A pulse-revving motorcycle tour in Vietnam's Ha Giang

Ha Giang Loop, six hours north of Hanoi in Vietnam, thrills riders with breathtaking views, cultural wonders, and plenty of twists and turns

- DEREK M NORMAN

DOZENS OF HONKING motorbikes jockeyed for space as they zigzagged up Quan Ba Pass. I clutched and throttled between low gears on my Honda XR while keeping one eye on the narrow road and the other on my guide, who was riding his own motorcycle about 15 feet ahead.

Suddenly, the land along our right side dropped away, revealing a sweeping view of rolling hills, terraced farmland and layers of mountains lurking in the midday haze. I understood why locals call this stretch of road Heaven's Gate. I was beginning a two-wheeled journey on the Ha Giang Loop, a roughly 230-mile circular network of roads in the highlands of northern Vietnam that was one of The New York Times 52 Places to Go in 2023. This route, nicknamed Happiness Road for its desired effect on the region, has been attracting adventure seekers for about a decade, and I was eager to see why.

From Heaven's Gate, our four-day trip in late March would take us veering through switchbacks squeezed between rugged rock formations, soaring along cliff-side paths and coasting through verdant valleys. We would ride about 60 miles per day, stopping frequently to stretch our legs at places like open-air cafes, textile workshops and French colonial ruins before settling into local hostels known as homestays each evening, in villages inhabited by ethnic groups like the Hmong, Tay and Dao.