Active Adventure Tour - Tham Phay cave expedition 3 days 2 nights

The calm lakes, towering karsts and jungles river cave of Ba Be are a world away from the noise of the city. Kayaking, trekking and caving are the perfect ways to get up close and discover the peaceful park and its diverse landscapes and wildlife. After an exciting day trekking, you will be able to relax, refuel and discover local culture by staying with local families, in their traditional style homestays...

Destination:

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Tour code: NA10E
Duration: 3 days 2 nights
Level of difficulty: Medium trek
Activities: 20 – 25km trek
Percentage of trekking: Jungle 60%, trail 40%
Elevation: 150m – 600m
Small group tour: 12 people
Pick up: Your Hotel in Hanoi
Drop off: Your Hotel in Hanoi
Price: $ 469 / person

SPECIAL PROMOTION ON FRIDAYS
US $339 per person

Highlights:

- Jungle trek inside Ba Be National Park and across the river
- Explore the diverse and beautiful landscapes of Ba Be
- Expedition water river cave – 3km
- See the most beautiful stalactites formed naturally
- Swim in a pretty natural freshwater cave
- Lunch with traditional dishes prepared by locals
- Kayaking & canoeing on Ba Be lake & Nang river
- Visit the legendary An Ma Temple

Day 1: Hanoi - Ba Be lake & kayaking (L, D)
- Our tour guide will pick you up by car at your hotel in Hanoi about 7:30 AM to transfer you to Bac Kan. We will start our adventure pack by driving in the direction of Ba Be National Park for about 5 hours and have lunch on the way to the park. Arrival to the Boc Lom pier, you will learn how to paddle a kayak on rivers, take dry bags, sports equipment and life jackets... From here, you will continue to travel down the Nang River to explore the huge Puong cave by boat and kayaking. Then, you will cross the Nang River and pass through some steep terrain with many cat ears cliffs. We can return to Ba Be Lake by motorboat. Swimming is available here. Getting to Mr Linh’s Ba Be - Jungle Lake house and enjoy your night with BBQ dinner. .
Day 2: Tham Phay cave expedition (B, L, D)
- 07:00 - 07:30 Pick you up at your homestay. Brief introduction and preparation are here.
  After a thirty-minute drive, you'll reach Tham Phay Cave, the hike starts with a steep uphill leading into the forest. Some rock at the top, and then a similar slope before the trail fades and you enter the valley. Turning west of the trail is a large patch of rock for you to find your way through, with the help and direction of your guide and safety team. The precarious entrance is at the end of the forest. Enjoy some snacks before starting to explore the cave.
  
  Tham Phay Cave is a beautiful stream cave with two underground river tributaries, where you will experience narrow passages, craggy mountains and some deep pools with very nice photo opportunities. Plants and algae cover many calcite formations. Going deeper into the cave, you will find many unusual features of the cave such as the ceiling dome and many layers of rock, giving the walls a striking appearance. You will spend about five hours exploring this 5km deep river cave, which geologists have not discovered so far. Of course, we will provide you with the necessary equipment, such as helmets and powerful headlights. The cave expands considerably as you go through the original entrance and offers some great opportunities for excellent photos.
  
  Enjoy a few snacks before continuing the journey to explore the 2nd path of the cave system that possesses miraculous stalagmites millions of years old, dangerous sinkholes and heat flows at the bottom . Leaving Tham Phay, you will return to the cave entrance and return to the original pick up point.
Day 3: Ba Be Lake - Hanoi (B, L)
- After breakfast, you'll take a boat across the lake to visit Tay's ethnic Temple then hike to jungle peak, where allows you to enjoy panoramic views of the forest with great photo opportunities. Trek through the trails to the cave of the prehistoric man. The car picks you up here before driving back to Hanoi. You will stop for lunch at a local restaunrat and arrive Hanoi in the late afternoon, where you will be dropped off at your hotel.

Tour Includes:

•    Private door to door pick-up drop-off services
•    All private transfer and transportation
•    Accommodation at ecolodges, hotels, homestays as mentioned
•    English speaking guide as per program
•    Breakfasts (B) Lunches (L) Dinners as mentioned
•    All sightseeing tickets and travel permits
•    Equipment for kayaking activities
•    No extra charge after confirmation

Tour Excludes:

•   Personal expenses, tips and gratuities
•   Travel insurance
•   International flight and taxes.
•   Beverage
•   Other personal expenses: drinks, souvenir, etc…

What To Take:

• Pack essentials, including light comfortable clothes suitable for outdoor activities, comfortable walking shoes. Take a small day pack for hiking and trekking.
• It is essential to bring your passport on this trip. We also recommend packing: insect repellent, sun cream, raincoat and sun hat...

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Accommodation List

Please note that the hotels mentioned in this list are for reference only. Depending on availability and your preference, they can be changed. If we are unable to book any hotel, it will be replaced by another hotel at least of equivalent standard and value.

Mr Linh's Homestay

Address: Coc Toc village, Nam Mau commune, Ba Be district, Bac Kan province

A step up in amenities to Ba Be's homestays, this lakeside place in Coc Toc village takes the form of six small, spic-and-span, wood-panelled private rooms, and a dorm. Visitors are well looked after by friendly English-speaking staff.

Review

5 average based on 1 reviews.

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dweenzers

Wrote a review 9 - 2023

I would highly recommend the Tham Phay cave expedition for anyone looking for excitement

Review of: Active Adventure Tour - Tham Phay cave expedition 3 days 2 nights

I would highly recommend the Tham Phay cave expedition for anyone looking for excitement. Lots of caves in Vietnam are quite institutionalised in that they have ramps and stairways set up, they have permanent light fixtures and so on. This is a real cave! There was a lovely half an hour walk through the countryside to get there. The guides were very knowledgeable about the local flora and fauna, pointing out leaves and plants that were edible and sharing how they're used in local cuisine. Then the cave itself was magnificent. The water inside the cave is fresh and wonderful to wade in. The rocks themselves are not slippery nor difficult to walk on. The cave is full of wonderful rock formations but also life. We saw lots of bats and insects. The guides are also very creative at suggesting photo opportunities and can make you look like an intrepid explorer! For the more adventurous, there are opportunities to explore parts of the cave with beautiful rock pools and internal waterfalls. Truly a cave worth visiting.

The homestay is luxurious! The staff are exceedingly kind and accommodating. The home-cooked food is absolutely delicious, and there was even home-made rice wine for dinner. This facilitated ready conversation with other guests already easy to talk to. It truly felt like an intimate and warm encounter with the hosts and with fellow travellers.

The kayak on the lake was also wonderful. It is possible to borrow the kayaks on your own, but the tour gives you an opportunity to go right to the end of the river (before it becomes a waterfall), and to get off and go see that waterfall. Kayaking on the lake itself was so peaceful and the limestone cliffs enveloped the lake on all sides. I suspect it might be a lovely place to do rock-climbing also. My guide shared stories of his childhood on the lake and how, before motorised boats arrived, they would paddle to and from the various shores of the lake for festivals. He pointed out little cave shelters along the shore that paddlers could hide in during big storms. Little stories like these really made the place come alive. We also got to see the An Ma temple, an old Tay temple built on an island in the middle of the lake. He shared also shared what the temple meant to him and his people. I especially loved swimming in the lake. For those few minutes lying in the calm water staring up at limestone cliffs covered in trees, it felt like anything was possible.

Last but not least, the staff were very helpful and flexible in modifying the tour so that I could catch a bus back to Hanoi. They were also very helpful in making arrangements and calling the local bus company so that they would make a stop at Ba Be Lake and pick me up. I really appreciated that.

All in all, Ba Be Lake is a wonderful place and I wish I had stayed one more night to go walking and exploring the villages along the lake coast. There are activities suitable for all levels and everyone from the adrenaline junkie to the laid-back relaxer will find something here for them.

Date of experience: 9 2022