Ha Noi
Hanoi is the capital of Vietnam. Located in the red river delta in the centre of North Vietnam. It is the political,economic, cultural, commercial and tourist centre of the country. Hanoi was founded in 1010 AD as the "City of the Soaring Dragon" during the reign of king Ly Thai To.Throughout the thousand years of its eventful history, and despite being marked by destruction, wars and natural calamities, Hanoi still preserves many ancient architectural works including the Old Quarter and over 600 pagodas and temples. Famous sites include the One Pillar Pagoda (built in 1042), the Temple of Literature (built in 1070), Hanoi Citadel, Hanoi Opera House, and ex-president Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. Hanoi also characteristically contains 18 beautiful lakes such as Hoan Kiem Lake, West Lake, and Truc Bach Lake, which are the lungs of the city, with their surrounding gardens and trees providing a vital source of energy. Many traditional handicrafts are also practiced in Hanoi including bronze moulding, silver carving, lacquer painting, and embroidery. Hanoi has many famous traditional professional handicraft villages near by, such as Bat Trang pottery village, Ngu Xa bronze casting village and Yen Thai silk village.
Hoa Binh
Hoa Binh is a mountainous province located in the North. The annual average temperature ranges between 22.9 and 25 ° C. The culture of Hoa Binh consists of six minorities with their own languages, traditional literature, and festivals. Visitors can enjoy minority specialty dishes including rice cooked in bamboo and grilled meat. You can also enjoy watching traditional dance, music performances (bronze, drums, gongs), and Thai minority singing and dancing. The remote minority villages are attractive sites for tourists.
SaPa
Sapa is 380 km from Hanoi. Sapa is a beautiful and romantic resort town. At an altitude of 1,600m above sea level, the average temperature of the area is 15-18°C. It is cool in summer and cold in winter. Visitors to Sapa in summer can experience all four seasons in one day. Sapa has an amazing diversity of flora ranging from flowers to tropical and temperate fruits including plums, peaches, apples and pears. Traditionally, every Saturday a charming "Love Market" is organized and various hill tribe people go there to try and win a heart. Sapa is also of ideal climate for walking in the nearby hills, including Mount Fansipan, the highest point in Vietnam, and visiting ethnic villages.
Ha Long Bay
Located in the north east of Vietnam, 170 km east of Hanoi. Halong Bay is one of the country's most famous tourist destinations and was listed by UNESCO, as a world natural heritage site, and an area of outstanding natural beauty. Halong Bay borders Cat Ba Island in the south west, the sea in the east, and the mainland, creating a 120 km coastline. The bay is made up of 1,969 islands of various sizes, 989 of which have been given names.
Ninh Binh
The main attractions of Ninh Binh are : the ancient capital of Hoa Lu - the first capital of Vietnam; Bich Dong - a grotto located in the Ngu Hanh Son mountain range, in Hoa Lu district, where a short boat trip takes you into a beautiful landscape with canals meandering between high rocks and grottoes; Tam Coc - a boat trip from Bich Dong - this comprises of three grottoes: Hang Ca, Hang Hai and Hang Ba, all are adorned with beautiful stalactites and stalagmites in different shapes and colours, sparkling like gemstones); Phat Diem Cathedral (build in 1875-1898) - this cathedral covers an area of 8 hectares and consists of various structures, it is an architectural complex that combines the traditional pagoda architecture of Vietnam and the Gothic style of Christian architecture.
