Bac Sum Pass is the first big climb of the Ha Giang Loop: more than 7 km of road curling up the mountainside in Minh Tan commune, on the way north from Ha Giang city to Quan Ba Heaven’s Gate. It is paved and it is not the hardest pass on the Loop, but it is the place where new riders meet mountain bends, trucks and fog for the first time. Every Ali Loop tour rides Bac Sum Pass on the first morning, and our 2- and 3-day Dong Van routes ride it back down on the last afternoon.
We are a licensed international tour operator (licence 08-0007/2025/CDLQGVN-GP LHQT) and hostel in Ha Giang city, and our guides lead groups over this climb almost every day of the year. This guide covers where Bac Sum Pass is, how hard it really rides, the Happiness Road story behind it, when you cross it on a tour and how to ride it safely. If you are building a list of places to see on the Loop, our overview of Ha Giang’s destinations and the cultures that live along them is the best place to start.
Where is Bac Sum Pass?
Bac Sum Pass (Vietnamese: Dốc Bắc Sum, “Bac Sum slope”) is in Minh Tan commune, part of the former Vi Xuyen district. Since the 2025 merger the area belongs to Tuyen Quang province, but every map, guide and traveller still calls it part of Ha Giang. It sits on the main road north, the stretch between the Km0 milestone in Ha Giang city and Quan Ba Heaven’s Gate, which the provincial newspaper puts at about 43 km from the city.
Locals call it a “slope” rather than a pass, and the name fits: instead of one sharp crest, the road climbs in long, soft curves for more than 7 km, with each bend opening a new layer of hills and a valley that drops further away. At the top you are on the edge of the Quan Ba highlands, and the landscape changes quickly from green rice-and-corn valleys to the first grey limestone of the stone plateau.
How hard is Bac Sum Pass to ride?
For a confident rider, the climb is a steady, scenic climb on asphalt, easier than the tight switchbacks of Tham Ma Pass or the cliff road at Ma Pi Leng later in the trip. What makes it tricky is that it is the first mountain road most visitors have ever ridden, and it arrives within the first hour of the trip, before anyone has found their rhythm.
- Long, blind curves. The bends are gentle but many of them hide what is coming the other way. Keep right and never cut the corner.
- Trucks and buses. This is the main road to the north, so heavy vehicles climb and descend slowly all day. Do not overtake on a bend; wait for a straight where you can see far ahead.
- Fog and drizzle. Cloud often sits on the upper half of the climb in the morning, and the surface stays damp after rain.
- The descent on day three. Coming down the slope at the end of a long trip, tired riders brake too hard and too late. Use a lower gear and let the engine slow you.
If you ride with an Easy Rider
As a passenger you have nothing to do except hold on loosely, lean with the bike and enjoy the first big views of the trip. The first climb is where most of our guests stop worrying, because they see how calmly a local driver handles the curves.
If you ride by yourself
On our tours the guide rides at the front, sets a slow pace on this first climb and reminds the group to keep a safe gap. This climb is also where the guide watches how each self-rider handles the bends, so the pace for the rest of the day matches the group. If the climb feels stressful, say so at the next stop; that is far better than riding Ma Pi Leng nervous.
The Happiness Road story behind Bac Sum Pass
The road you ride over Bac Sum Pass is part of the Happiness Road (Đường Hạnh Phúc), the route from Ha Giang city to Dong Van and Meo Vac that turned the stone plateau from a place reached on foot into a place reached by car. According to Bao Van Hoa, the newspaper of Vietnam’s culture ministry, work began on 10 September 1959. More than 1,000 youth volunteers from 16 ethnic groups and 8 provinces, together with nearly 1,000 local labourers, built nearly 200 km of road by hand. The route opened to traffic in 1965, and 14 volunteers lost their lives building it.
The Bac Sum section has its own place in that story. The provincial newspaper’s guide to the Happiness Road lists Bac Sum slope among its historic stops and links it to the years when the young volunteers cut the road while also fending off armed bandits in the mountains. When you stop at a viewpoint on the way up and look down the curves, you are looking at the first chapter of that road. Ask your guide to tell the story; it changes how the rest of the Loop feels.
When do you cross Bac Sum Pass on a Ha Giang Loop tour?
All our tours ride the Loop clockwise (we explain why in our guide to the best Ha Giang Loop direction), so Bac Sum Pass opens every trip and closes the shorter ones:
- Day 1, morning. 08:00 breakfast at Ali Hostel and paperwork for the border permit, 08:30 briefing on route, safety and gear, 09:00 departure north on Road 4C. Bac Sum Pass is the first climb, and the first big viewpoint is Quan Ba Heaven’s Gate and the Fairy Bosom Hills. Day 1 covers about 150 to 160 km in total to Dong Van or Lao Sa.
- Last day, afternoon (2-day Express and 3-day Dong Van & Ma Pi Leng). After the Yen Minh pine highlands and a last look at the Fairy Bosom Hills, you come back down Bac Sum Pass and reach Ha Giang city in the late afternoon. Evening sleeper buses to Hanoi leave around 17:00 to 18:00.
- White Cliff & Sky Path tour. The same first morning adds a walk of about 40 minutes to Khau Lan waterfall in the Quan Ba area before the group continues to Heaven’s Gate.
These tours all include Bac Sum Pass, with prices per person including 8% VAT and the border permit:
- Ha Giang Loop Express, 2 days: Easy Rider 2,790,000 VND (about $107)
- Dong Van & Ma Pi Leng, 3 days: ride by yourself 3,250,000 VND (about $125), Easy Rider 4,250,000 VND (about $163)
- White Cliff & Sky Path, 3 days: ride by yourself 4,890,000 VND (about $188), Easy Rider 5,250,000 VND (about $202), private car 6,850,000 VND (about $263)
Arriving on the night bus? Tour guests get a free dorm bed at Ali Hostel from 04:00, so you can sleep for a few hours before you tackle the first climb. For the full day-by-day plan, see our Ha Giang Loop itinerary guide.
Is Bac Sum Pass a good test before you self-ride the Loop?
Yes, and that is the most useful way to think about it. Bac Sum Pass is a fair sample of what the Loop asks of you: a long climb, constant bends, mixed traffic and changing weather, all on a good surface. If you ride it relaxed, the bigger passes later on will feel manageable. If you spend the whole climb tense, gripping the brakes and drifting wide on corners, the Loop will get harder from here, not easier.
Before you commit to riding yourself, check three things honestly:
- Experience. Have you ridden a manual or semi-automatic motorbike on hills before? Bac Sum Pass is not the place to learn.
- Paperwork. You need a licence that is valid in Vietnam; our guide to the International Driving Permit for Vietnam explains which countries’ permits count.
- Bike choice. A light bike you know is better than a powerful one you do not. Our rental bikes start at 180,000 VND (about $7) for a Honda Blade 110 and 250,000 VND (about $10) for a Honda Vision 125 per 24 hours; see the full fleet on our motorbike rental in Ha Giang page.
Not sure yet? On tours that offer both options, ask us as early as you can, ideally when you book, so we can check whether an Easy Rider is free for your date. Our comparison of Easy Rider vs self-drive lays out the costs and trade-offs side by side.
Safety tips for Bac Sum Pass in rain and fog
Most problems on this climb come from small decisions, not from the road itself. These are the rules our guides repeat on every briefing:
- Stop only where it is wide. Pull over at a viewpoint or a straight with room, never on a bend, even for the perfect photo.
- Lights on in cloud. When fog drops onto the upper curves, slow down, switch on your headlight and keep the rider ahead in sight.
- Give trucks space. Stay well back on the climb and do not overtake on corners; on the way down, expect trucks to swing wide.
- Wear the gear. On our tours self-riders get a helmet plus body and knee protectors, and every guest is covered by BIC travel insurance up to 50,000,000 VND. Read what that policy does and does not pay in our Ha Giang Loop insurance guide.
- No drinking before riding. Vietnam has zero tolerance for alcohol on a motorbike, and that includes the last morning after a homestay party.
Riding between May and September? Read our Ha Giang rainy season guide first, and for the wider picture, our honest answer to is the Ha Giang Loop safe.
What to see around Bac Sum Pass
Bac Sum is a road, not a ticketed sight, so there is no entrance fee and no opening hours. The best way to enjoy it is to stop once or twice at a safe viewpoint and look back down the curves. Around it, the first morning of the Loop is full of good stops:
- Minh Tan valley. At the foot of the climb, stilt houses sit among rice and corn fields. This style of house belongs to the lowland valleys, home of the Tay people and their neighbours, long before you reach the H’Mong highlands.
- Khau Lan waterfall. A forest walk in the Quan Ba area. Enjoy it from the bank: after a visitor drowned in the pool below the falls in September 2026, local authorities warned visitors not to swim there on their own.
- Quan Ba Heaven’s Gate and the Fairy Bosom Hills. Just beyond the top of the climb, with the twin hills 46 km from Km0. Read more in our guide to Quan Ba Heaven’s Gate.
- Lung Tam village. After Quan Ba, H’Mong women weave hemp cloth on traditional looms at Lung Tam village.
Photographers should also look at our list of the best Ha Giang Loop photo spots; the Bac Sum curves look best from above in the soft light of late afternoon, which is exactly when the 2- and 3-day Dong Van tours pass on the way home.
FAQ: Bac Sum Pass
How long is Bac Sum Pass?
More than 7 km of winding road in Minh Tan commune, according to the provincial newspaper. It is the first long climb on the road north from Ha Giang city towards Quan Ba.
Is Bac Sum Pass dangerous?
Not for a careful rider. The road is paved and the curves are gentle, but there are trucks, blind bends and frequent fog. Most accidents on mountain roads like this one come from speed, overtaking on bends and stopping in the wrong place.
Do you ride Bac Sum Pass on a 2-day Ha Giang Loop?
Yes. Every one of our Loop tours, from the 2-day Express to the 5-day Grand North Loop, leaves Ha Giang city on the road over Bac Sum Pass, and the 2-day Express comes back down it on the second afternoon.
Can beginners ride Bac Sum Pass?
Complete beginners should not learn here. If you have never ridden a manual or semi-automatic motorbike on hills, take an Easy Rider and enjoy the view; if you have some experience, ride slowly behind the guide and use the climb to judge whether self-riding the whole Loop is right for you.
Is there a fee to visit Bac Sum Pass?
No. Bac Sum Pass is a public road with no ticket. On our tours the border-area permit needed further north is already included in the price.
Ride Bac Sum Pass with us
The first climb sets the tone for the whole trip, so start it with a guide who knows every curve. 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 if you want help deciding between riding yourself and an Easy Rider. Every tour is at hagiangalitravel.com.
See more
