Thanh Hoang village and revolutionary heroes to hear the legend of bamboo trees growing upside down and admire the ancient communal house with five compartments, brick walls, yin, and yang tiled roof.
Specialties
Remember not to miss the typical delicacies of this region, such as 7-color sticky rice, cook mo cake, nodding cake, wormwood cake, vermicelli noodles, grilled stream fish, and fried bamboo shoots.
