Tam Dao Hill Station
La Cascade d’Argent’ (Silver Waterfall) to the French, and Thac Bac to the Vietnamese, Tam Dao Hill Stationwas a popular place of escape from the heat of the Red River Delta. Founded in 1907 by the French, most of the grand old colonial villas were destroyed during the Franco–Viet Minh War in the 1950s and the ruins have since been replaced by Soviet-inspired, concrete-box architecture. A somewhat belated effort to restore some of the colonial villas is now under way.

Hanoi residents sometimes call Tam Dao ‘the Dalat of the north’. This has more to do with its high elevation and cool climate than any resemblance to Dalat. If you’re living in Hanoi and would like to find a summer weekend retreat, it’s worth heading up for the cool weather and a change of pace. However, unless you plan to do some serious hiking or bird-watching, there really isn’t that much to see and do here.

Getting there & away
Tam Dao is 85km northwest of Hanoi in Vinh Phuc province. Buses run from Kim Ma bus station in Hanoi to Vinh Yen (20, 000d, one hour). From there you can hire a motorbike (about 50, 000d one way) to travel the 24km single-lane road that leads to the national park.

Hiring a car and driver for the day from Hanoi will cost about US$50. If you rent a motorbike in Hanoi, the journey time is about two hours, and the last part of the ride into the park is beautiful.

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