Yen Minh is a little town 100km east of the province’s capital Ha Giang Town. This is usually the first stop of the Ha Giang Loop. Yen Minh lays between Quan Ba and Dong Van, on the south-western edge of the Dong Van Plateau. Thus it makes for a natural stopping point once you’ve travelled through Heaven’s Gate on the way to Dong Van proper.
Located in a valley, surrounded by hills, and quite a few rice fields in and outside the town, it is actually a nice little place. The main road of the area, QL4C, is cutting through the town, and most accommodations, food places, shops and the petrol station can be found along that road. Thanks to the set up it is very easy to navigate here.
Before reaching Yen Minh Town, we recommend making a stop at Lao Va Chai for a hike up to the viewpoint located here, as it offers some truly stunning views of Yen Minh Valley. Just make sure not to eat any of the leaves on the way up, as they’re incredibly poisonous!
While Yen Minh Town doesn’t have the same level of attractions and things to do as Dong Van or Meo Vac, it has managed to retain a delightfully authentic vibe, despite almost every traveller in Ha Giang stopping here for at least a short break. The food in Yen Minh is especially good for the region, with a local speciality consisting of rice paper rolls and a unique kind of thin and sticky rice cakes known as “Yen Minh Cake”.
You can easily walk through he town, explore some of the side streets and see kids playing in little streams, adults playing football or volleyball just before dawn at the stadium, and you will get the usual curious look from the locals. And the locals can be very friendly here, and might invite you for a drink after you had dinner at one of the food places.
North of Yen Minh Town is Na Khe Pine Forest, the unique nature of which has given the district the nickname of “Da Lat of the North” among Vietnamese. Indeed, as you travel through the think red pine forest to visit various H’mong villages such as Sung Trang, Phu Lung, Thang Mo and Bach Dich, you will feel as if you’ve suddenly left Ha Giang behind and been transported to the Central Highlands. This area is also home to the Pu Peo ethnic group, which with less than 1000 members is one of the smallest in all of Vietnam. If you’re in this area around 6th day of the 6th lunar month, you may be able to catch the Pu Peo Forest Festival, where the Pu Peo pray for water to feed the forest and perform animal sacrifices as well as many other cultural activities like music, dancing and games.
Going south of Yen Minh Town instead, you will find Du Gia National Park. Established as Vietnam’s 31st national park by the merger of the Snub-nosed langur habitat and Dua Gia Nature Reserve. The nature reserve now serves as a habitat for several critically endangered species, such as the Snub-nosed Langur. This means that wildlife and animal enthusiasts are sure to enjoy some time spent here trekking and searching for the rare and amazing animals who reside here.
Arrival / Departure
Buses arrive here from Ha Giang Town, Meo Vac and Dong Van. Though if you travel by bus it is not a place you must stop.
If you travel on a bike, you cannot miss the town when travelling on QL4C. From Ha Giang you will descend from the mountains into town. You actually get a nice view over town during the last stretch.Just follow the road to find any accommodation. I would suggest heading towards the centre of town, approximately where the stadium is on your right.
Accommodation
Along the main road you will find plenty of basic guesthouses and hotels. Due the amount of rooms you could easily compare prices and check out rooms before taking one.
Food & Drinks
You find plenty of food places and cafes along the main road. Coming from Ha Giang there is a little cafe on a corner to your right before you reach the stadium. The place has a few tables outside.
For dinner there are plenty of food places. Some of them seemed to target tourists – for example the one at the corner diagonal opposite of the stadium. However, these touristy ones were empty. I visited a food places a few doors next to the empty touristy restaurant, which was one of the typical Vietnamese food places with a large door as entry with plastic chairs and metal tables. Surprisingly they have English menu, and in addition of the usual noodle dishes they also served a dish that is similar of the Lao dish duck laap – duck minced meat. The dish was superb, and nice to eat something else. Unfortunately I cannot remember the name of the food place.
What to do
While Yen Minh has no real tourist sites you can have a nice little walk to stretch your legs. The best base is around the stadium. Turning right after passing the stadium you enter a wider street, but instead of houses you will little gardens and large rice fields. it is a nice view, and worth walk (or ride the bike) until the road narrows again and heads up a hill.
