First published August 2024 | Words and photos by Vietnam Coracle

Tom Divers is the founder and creator of Vietnam Coracle. He’s lived, travelled and worked in Vietnam since 2005. Born in London, he travelled from an early age, visiting over 40 countries (he first visited Vietnam in 1999). Now, whenever he has the opportunity to make a trip, he rarely looks beyond Vietnam’s borders and his trusty motorbike, Stavros. Read more about Tom on the About Page, Vietnam Times and ASE Podcast.

Connecting two remote border towns on the western frontier with Laos, the Ghost Road combines several excellent but rarely ridden roads to create a continuous thread stretching 400km in an arc across the north-central provinces of Nghệ An and Thanh Hóa. Echoing the international boundary with Laos, the Ghost Road passes through outstanding mountain scenery in a sparsely populated and seldom travelled corner of Vietnam. Road conditions are good, the views are awesome and there’s no traffic to speak of nor any other travellers around. The Ghost Road in the West offers the kind of off-the-beaten-path thrill and sense of adventure that most independent travellers seek but rarely find.

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GHOST ROAD IN THE WEST

Shadowing the Lao Border on the Remote Western Frontier of North-Central Vietnam

Connecting Mường Xén in the south and Mường Lát in the north, the Ghost Road stretches from the westernmost point of Nghệ An Province to the westernmost point of Thanh Hóa Province, shadowing the border with Laos for much of the way. The Ghost Road is actually a combination of several excellent, seldom-used roads – Đường Tây Nghệ An, DT543, QL48, DT541, QL217, QL16 and DT520 – some of which are among the best riding roads in Vietnam. Sections of the Ghost Road constitute the western flank of three great loops in the region, namely the Mường Lống Loop, the Lam Sơn Loop and the Limestone Loop, all of which can be combined to create a much longer route, should you choose to do so. In this guide, I have created a route map for the Ghost Road, written a brief overview and useful information, followed by a gallery of photos with annotations and links to the map. The Ghost Road is 395km and can be ridden in 2-4 days as a standalone route or as part of the three regional loops mentioned above. The best time of year is March-September. (Please make sure to read About this Route before deciding to ride the Ghost Road.)

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CONTENTS:

Route Map

Overview & Details

About this Route

Photo Gallery

Related Routes

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ROUTE MAP:

Ghost Road in the West | 395km

Blue Line: Main Route | Red Lines: Detours

*Road Safety & Disclaimer: Riding a motorbike in Vietnam – or anywhere in the world – has its dangers. I would hope & expect anyone who chooses to pursue a self-drive road trip based on the information on this website does so with care, respect & due diligence. I encourage careful riding & adherence to road rules, but I am not responsible for the legality or manner in which you ride, nor any negative consequences which may result from your decision to ride a motorbike in Vietnam: you do so at your own risk. Read more >

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Overview & Details:

Below is a brief at-a-glance overview of the Ghost Road in the West, followed by more specific details about important considerations, such as accommodation, traffic, food and drink, weather conditions, duration and more:

QUICK DETAILS:

• Route: shadowing the remote western frontier with Laos, connecting the north-central provinces of Nghệ An & Thanh Hóa
• Distance: 395km (one way)
• Duration: 2-4 days
• Scenery: spectacular mountains, limestone karsts, caves, rivers, valleys, mountain passes, jungles, lakes, rice terraces, borderlands
• Attractions: excellent riding, river swimming, waterfalls, caves, remote hamlets, historic sites, bamboo waterwheels
• Road Conditions: good paved roads, some narrow sections, very light traffic, a few rough patches
• Best Time: March-September

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About the Route:

Start & End: The ghost road runs between two remote border towns in north-central Vietnam: Mường Xén in the south and Mường Lát in the north. The route can be ridden in either direction – it makes no difference. Both Mường Xén and Mường Lát can be reached via good roads from the east: Highway QL7A for Mường Xén; Highway QL16 or DT520 for Mường Lát.

Distance & Duration: At just under 400km, the Ghost Road is rideable in 2 days, but because the scenery and riding are so spectacular you might want to take your time and enjoy it to the full, in which case 3-4 days would be plenty.

Itineraries: You can choose to ride the entire length of the Ghost Road from one end to the other or to ride sections of it separately as part of a much wider route by stitching together the following three excellent regional loops, all of which incorporate parts of the Ghost Road: the Mường Lống Loop, the Lam Sơn Loop, and the Limestone Loop.

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Detours & Connecting Routes: The red lines on my map are detours off the main Ghost Road to sights, including waterfalls, caves, historic sites, homestay villages, bamboo waterwheels and border gates. In particular, don’t miss the mini-loop near the southern end of the Ghost Road. In terms of connecting routes, the following three regional loops are all great ways to connect and extend the Ghost Road: the Mường Lống Loop, the Lam Sơn Loop, and the Limestone Loop.

Weather & Time of Year: The best window for good weather and scenery is March to September. These months are warm and sunny with tropical showers and the landscape is green and lush. October to February can be surprisingly cold and grey in this region and the fields fallow.

Traffic & Road Conditions: For the vast majority of the route, traffic is extremely light: there are hardly any other vehicles on the Ghost Road for most of its length. Road conditions are generally very good. There are a few sections where the road narrows and the surface is a little bit bumpy, but not enough to impede most riders on most motorbikes. There are one or two short sections that were undergoing maintenance at the time of publication, but again these were not bad enough to make a difference.

Police & Borders: Because the Ghost Road is so close to the international border with Laos there’s the possibility of being stopped by border police if you get too close to the frontier. If you stick to the main Ghost Road route (the blue line on my map) then you shouldn’t have any issues. However, if you stray off the main Ghost Road by following any of the roads due west to the border gates with Laos (the red lines on my map), you may be stopped by police and asked to turn back. Apart from Mường Lát (see Accommodation below), foreign travellers are allowed to stop and stay overnight at all towns on the Ghost Road at the time of publication.

Gas Stations: Because the Ghost Road is quite remote and sparsely populated, gas stations are not as frequent as in other regions of Vietnam. In general, all the towns and villages on the Ghost Road have at least one gas station, so you shouldn’t have a problem filling up. However, the central section of the Ghost Road, passing Huổi Na Lake, has no gas stations at all for almost 100km, so make sure you have a full tank before riding this part.

Accommodation: The Ghost Road lacks a wide variety of places to stay, so riders need to think about where they plan to overnight before setting out each day. I have marked several accommodations throughout the route on my map. Some of these are very good, some are just standard local guest houses. Note that, at the time of research, foreign travellers were allowed to stay in all the settlements along the Ghost Road except Mường Lát at the northern end of the route. Therefore, riders will need to travel east to Mai Châu or Pù Luong instead, where there are lots of good accommodation options. There are two atmospheric homestay villages on the Ghost Road: Mường Lống and Hoa Tiến. The most spectacular and relatively luxurious place to stay is Mường Lống Eco Garden Resort. And the town with the widest variety of hotels is Kim Sơn (Quế Phong). Note that the central section of the Ghost Road, between Tiền Phong and Quan Sơn, has hardly any places to stay at all.

Food & Drink: All towns and villages along the Ghost Road have at least one or two cơm-phở (rice and noodle) eateries, as well as shops selling snacks, pot noodles, candies, etc. But there’s far less choice and availability of food and drink here compared to other parts of Vietnam. What’s more, food is usually only available at meal times, so try to make sure you eat at the same time as local people do. A couple of regional specialities that you will encounter include bánh mướt (steamed rice rolls, usually eaten for breakfast) and miến lươn (eel noodle soup).

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Photos of the Route:

*Disclosure: I never receive payment for anything I write: my content is always free and independent. I’ve written this guide because I want to: I like this route and I want my readers to know about it. For more details, see my Disclosure & Disclaimer statements and my About Page

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