How To Get Here?

The Ban Gioc Waterfalls are located at the border between Vietnam and China, in fact, half of the waterfall is part of one country and the other half is part of the other country. The closest "major" city from the waterfalls is Cao Bang. You can reach it by catching a bus from Hanoi, the journey takes around 8 hours. There are also buses connecting Cao Bang to Ha Long Bay and Ha Giang.

Once you arrive at Cao Bang, there is a designated bus that takes you directly to the waterfalls, the journey takes around 2 hours, and a ticket for a roundtrip costs 4$. If going by bus pay attention to the last bus returning from the waterfalls to Cao Bang (around 6 pm), since if you miss it you will have to call a taxi, and it can be a little expensive.

Another way to get to the waterfalls is by motorbike. There are many options to rent a motorbike for a day in Cao Bang, or ideally you would already arrive in town on a motorbike after driving through some of the great scenery of Northern Vietnam. If you come to the waterfalls by motorbike you will have to pay 0.5$ to park the bike.

For those that don't fancy much planning, there are organized tours departing from Hanoi especially designed to visit the Ban Gioc Waterfalls. One example is this organized tour, that will take you through the Ban Gioc Waterfalls and the Ba Be National Park.

Because the waterfalls are part of the Chinese border, sometimes the police station at the waterfall requires foreigners to purchase a border permit, which costs about 1$. Don't forget to bring your passport with you, in case this happens you will need it.

What To Do?

Once at the waterfall, you will probably want to get up close to the stream of water. There are many boat owners on bamboo rafts here and you can get a ride up close to the waterfall for around 3$. There are rafts of two colors, the blue ones are from Vietnam, and the green ones are Chinese.

Although technically illegal, there is a path on the side of the waterfall that takes you to an above platform with a great view for the waterfall, this platform is on the Chinese side, whence the illegal part. The path is slippery and sometimes there is a guard stopping people for progressing further. Another good viewpoint of the waterfalls and the surrounding karsts can be found a little further out. Head to the Truc Lam Phat Tich Pagoda, if you climb it until the top you will have a great view.

Nguom Ngao Cave

About 4 km from the Ban Gioc Waterfalls is a famous cave known as the Tiger Cave. Created by an underground river, it stretches for several kilometers, and visitors can walk through a section of 1 km. Entrance is about 2$.

Ba Be Lake

Although the lake is not in any instance close to the waterfalls, it is normal for tours to the Ban Gioc Watefall to also stop at the Ba Be National Park. This lake is the biggest natural lake on Vietnam, and you can do many activities such as canoeing, kayaking and more. The national park gets its name from the lake, and offers a great landscape full of waterfalls, rivers and caves.