The road from Thai Nguyen to Bac Kan is in pretty good condition and passes through some very scenic areas, esp. the bowl-shaped tea hills. Among all the regions planting green tea for domestic use and export in Vietnam, Thai Nguyen offers the best and sometime you may mistake that the Vietnamese is keen on foreign products if they mention about the excellent "Thai tea".

The only real sight in Bac Kan is Ba Be Lakes, 230km from Hanoi and 80km to the Northwest of Bac Kan town. Ba Be National Park takes a 23,340ha area in 7 communes of Ba Be district, Bac Can province on the North West of Hanoi. The terrain covers most of limestone rocks inserted with a few earth hills with medium to abrupt slope, a 150-1,535m average height (from sea level) and is laid completely within the South-West valley of Phiabyior Range with 1502, 1517 to 1525m peaks.

"Ba Be" means "three seas", an ornate expression which just means the three big lakes. Through influenced by 3 rivers flows discharging their water into the Lake, lake water remain always blue and its current velocity is kept on at 0,5m/sec. giving the take both lake and river characteristics. Ba Be Lake have a water area around 500ha, spreading over 8km, as biggest natural water lake in Vietnam, situated in Cho Ra-Ba Be-Cho Don carste terrain pertaining to lowlying lands of Vietnam North raising mass. This raising mass was formed from the destruction of South East Asia continental mass at the end of Cambri era, around 200 million years ago. Due to its special geological constitution, the Lake has very original and special features compared with other world-wide carster lakes :world carster lakes are spent or only with one-season water, while Ba Be Lake has its permanent full-water.

It's several kilometer from Ba Be Guesthouse to the Main Wharf, from which you can rent a boat and turn right to row or run along the Nang River. The river trip is a marvel: there are a clear flow and a muddy flow, which (incredibly) do not mix, on the same riverbed (!); and you can either jump in the clear water for a swim or simply lye on the boat contemplating the wonderful untouched nature surrounding with bamboo clusters, lianas and flowers along the riversides and watching the fishermen in their piraguas fishing aquatic products. After 3km you will reach Puong Cave, a mysterious sight with twilight stalactites and stalagmites, which seems like the end of the river. But if you meander by boat some 300m inside, the river will be finally opened and you escape from the cave. It takes you an hour more to reach Dau Dang Waterfall that is quite sightworthy. Reaching the lakes is going upstream from Dau Dang, turning right to a small flow, then going ahead 1km more. The Lake Zone, 8km long and 3km wide, set in a picturesque national park and contain 3 lakes surrounded by vertical rock walls, from which many currents fall down between many kinds of creepers cling, and a wild forest where many species of birds abound. If you have time, you can also have another visit to a village-on-stilt by taking a boat from the Main Wharf and turn left, go for 4km till you reach the small village's watering place and get some experience of a working day of the farmer and fishermen over here.

According to primary survey documents, 417 species of trees including 300 branches, 114 parenties.Also, hundreds of orchids and species of medicine-plants. The system of animals including; land, aquatic and flying animals covering 319 species of animals in 27 forms, 85 parenties in which 42 species recorded in Vietnam Red Book with 3 endemic anima l species that are gibbon (snub no se) Bamboo-Thread and Red Algae