Many Diethelm Travel Vietnam products support the communities they operate in. Recently, under the Community Engagement Project, we’ve created a new itinerary to visit ethnic villages in the north of Vietnam around Thac Ba Lake, a particularly picturesque destination with strong local ties.

Where is the lake?

Located in Yen Bai province, Thac Ba Lake is a community tourism destination and regarded as one of the largest artificial lakes in the country. It was created in the middle of the mountain during the construction of an electrical dam in 1970 and is a truly spectacular setting for those who love to get back to nature and breath deep. Here, you will get to witness a community of White-pants Dzao ethnic people who live in traditional stilt houses and cultivate the fertile land for rice, cassava cash crop, and fishing.

What to do in Thac Ba Lake?

Opportunities abound for beautiful pictures of the lush rice paddies, palm trees dotted with groups of thatch-roofed stilt houses. For more insight into the local life, ask to enter the houses for interaction with local people, have a hands-on practice in bamboo weaving as well as seeing the well-preserved village communal house, a family old house (built more than 200 years ago) and see the local people making peanut candy, pancakes and vermicelli. Your host will guide you through the process and you may bring your product home assouvenirs. Enjoy toasting with your host and chatting over the dinner.

How this benefits the local community?

Yen Binh district inhabited mainly by Dao white pants ethnic group who arranged to accommodate travellers. Here, visitors have the chance to immerse themselves in the rhythm of daily life and cultural activities of the indigenous people as well as support their income to maintain the environment as one of the tourist destinations.

If you are interested, please contact our travel expert here for a full itinerary.