Vietnam’s Best Climbs: Ba Vi
For Hanoi-based cyclists, no other hill climb strikes the same sense of fear and foreboding, of love and plain feelgood, as Ba Vi.
Words by Nick Pilgrim
The Stats
Length: 11.9km
Gain: 970m
Average gradient: 8.1%
Altitude at summit: 1,033m
The Setting
Ba Vi stands alone, much like Mont Ventoux in Provence (also incidentally a limestone massif) – but unlike that bad, “bald mountain”, Ba Vi is a veritable wild growth of tropical greenery.
And while Ventoux has its purple lavender, Ba Vi has its wild yellow sunflowers (hoa dã quỳ) which bloom from October to November. Purple rose myrtle and golden shower trees come to life in the early summer.
This is a protected land of spectacular vistas and flora. Viewed from the west, from the side of the Da River, the three peaks are clearly silhouetted; the highest of the peaks is Dinh Vua (1,296m), the second is Tan Vien (1,226m) and the smallest is Ngoc Hoa (1,131m).
Ba Vi shot from the sky on approach to Hanoi by cyclist and pilot, Fernando Brasil.
A Unique Hill Climb
What makes Ba Vi unique amongst the many wonderful climbs in northern and central Vietnam, is that the road winds through a National Park leading to a series of temples, most notably an 11th century shrine to the mountain god, Son Tinh and a newer temple dedicated to President Ho Chi Minh.
These stand on the summit of Tan Vien, and the climb for cyclists (let’s stick to the important facts here) actually climaxes at the car park in the saddle between two peaks below the temples.
The History
The earliest passable road probably dates to the old French developments, which included villas, a church and even a prison on the higher slopes.
Until around 2017, the final 5km of the road was a beautiful single lane that climbed under a canopy of trees providing much needed, dappled shade on the tarmac in the warmer months.
The Old Days: How the ‘back 5k’ of the Ba Vi climb looked pre-2017; this was a particularly fine switchback (Photograph by David Lloyd)
From around 2017-2018 the climb underwent renovation. Today the ‘back half’ is an incredibly smooth, two lane road affording huge hitherto hidden vistas across the Red River Delta as far as the Tam Dao mountain range, with its own notable climb (watch this space for another Vietnam's Best Climbs feature on that).
During the dark days of road restoration, only very few riders attempted the summit, and those that did were usually turned back by the road works, trucks and mechanical diggers.
The new road - unrecognisable, and rewarding riders with views of the Red River Delta region toward Hanoi that were hidden pre-2017. Photograph by Viet Tuan for Topas (Velo Vietnam partner)
KOMs and notable rides
Despite the construction, 2017 was the year when one of Vietnam’s resident European pros, Loic Desriac, winner of the 2021 HTV Cup, hammered his way through the debris, covering the 8.1%, 11.9km hors catégorie (HC) climb in an astonishing 40 minutes 53 seconds. Given the atrocious state of the final 5km back then, this time was unbelievably quick.
However, in the spirit of Ba Vi’s amateur enthusiasts, no trace remains of that ride on Strava, nor of Loic’s many other KOMs, thus adding to the mountain’s mythical status.
Other notable rides include two Everestings (by Velo Vietnam’s own David Lloyd and Claude Perzo compiling the required 8,848m in a single activity) and pro rider, Javier Perez, breaking the 40-minute barrier in 2019, making him the current Strava KOM holder.
On the women’s side, none of the pros have yet tackled Ba Vi and the current QOM is Hanoi-based Rebecca Bechard, with 1:08:25.
My own goal remains to go sub-50 on Ba Vi - that’s right up there at the top of my bucket list.
Javier and Loic aside, Ba Vi remains largely the preserve of amateur enthusiasts, and very much a part of Vietnam’s ever growing cycling culture.
Want to read about more of Vietnam’s Best Climbs?
Check out our write up on Hai Van here.
Want to ride Ba Vi on your tour of North Vietnam?
We can include it on longer rides and also our shorter experiences based out the capital, Hanoi. Get in touch via ride@velovietnam.cc or have a look at our North Rides pages for more inspiration HERE.
