Bac Ha Market (Cho Bac Ha) Tours

Bac Ha Market (Chợ Bắc Hà), a sprawling market in the sleepy northern highland town of Bac Ha, is the reason many visit in the first place, but you’ll have to time it right. The market only occurs on Sundays, when, like clockwork, villagers from the surrounding hillside flood the town to set up shop, bargain for goods or come to see and be seen, catching up on the latest gossip. The open-air market here is among the largest in the region attracting members of the Black Dao, Tay, Nung, Phu La and other area minority ethnic groups, but it’s the brightly-colored Flower Hmong women that make up the bulk of Bac Ha Market’s vendors; they blanket and enliven the dusty streets with their neon costumes. Under blue plastic roofs, or atop tarps draped over the hard ground, market vendors proffer clothing, building materials, yarn, herbs and medicine, dried chilies, ruou (corn wine) and even livestock such as goats, chickens and buffalo. A growing segment of the market also caters to foreign visitors with bags, bracelets, scarves, bowls, dolls and other locally-made handicrafts. Bring your bargaining skills and arrive early for the best selection.