Tham Ma Pass is the famous set of hairpin bends on the Ha Giang Loop between Yen Minh and the H’Mong King’s Palace at Sa Phin, on the road into the Dong Van Karst Plateau. On almost every Loop tour it is a free photo stop of about 20 minutes on the afternoon of day 1. Two things decide whether you enjoy it: ride the hairpins slowly, and agree on a price before anyone braids your hair or puts a flower basket on your back.
We are a licensed international tour operator (licence 08-0007/2025/CDLQGVN-GP LHQT) based in Ha Giang city, and our groups ride past it most days of the year. This guide covers where the pass is, when our tours stop there, what the viewpoint is really like, how to ride it yourself, and the flower-basket children that every traveller asks us about. Tham Ma sits in the H’Mong heartland of the plateau, so for the bigger picture of who lives along the road, read our guide to Ha Giang’s indigenous cultural diversity first.
Where is Tham Ma Pass?
The pass (Dốc Thẩm Mã, often translated as Tham Ma Slope) lies in Pho Bang commune, in what used to be Dong Van district of Ha Giang province and is now part of Tuyen Quang province after the 2025 merger. It sits inside the Dong Van Karst Plateau UNESCO Global Geopark, the limestone highland that most of the Ha Giang Loop crosses, and the people farming the slopes around it are mostly H’Mong.
On the classic anticlockwise route you reach it after Bac Sum Pass, Quan Ba Heaven’s Gate, Lung Tam village and lunch around Yen Minh, and just before the stone mansion of the Vuong family at Sa Phin. From there it is a short ride to Dong Van old town, where most tours spend the first night.
The province is taking the stop seriously. In September 2025 Tuyen Quang’s Tourism Promotion Centre brought tour operators, photographers and journalists to survey the Tham Ma rest stop and rated it as having real potential for international visitors, and the province’s tourism development plan (Decision 1471/QĐ-UBND, 2026) lists Tham Ma for facilities investment in 2031–2035. Local residents also turn out regularly to pick up litter at the viewpoint, so please carry your rubbish back to the bike.
When do Ha Giang Loop tours stop at Tham Ma Pass?
On our tours the pass is always on day 1, in the early afternoon. The day starts with breakfast and permit paperwork at Ali Hostel at 08:00, a safety briefing at 08:30 and departure at 09:00, and covers about 150 to 160 km in total. Here is where the pass falls in each itinerary on our website:
| Tour | Day 1 route through Tham Ma Pass | Price from |
|---|---|---|
| Ha Giang Loop Express, 2 days | Quan Ba → Lung Tam → lunch → Tham Ma Pass → King’s Palace → Dong Van | 2,790,000 VND (about $107), Easy Rider |
| Dong Van & Ma Pi Leng, 3 days | Same day 1, then Lung Cu and Ma Pi Leng on day 2 | 3,250,000 VND ride yourself · 4,250,000 VND Easy Rider |
| Du Gia Waterfall, 4 days · Grand North Loop, 5 days | Same day 1 to Dong Van | See each tour page |
| Private Trail, 2 days | Khau Lan waterfall → Quan Ba → Lung Tam → Lao Va Chai viewpoint → Tham Ma Pass → King’s Palace → Lao Sa | 3,490,000 VND Easy Rider · 4,450,000 VND private car |
| Ha Giang & Cao Bang by Private Car, 7 days | Km0 → Bac Sum → Quan Ba → lunch in Yen Minh → Tham Ma Pass → King’s Palace → Dong Van | 19,710,000 VND |
The stop itself is a photo break of roughly 20 minutes, and there is no ticket: it is a public road and the viewpoint is free. Prices include the border permit, BIC travel insurance and 8% VAT, and a deposit of 500,000 VND per guest holds your seat.
What is the Tham Ma Pass viewpoint actually like?
Do not expect a building or a car park. The viewpoint is a widened stretch of road with a low stone wall on the valley side. You park on the inside edge, walk to the wall and look down on the hairpins folding back on themselves between two steep, farmed slopes. In summer the bowl is green with maize; in the dry months around March it turns brown and dusty; from October to December buckwheat flowers soften the bends.
The wall is where everyone takes the classic photo, sitting with the switchbacks behind them. In the afternoon, when most tours arrive, it can be busy for a few minutes with motorbike groups, Vietnamese road-trippers in cars and local children with baskets of flowers. Fifteen minutes later it is quiet again. If you want the wall to yourself, it helps to let the big convoys leave first; our guides are happy to wait.
One honest note on numbers: you will read that Tham Ma has nine bends, or a certain length or altitude. We have not found an official source that confirms any of these figures, so we do not quote them. Count the hairpins yourself from the wall; it is a good way to slow down and actually look.
The flower-basket children at Tham Ma Pass: should you pay?
This is the question we are asked most about the stop. H’Mong children, and sometimes older women, wait at the viewpoint with baskets of buckwheat or yellow flowers. They offer to let you pose with a basket, put a flower crown on you or braid your hair, and then expect money.
Most encounters are friendly, but it can go wrong. In July 2025 VietNamNet reported that two foreign women in a guided group were each charged 200,000 VND after several people braided their hair at once, when the guide had suggested around 10,000 VND. Pho Bang commune police looked into the case, and the commune set up a local team to keep order at the stop.
Our approach, which our guides follow on every tour:
- We do not hand money to children and we ask our guests not to. Paying children to pose keeps them at the roadside instead of in school.
- If you want to support a family, buy from an adult: a basket photo arranged with the mother, a drink at a stall, or something made locally.
- Agree the price before anything happens. Once five people are braiding your hair, the negotiation is already lost. Your guide can translate and settle it.
- Ask before you photograph anyone, child or adult, and accept a no with a smile.
A friendly “no, thank you” (in Vietnamese, không, cảm ơn) is perfectly fine. Nobody will follow you back to the bike.
Is Tham Ma Pass hard to ride by yourself?
Tham Ma is a paved mountain road, not an off-road track, but the hairpins are tight and you share them with trucks, coaches and other riders. By the time you get there you have already ridden Bac Sum, where our guide watches every self-rider and decides whether anyone would be safer switching to an Easy Rider. If Bac Sum felt comfortable, Tham Ma will too, as long as you ride it the same careful way:
- Slow down before the bend, not in it. Use a low gear and engine braking on the way down, and keep both hands covering the brakes.
- Stay on your side of the road. Trucks and coaches swing wide on hairpins; give them the whole bend and use your horn on blind corners.
- Never stop on a bend for a photo. Pull in only at the viewpoint, on the inside edge, and walk to the wall.
- Carry your papers. In April 2026 the provincial government ordered closer police checks on motorbike tours across the stone plateau, so riding yourself means a valid motorcycle licence plus an International Driving Permit under the 1968 convention.
If you are unsure, compare the options in our guide to Easy Rider vs self-drive. On an Easy Rider tour your local driver takes the hairpins and you get to look at the view the whole way down. Riding yourself on a rental is also fine for confident riders: a semi-automatic Honda Blade 110 is 180,000 VND per 24 hours and an automatic Honda Vision 125 is 250,000 VND, and our motorbike rental guide explains which bike suits which rider.
When is the best time to see Tham Ma Pass?
There is no bad season here, just different colours:
- October to December is buckwheat season on the plateau, peaking in early November. The flowers soften the bends and the baskets at the viewpoint are at their fullest. Our guide to the buckwheat flower season has the details.
- June to August turns the whole valley green, with the road a dark ribbon through it. Showers and cloud are more likely, so allow for a wet road.
- Around March the slopes are dry and brown, and the clear air makes the hairpins stand out sharply.
Fog can sit in the valley at any time of year and hide the bends completely; when that happens your guide may give you more time at the wall, because it often clears within minutes. For month-by-month conditions, see our Ha Giang weather guide.
How to make the most of 20 minutes at Tham Ma Pass
- Shoot from the wall, looking down the valley. A wide lens or the 0.5x setting on a phone fits all the bends in; a small rider or bike on the road gives the scale.
- Stay off the tarmac. Do not stand in the road for a photo; vehicles come round the bend fast.
- Keep small notes handy if you plan to buy something from an adult seller, so you are not opening a full wallet.
- Save some memory for the next stop. The Vuong Palace at Sa Phin comes soon after, and then the stone streets of Dong Van old town at dusk.
Looking for more frames like this one? Our list of Ha Giang Loop photo spots puts Tham Ma Pass in context with Ma Pi Leng, Lung Cu and the rest of the route.
FAQ: Tham Ma Pass
Is there an entrance fee at Tham Ma Pass?
No. It is a public road and the viewpoint is free. The only money you may be asked for is by flower sellers or children offering photos and hair braiding, and that is your choice.
How long do tours stop at Tham Ma Pass?
About 20 minutes on our tours, in the early afternoon of day 1 between lunch and the H’Mong King’s Palace. Private tours can stay longer.
Is Tham Ma Pass dangerous?
It is a paved road with tight hairpins and heavy vehicles. Ridden slowly in a low gear it is manageable for anyone who handled Bac Sum Pass, but beginners are safer as a passenger. Our guide to whether the Ha Giang Loop is safe covers the whole route.
Can I visit Tham Ma Pass without a tour?
Yes. It is on the main Loop road between Yen Minh and Dong Van, so anyone riding or driving the Loop passes it. You still need the border-area permit for the plateau, and your own licence and IDP if you ride.
Should I give money to the children at Tham Ma Pass?
We ask guests not to. If you want to help, buy from an adult and agree the price first. Paying children to pose keeps them away from school.
See Tham Ma Pass with us
Tham Ma Pass is on day 1 of every Essential Loop tour we run. Book the Dong Van & Ma Pi Leng 3-day tour with a 500,000 VND deposit per person, or message us on WhatsApp/Zalo at (+84) 787 652 333 or info@hagiangalitravel.com to ask about any stop on the route. All tours are listed at hagiangalitravel.com.
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