The buckwheat flowers are blooming, the most beautiful season to ride the Ha Giang loop

November is when the northern stone plateau changes color. On the small fields wedged between gray limestone mountains, buckwheat flowers bloom white and pink, usually from late October into early December. This year the province has sown more than 400 hectares so that the flowers bloom one after another throughout the final months of the year.

From greens once fed to pigs to a whole season of flowers

The Hmong people on the plateau plant buckwheat after the corn harvest and the upland rice harvest. The young leaves are used to feed pigs, while the seeds are only eaten during the lean season between harvests, when the household runs short of rice and corn. Only when visitors from the lowlands began flocking up to admire the flowers did the plant become a tourist season of its own. Now its seeds are made into cakes, brewed into liquor, steeped into tea and sold during the festival season.

Since mid-2025, Hà Giang has been merged into Tuyên Quang province. But backpackers and foreign visitors still call this route by its old name: the Hà Giang loop, or the Ha Giang Loop.

A three- or four-day loop

The familiar loop runs from the former Hà Giang side up to Quản Bạ, through Yên Minh to Đồng Văn, over the Mã Pí Lèng Pass to Mèo Vạc, then circles back via Du Già. In total it's more than 300 km, mostly mountain pass roads, so it's usually split into three to four days. Almost the entire route lies within the Dong Van Karst Plateau Global Geopark. UNESCO recognized this place in 2010, and it is Vietnam's first global geopark.

The most talked-about stretch is Mã Pí Lèng, the mountain pass connecting Đồng Văn with Mèo Vạc. On one side is a sheer rock face, on the other a deep chasm, and at the bottom of the chasm the green waters of the Nho Quế River wind through the canyon.

November is also the season of mist

The flower season comes with tough weather. From October to January, the plateau often has thick fog, cold winds, and slippery roads. On some mountain passes, the fog gets so dense you can only see a few meters ahead.

People who have never ridden mountain passes should sit behind a local driver, whom backpackers commonly call an easy rider, instead of riding themselves. But everyone's riding skills are different, so choose a reputable provider and ask carefully about the motorbike and insurance before you set off. Your travel insurance should clearly state that it covers riding a motorbike. If you're driving yourself, take it slow, rest every few dozen kilometers, and don't try to push on when the fog rolls in thick.

In Mũi Né, November is when the wind returns for the kitesurfing season. In the far north, November is when flowers bloom on the rocks. In the same month, each end of the country has its own reason to set off on a journey.

Photos: trungydang, Benjamin Smith, Cat Studio, MapStaringEnthusiast, kimjongdae — Wikimedia Commons.