About Ban Giai Waterfall / Ban Zai Waterfall (Thác Bản Zai)
The Ban Giai Waterfall or Ban Zai Waterfall (Thác Bản Zai) was an unexpected visit for us as our driver just happened to pick a particular coffee shop to briefly stop and take a break from a very long drive through Ha Giang Province.
He notified me via translation that there was a waterfall at this stop, and upon seeing the signs, I promptly jumped at the chance to make the most out of this rest stop.
As you can see from the picture above, this was a modestly-sized waterfall that I was able to reach with a short 400m downhill walk (800m round-trip).
It turned out that its stream kept going eventually over a much larger cliff well downstream of the drop shown here, which was best seen further down the DT153 Road.
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to do a roadside stop to properly see the rest of its waterfall, especially as we were starting to fight the onset of darkness with potholes on the road.
So for all intents and purposes, this was merely a serendipitous “coffee shop” waterfall, though there was also some other nice features worth checking out here as well.
One of the features was a nice “Heaven Gate” panorama looking to the west (a nice spot to check out the sunset).
The area also featured a colorful rose farm garden, a replica of a giant shoe reminiscent of some nursery rhymes from our childhoods, and some picnic areas along with other interesting structures.
This spontaneous visit only took me about 25 minutes to get to the waterfall, enjoy it for a bit, and then return to the car.
Apparently, this part of the Bac Ha District of the Lao Cai Province was billed as a quieter and less touristy alternative to the Sapa District.
Maybe one of these days, I’ll have to come back and give this place more time for a proper comparison…
Authorities
The Ban Giai Waterfall or Ban Zai Waterfall resides south of the town of Bac Ha, which is the capital of the district of the same name of the Lao Cai Province, Vietnam. It appeared to be privately owned (or at least that was the case at the trailhead). To inquire about current conditions, you may want to try the Lao Cai Tourism website.
Related Trip Reports
Related Top 10 Lists
No Posts Found
Trip Planning Resources
Nearby Accommodations
This content is for members only. See Membership Options.Featured Images and Nearby Attractions
This content is for members only. See Membership Options.Visitor Comments:
Got something you'd like to share or say to keep the conversation going? Feel free to leave a comment below...No users have replied to the content on this page
Visitor Reviews of this Waterfall:
If you have a waterfall story or write-up that you'd like to share, feel free to click the button below and fill out the form...No users have submitted a write-up/review of this waterfall
Nearest Waterfalls
