When talking about Northern Vietnam, the names Sa Pa, Ha Giang, and Ha Long Bay often come up. Cao Bang is less present in most people’s travel plans – lucky for us! Cao Bang turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip through Vietnam. Our plan was to spend a night in Cao Bang upon arrival, explore the town a bit, then head to the Detian Waterfalls the next day, and finally camp overnight at Angel’s Eye. The plan worked, but it also had its “turbulence,” which made it a real adventure. The scenery in the area is simply stunning, and being right at the border with China was exciting. Beware, your clock will adjust to Chinese time (one hour ahead) if you get too close to the border.
Cao Bang
Cao Bang is the capital of the province of the same name, located in Northern Vietnam, with a population of just under 75,000 – making it a relatively small town. The city of Cao Bang didn’t particularly charm us, but the lack of tourists compared to other places made it feel like an authentic experience. Cao Bang, however, was meant to be just a starting point for us. The plan was to visit the Detian Falls and camp at Angel’s Eye afterward.
Scooter rental in Cao Bang
Renting a scooter in Cao Bang is no problem. We had a great experience with XXX. There were many different models to choose from with various engine capacities. The bikes all seemed to be in pretty good condition. You might find cheaper options somewhere else, but since we planned to cover over 300 km, the impression and well-maintained appearance were important to us. At 8€ per day, the price still felt fair. We rode together on one scooter.
Staying in Cao Bang
We stayed at the Cao Bang Eco Homestay, which was a great base for our trips. The dorm beds are super comfortable, and you get a double bed to yourself. We paid about 10€ for the two of us to stay the night. The accommodation is located near the main road in a quiet side street, so you can get dropped off by the bus and walk the rest of the way. We told the bus driver to drop us off at the “Van Nam” hotel as a reference point, which is at the intersection where you then turn left to get to the hostel.
Renting camping gear in Cao Bang
The Cao Bang Eco Homestay was well-prepared for guests like us. You could rent everything from tents, sleeping mats, sleeping bags, to headlamps for a fee.
Detian Falls (Ban Gioc Waterfalls)
The Detian Waterfalls are located on the border between Vietnam and China and are the fourth largest transnational waterfalls in the world, following the Iguazu, Victoria, and Niagara Falls. The Ban Gioc Waterfalls are about 53 m high and nearly 300 m wide. The landscape surrounding the falls is dominated by karst mountains and rice terraces. The waterfalls are located about 80 km away from Cao Bang. If you want, you can even take a boat ride to the middle, between Vietnam and China.
Angel’s Eye
Angel’s Eye is a hole in one of the karst mountains typical of the region, with a diameter of about 50 meters. The hole itself is located about 50 m above the lake below. Visitors who come early in the morning are in for a special treat: when the sun rises, it peeks through Angel’s Eye, creating a breathtaking sight. Unfortunately, it was cloudy when we visited, so we could only admire the mountain without the sun – but even that was fantastic.
By scooter to the Detian Falls
We set off in the morning on our rented scooter to the waterfalls. It took us about 3 hours to cover the 80 km, with a few photo stops along the way. The route passes through small villages, rice terraces, and karst mountains. Upon arrival at the waterfalls, we found some stalls and a few visitors. The area itself is manageable in size. We took in the sight of the falls but didn’t quite get the view we were expecting. So, we hopped back on the scooter and returned until we passed by a monastery. The view from here was already better, but still not the one we were hoping for. Behind the monastery, there’s a small, somewhat overgrown path. We followed it for a few minutes until we reached a run-down lookout tower. Finally, we had the view we were looking for. We stayed there for a while before heading back to Cao Bang to pick up our camping gear. On the way back, we got caught in a heavy rainstorm and had to take shelter for about an hour. We then continued back to Cao Bang and drove another 30 minutes in the same direction to camp. By now, it was already evening.
Camping at Angel’s Eye near Cao Bang
Camping at Angel’s Eye
Camping at Angel’s Eye, doesn’t that sound adventurous? It was! After spending longer than planned at the Detian Waterfalls, we arrived at Angel’s Eye in the dark. We had to set up a tent we had never assembled before. We had hoped to wake up with a beautiful view of Angel’s Eye, but we could no longer see where it was. So we estimated the spot using maps.me. However, the night turned out to be far more restless than expected. First, we heard some voices in the dark and saw a few lights. After some time, we realized it was just fishermen floating on their raft in the water basin below the mountain. Just as we had calmed down, we were awakened again by a loud snorting. The downside of being inside a tent is that you can’t see outside. A quick peek revealed that we were in the middle of a horse pasture. The animals had gathered around our tent. Alright, we tried to sleep again. This time it was nothing living that woke us but a torrential downpour accompanied by a serious thunderstorm. Despite the sleepless night, we enjoyed the stunning view the next day and packed up to return to Cao Bang.
Getting to Cao Bang
We took a bus from Ha Long to Cao Bang, which went relatively smoothly. The bus ran overnight, and we arrived in Cao Bang early the next morning. Since the onward journey to Ha Giang seemed a bit more complicated, we decided to rent a scooter, ride it to Ha Giang, complete the Ha Giang Loop, and then drop off the scooter in Ha Giang for an extra fee.
