Ban Gioc Waterfall is an impressive waterfall located on the border between China and Vietnam, over 330 km by road to the north east of Hanoi. This waterfall is featured in a lot of marketing for Vietnam, but is one of the lesser visited attractions in the country because it takes a long time to travel there.
- Opening hours: Daylight hours.
- Entrance fee: 45,000 VND.
About Ban Gioc Waterfall
Ban Gioc Waterfall is known as Detian Falls in falls in China, and it gets more visitors from the Chinese side than it does from the Vietnamese side because of the better transport links in China.
Travel to Ban Gioc Waterfall
To reach the Vietnamese side of the fall you need to travel by road from Hanoi to Cao Bang City. Direct bus services from Hanoi to Cao Bang depart from My Dinh Bus Station and take around 8 hours to travel from Hanoi to Cao Bang City. Cao Bang City has some amenities for foreign visitors and most travellers will spend two nights there to enable them to visit Ban Gioc Waterfall, as well as other attractions in the surrounding area such as the Nguom Ngao Cave system.
There are three main options for travel from Cao Bang City to Ban Gioc Waterfall:
- Rent a motorbike, and drive yourself. Motorbike rental starts at around 200,000 VND per day.
- Hire a car and driver for the day. Expect to pay around 500,000 VND negotiable locally.
- Take direct bus from Cao Bang to Ban Gioc Waterfall. These depart from near the eastern side of the Bang Giang Bridge in Ca Bang City. Check the departure times locally. Last time we checked services departed at 07:30 and 09:00 and took 2 hours.
Ban Gioc Waterfall in Cao Bang ProvinceSize of Ban Gioc Waterfall
Ban Gioc Waterfall is approximately 300 metres wide with a 30 metre drop in three stages. There appears to be two separate falls at certain times of year when the flow of water is at its lowest. From June to August the flow of water tends to be at it greatest. and the different parts of the falls merge into one.
Viewing Ban Gioc Waterfall
A convenient viewing platform for the falls hasn’t been constructed on the Vietnamese side, although there is one on the Chinese side that you can’t access from Vietnam. For a better view of the falls pay for a place on one of the rafts which ply the large pool below the waterfall.
If the raft has 8 people then the charge is only 25,000 VND per person. For fewer people than that you will be charged 50,000 VND per person. The raft rides only last around 10 minutes but they do allow you different vantage points and go closer enough for you to feel the immense power of the water as it drops over the final stage of the waterfall.
Location of Ban Gioc Waterfall
Ban Gioc Waterfall is located 83.2 km by road from Cao Bang City.
