Cao Bang is favored by tourists with a very wonderful beauty with majestic mountains and historical places. However, if you travel to Cao Bang for the first time, you may be confused because of the cultural variety . To make your tour perfect, please refer to Cao Bang's travel experience with all the information below.

The stunning beauty of Cao Bang

1. Where is Cao Bang ? 

This is a province located in the northeastern region of our country. This province is bordered by China's Guangxi province in the North and Northeast directions.

To the west, Cao Bang is contiguous to Tuyen Quang and Ha Giang. The southern area is next to Bac Kan and Lang Son provinces.

This place has a rich natural landscape of mountains, so Cao Bang tourism is always a favorite destination. This place will have many interesting things for you to explore and experience. Especially those who love to explore the beauty of the Northeastern mountains and forests can come here to learn.

2. When to travel to Cao Bang ?

In Cao Bang, each season has its own beauty. If you have never been here, no matter what season you travel, Cao Bang will bring you new and extremely special feelings.

However, according to Cao Bang's travellers, Cao Bang attracts tourists the most at two times of the year. For those who want to see the Ban Gioc waterfall with beautiful blue water will choose the time of August to September. November-December is when Cao Bang is overwhelmed by triangular flowers and golden wildflowers of roads.

Ban Gioc Waterfall | Source: vnexpress.net

Triangular flowers in Cao Bang | Source: viettravel.com

The hot summer can make your tour somehow tiring. However, traveling to Cao Bang in the summer does have its own excitement. You can hide from the sun in the vast mountains and forests, watching the stream full of fish. More specifically, summer is also the season when plum ripe fragrant all over Cao Bang forest. You will freely enjoy wild plums and summer fruits in this coastal region.

3. How to get to Cao Bang ?

Cao Bang is a mountainous area, so the terrain is relatively complicated and difficult to go. Therefore, if you come from Hanoi or other provinces, you need to prepare well for the most convenient move.

The feature of the transport system here is that there are only by roads. Therefore, the choice of means of transportation here has only 2 options: motorbike and car. If you like adventure and more experience, you can choose to go here by motorbike.

When it comes to traveling by motorbike, you should be an experienced driver as the journey is not easy. Therefore, those who have weak driving skills and poor traveling experience should reconsider traveling to Cao Bang by motorbike.

The whole system of national highways running through Cao Bang province includes roads 3, 4A and 34, 4C. In which, 2 major national highways, national highways 3 and 4, have been greatly upgraded in terms of service quality. Therefore, you can completely rest assured when traveling on these 2 routes.

Travel to Cao Bang by motorbike

Travel to Cao Bang by motorbike

You will have the following directions to choose from. Depending on the starting location, you will choose the closest and most convenient route to go.

+ Going in the direction of National Highway 3. If you go from Hanoi, it will go in the direction through Thai Nguyen and Bac Kan provinces.

+ Going in the direction of Highway 4 (going through Lang Son area). According to Cao Bang tourism experience, if you go in this direction, you will have the opportunity to stop by Mau Son tourist area to visit.

Travel to Cao Bang by passenger car

You can choose to travel to Cao Bang 2 days 1 night by taking a bus. This way will make it more convenient for you to travel without worrying about getting lost if you have never been to Cao Bang before?

There are many bus companies running from My Dinh bus station to get to Cao Bang and it takes about 8 hours to travel to Cao Bang on average. Here you can go sightseeing, explore other tourist destinations in Cao Bang by renting a motorbike or taking a bus.

4. Where to stay when traveling to Cao Bang ?

Although it is a mountainous region, there are many quality places to stay in Cao Bang for tourists to choose from. You can choose a hostel, hotel or homestay in Cao Bang to rest depending on where you stop. However, if these accommodations are mainly located in the downtown area of ​​Cao Bang.

The service quality here is very good, the price is not too expensive. Therefore, according to Cao Bang's travel experience, the cost to travel here is also very affordable. However, if you go on weekends or public holidays, you should book in advance to avoid running out of rooms. From our experience, Explore Real Asia recommends for you Thanh Loan Hotel. This is a 2* hotel and has a high quality service with an affordable price of $20 a night.

If you join the Cao Bang trip, you can choose a place to stay, depending on where you stop by. In the Quang Uyen area or Ban Gioc tourist area, there are often some more beautiful Cao Bang homestays with good service quality for you to choose from.

These Cao Bang hotels have a very convenient location for you to choose as a place to rest. Because the location of hotels and homestays are located on the main roads, it is very convenient for you to go to other tourist destinations.

5. Ethnic Culture in Cao Bang

Cao Bang is the land of many ethnic groups, but the majority are Tay (about 42%), Nung (35%). The rest are Dao, H'Mong, Kinh ... So, traveling to Cao Bang, you will have the opportunity to get acquainted and learn more about the unique traditional cultural heritages of the Tay and Nung people here. The Tày people have a very unique culture expressed in the laughter and then singing tunes ... The Nung ethnic group living intertwined with the Tay also has its own cultural characteristics. |

Unique traditional cultural heritages of the ethnic people in Cao Bang

Traveling to Cao Bang, you should understand the customs and habits of the ethnic people so as not to commit taboos when visiting their villages. For example, if you see that a people's house has a green leaf in it, do not come in because it is a sign not to let strangers enter the house. Or, when entering the house, you should not touch the worship items in the house; should not turn away from sacred places …

You should pay a little attention when visiting ethnic villages

Ethnic people in Cao Bang are very hospitable and open-minded. They are also very enthusiastic when you ask them for help. To show their hospitality, they often offer wine. So according to the Cao Bang travel experience of those who have come here, even if you do not know how to drink, you should also  drink a little for the owner.

6. Recommended 2-day-traveling Itinerary

With 2 days travelling in Cao Bang, you can almost go to all the main attractions here if you know how to arrange the route properly.

On the first day of the tour, you should visit Ban Gioc waterfall - Nguom Ngao cave - Thang Theng lake. From the city to Ban Gioc is about 90km, so you need to start from morning to arrive at noon. You should bring snacks such as fruit, bread, and ham to make a picnic lunch at  the waterfall. Admission fee to Ban Gioc waterfall is 20,000 VND / person. You will take the time to visit, take photos and take a boat ride at the foot of the waterfall then choose a seat to have the lunch party.

In summer, Ban Gioc waterfall does not have much water but still very beautiful

Border landmark on Ban Gioc waterfall

Then leave the waterfall to explore Nguom Ngao cave, about 3km away. You will take about 1 hour to contemplate and explore the beautiful stalactites in this border area.

Nguom Ngao cave

It will take you about 1 hour to explore this incredible maze

In the afternoon, you leave the cave and return to the city. On the way back, you stop by Thang Hen lake ecotourism area in Tra Linh district. Here, do a walking tour, watching the sunset set in one of the 36 most beautiful mountain lakes in our country.

Sailing on Thang Hen Lake

On the second day of your trip to Cao Bang, you will spend the morning visiting the special relic of Pac Bo Cave, about 50km from Cao Bang city. In Pac Bo, you will admire the scenery of Le Nin stream, green Cac Mac mountain; visit Coc Bo cave where Uncle Ho rested during the days here, visited where Uncle Ho sat fishing, sitting to work ... Do not miss the "check-in" milestone 108 - where Uncle Ho set his first step back to the country after 30 years of finding a way to save the country.

Visit Le Nin stream, Cac Mac mountain in Pac Bo

Visit the place where Uncle used to work

In the summer, you have the opportunity to enjoy the fresh nature in this relic|

For the rest of this second day, take the time to enjoy delicious food in Cao Bang, explore the upland city and buy Cao Bang tourist souvenirs before ending your tour.

7. Delicious Cuisine in Cao Bang

Cuisine in Cao Bang has strong mountain flavors and bold ethnic identity of the Tay and Nung. The dishes that you should not miss when traveling to Cao Bang must include ant egg cakes, dishes made from bee pupae, roasted duck, sausage …

Cao Bang cuisine is very diverse and identically rich

Hot spring rolls filled with bone broth and sour pho are also quite unique dishes of this land. Cakes in Cao Bang are chewy and fragrant, served with bone broth fragrant with bamboo shoots soaked in honey and cardamom. Sour pho has many spices mixed in the noodle so it is quite special.

Bone broth and sour pho are a special dish in Cao Bang

In particular, when traveling to Cao Bang, you can not ignore the dishes processed from forest vegetables such as mussel, rock moss, wild banana vegetables, bananas ... The dishes with the taste of the mountains are sweet, or sour, This bitterness will make you enjoy once and will remember forever.

Cao Bang forest vegetables will make you remember to eat once

8. Souvenir from Cao Bang

Traveling to Cao Bang has a lot of local specialties you can buy as gifts for relatives and friends.

First to mention is the Chongqing chestnut dish. The chestnuts here are both fragrant and firm, sweet and attractive. Chestnuts are sold throughout Cao Bang market and the price is only about 60,000 VND / kg. You can either buy raw or a pre-roasted seller to take home, as roasted chestnuts can still be refrigerated for 4-5 days.

Chestnuts are an indispensable gift when you travel to Cao Bang

Cao Bang sausage is not fat and has a characteristic aroma, so it is always on the list of must-buy gifts for visitors. In addition, the cake is also a great gift for Cao Bang when you bring gifts to the elderly.