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The far north | The northwest | West to Dien Bien Phu | Dien Bien Phu |

Accommodation

Muong Thanh 0230/381 0043, ksmuongthanh@yahoo.com. This long-running favourite has seventy rooms of varying size and facilities, a great restaurant and a small swimming pool. It’s located on Him Lam; turn left at the town’s main roundabout if coming from the bus station and continue for another 800m. US$11–20

Him Lam Hotel 0230/381 1999, 0230/381 1369. Dien Bien Phu’s newest and most extravagant accommodation lies a few kilometres out of town on Him Lam, in a peaceful setting on a riverbank. The rooms are good and the location superb, but note that the small collection of trapped bears and monkeys on site are used for the extraction of bile and other fluids – a great hotel, but not the most ethical choice. US$21–30

Dien Bien Phu–Hanoi 0230/382 5103, dienbienphu-hnhotel@vnn.vn. This place has simple but acceptable rooms – the VIP choices are good value – as well as helpful, English-speaking staff and a tour service. Turn right at the roundabout towards the museum. US$11–20

Viet Hoang on the Thanh Binh road 0230/373 5046. The best of a poor bunch near the bus station, it has decent rooms, some of which have balconies. US$10 and under

The far north | The northwest | West to Dien Bien Phu | Dien Bien Phu |

Eating and drinking

Quality restaurants are in short supply, with the Muong Thanh hotel offering the town’s best food: locals tend to patronize the com pho stalls around the roundabout and along the main roads – it’s worth wandering around and choosing the one with the biggest crowd. Look out for the region’s speciality dish, which is the Thai minority’s black rice (com gao cam).

The far north | The northwest |

Highway 6

East of Dien Bien Phu the road climbs into steep mountains and passes through constantly changing panoramas before dropping into TUAN GIAO, where Highway 6 takes off north to Muong Lay or south to Son La. Tuan Giao is a convenient lunch stop on a day of tough travel, and the obvious place to eat is Hoang Quat, 100m before the T-junction, where it comes as a surprise to see tablecloths and an English menu; the owner can also help travellers find accommodation if necessary. You’ll need to be fortified to face the steep climb that follows to the Pha Din (“Heaven and Earth”) Pass, one of the highest in the north. If you’re lucky there are great views from the top, but more often than not it’s enveloped in clouds. After a long descent, the road eventually passes through the small town of THUAN CHAU, where there’s a lively market of predominantly Black Thai people each morning until 9 or 10am. The last stretch passes through a valley bordered by massive karst pillars before reaching a softer landscape of paddy and banana plantations, where water wheels feed sculpted terraces, to the industrious town of SON LA.

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The far north | The northwest | Highway 6 |

Onward travel to Laos

Dien Bien Phu is only 35km by road from the border with Laos, which is now open to foreigners: it’s possible to get a visa at the border (prices dependent on nationality), though to be sure, this is best done in advance in Hanoi. Buses to Muang Khoa, a further 70km over the border in Laos (92,000đ) leave Dien Bien Phu at 5.30am on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday; at other times you can get a xe om to the border (100,000đ), though it’s a 3km checkpoint-to-checkpoint walk and you may find it hard to get onward transport.

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The far north | The northwest | Highway 6 |

Son La and around

Son La’s welcoming, low-key charm is enhanced by its valley-edge setting, and it merits more than the usual overnight stop. If time allows, there’s enough of interest to occupy several days, taking in the old French prison and some nearby caves, as well as making forays to nearby minority villages on foot or by motorbike.

The far north | The northwest | Highway 6 | Son La and