North-East Vietnam

The highlights of the North East are its beautiful scenery that include Halong Bay and its 3000 islets, and Ba Be Lake. Like the Central north, the region is characterized by limestone geology, so it has a countless number of sugarloafs, karstic peaks, and caves. The entire region is very rural, and except for Halong Bay, it is visited by very few tourists. It is populated by a number of ethnic minorities (also refered to as hill tribes, or Montagnards), although they have been more assimilated here than in the more remote North-West.