Ba Be
A national park lake in the northern hills, ringed by limestone and forest, with boat trips and Tay villages. Spend a slow day on the water, sleep in a stilt house at Pac Ngoi or Bo Lu, and eat grilled lake fish and five-colour sticky rice. Two nights suits nature lovers who want quiet time away from Hanoi.
●●●●● The lake is the reason for the night, and the park is the frame of the trip.
Photo: Adam Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0
You step into a boat on Ba Be Lake, green water between limestone and forest on the walls, and ride toward the Tay stilt roofs at Pac Ngoi. Sleep in a Tay house at Pac Ngoi, on the Leng where it meets the lake, or at Bo Lu, where the festival ground is, so the landing is a morning.
Stay if the lake is the trip. Go to Cao Bang if you wanted Ban Gioc and the geopark. Those are a different road. The lake is in Thái Nguyên. It is not part of Cao Bang, and it is not a day that starts and ends in Hanoi.
The mistake is budgeting Puong Cave, Dau Dang, Hua Ma Cave, and the Keo Siu walk as one hour. The cave and the fall are one boat. Hua Ma is a walk on the south side. Keo Siu to An Ma is 5–6 hours. Do not swim in Fairy Pond. That water is sacred: no hands or feet in it.
Common questions
- How big is Ba Be Lake?
- Height is 150 m above sea level, about 178 m, and 145 m. Length is 7.5 km, to 8 km, and longer than 8 km. Depth is 17–23 m, 17–29 m, and an average of 20 m. The deepest point is 29 m and about 35 m.
- Is Ba Be part of Cao Bang?
- The lake is in Thái Nguyên after Resolution 202/2025/QH15 folded Bắc Kạn into that province. The park was under the Cao Bằng People’s Committee only from 1992 to 1997. Cao Bằng was not merged.
- What does the park ticket cost?
- No park tariff is published. Ask at the gate. Operator sheets were not used as the fee.
Top attractions in Ba Be
1 Ba Be Lake Hồ Ba Bể
Ba Be Lake is the mountain water you cross by morning boat.
2 Ba Be National Park Vườn quốc gia Ba Bể
Ba Be National Park is the limestone forest and lake you stay inside.
3 Pac Ngoi Thôn Pác Ngòi
Pac Ngoi is the Tay stilt village where you sleep on the Leng, against the lake.
4 Dau Dang Waterfall Thác Đầu Đẳng
Dau Dang is the stacked fall you reach by boat, west of the lake.
5 Puong Cave Động Puông
Puong Cave is the river passage you ride through by boat on the Nang.
Events
Side trips from Ba Be
Ba Be by interest
Getting there and around
The usual previous stop is Hanoi. You ride to Bac Kan city, then on to the lake. No airfield at the lake is named, and no rail station is named. Coaches leave My Dinh on the Hanoi–Bac Kan and Hanoi–Cao Bang lines, and those lines often pass the lake.
Cho Ra is the commune on the park’s north edge. A last-mile motorbike runs from the park gate into the village. On the water, boats leave bến Buốc Lốm, about 1 km down the Nang to Puong. A dugout is one tree, about 50 cm wide and 5–10 m long, with one paddle, often for 2–3 people.
The district is investing in a Bac Kan–Ba Be–Na Hang road and in the road around the lake.
Ba Be itineraries
Hotels
- Pac Ngoi Stilt-house homestays
Tay stilt houses on the Leng, against the lake. Nearly 60 homestay households are counted in Nam Mau. A room that looks at the lake is one of those houses. Fuller facilities sit 1–2 km off the shore at the park gate. The hamlet has few stores, so the meal is booked with the house. No hotel brand as a pick.
Search stays - Bo Lu Stilt-house homestays
The other homestay cluster, and the shore where Long Tong opens. The 2026 festival was at Bo Lu, xa Ba Be. No hotel brand as a pick.
Search stays
Tours & Attractions
Restaurants
What to order is on the food guide.
Southeast Asia TravelGuide Network
Compare Across Southeast Asia: Vietnam vs. Thailand
Most Vietnam trips can add Bangkok for the city night and Phuket for an Andaman beach week.
Capital
Bangkok
- Royal temples and river hotels
- Thonglor and Charoenkrung after dark
- The usual air gate for a two-country trip
Andaman coast
Phuket
- West-coast beaches and beach clubs
- Amanpuri and Kamala
- A beach week after the Vietnam cities