The Tham Ma pass is a run of tight hairpins on National Highway 4C north of Yen Minh, about 5 km long, where the road climbs from the Yen Minh valley onto the Dong Van plateau. From the viewpoint at the top you look straight down on the bends. Most people stop for 10 to 15 minutes.
Yen Minh, about 100 km from Ha Giang city, is the town in the middle of the loop: the usual lunch stop, with fuel and banks, between Quan Ba and the plateau. Beyond Tham Ma the road passes Pho Cao and the Nine Bends slope before reaching Sung La valley and Dong Van, about 45 km from Yen Minh in all.
Over Tham Ma with a driver who knows every bend
Your own car and a mountain driver on the hairpins, with a licensed local guide and time at the top.
★Ha Giang Loop by Private Car — 3 DaysThree days around the Ha Giang Loop in your own car, from Ha Giang city — Heaven Gate, Lung Cu, the Sky Path on Ma Pi Leng and a private boat on the Nho Que. · 3 days, 2 nightsSee the tour →Ha Giang Loop from Hanoi — 4 Days by Private CarDoor to door from Hanoi: four days on the Ha Giang Loop with your own car, a licensed local guide and a good hotel every night. · 4 days, 3 nightsSee the tour →The road from Quan Ba to Dong Van
The middle of the loop is the stretch between the Quan Ba valley and the Dong Van plateau. It is mostly driving, and it is where the landscape changes: from rice and pine around Yen Minh to bare limestone and stone-walled maize fields beyond Tham Ma.
| Leg | Distance | What is on it |
|---|---|---|
| Quan Ba → Yen Minh | about 50 km | Farmland, pine-planted hills, the Lung Tam turn-off near the start |
| Yen Minh → Tham Ma | north of town on 4C | The valley narrows and the road starts to rise |
| Tham Ma → Pho Cao → Nine Bends | about 7 km between the two slopes | The plateau edge, stone walls, H’Mong villages |
| Nine Bends → Sung La → Dong Van | the rest of the 45 km | Sung La valley, Pao’s House, the turn to the Vuong palace |
How this stretch fits into the whole circuit is in our Ha Giang Loop guide.
Yen Minh: the town in the middle
Yen Minh was the seat of a district of about 100,000 people, most of them H’Mong, Dao, Tay and Nung, before the 2025 reorganisation turned the districts into communes. The town is a long main street in a green valley, with fuel stations, cash machines from several Vietnamese banks, markets, rice restaurants and a few hotels.
Almost everyone on the loop stops here, and almost no one lingers. It is the natural place for lunch on the first or second day, and some self-riders sleep here to split the climb. The town itself is quiet and practical; its value is its position.
The pine hills
Around Yen Minh the hills are planted with pine, which is unusual this far north and gives the valley a softer look than the bare plateau ahead. Vietnamese travellers call it a little Da Lat, after the pine-covered hill town in the south. There is nothing to visit as such; the road runs through it.
The Tham Ma pass
North of Yen Minh, National Highway 4C meets a steep hillside and climbs it in a stack of hairpins. The whole slope is about 5 km, and the bends are close enough together that from the top you see the road fold back on itself several times below you. It is paved and wide enough for trucks and coaches, but tight on the inside of each bend.
Where the name comes from
Tham Ma means roughly “testing the horse”. People on the plateau used to lead horses up the slope under heavy loads to judge their strength, and a horse that made the climb without stopping was a good one.
The viewpoint
There is a pull-in and a few stalls near the top, selling drinks, ginger tea and snacks. The view is best from a little above the road, looking down the hairpins. Children in traditional dress sometimes wait here with baskets of flowers to pose for a tip; our page on visiting villages with respect explains why it is better not to pay for these photos.
Through the seasons
Mustard flowers colour the slopes in early spring, the valley below goes green in summer and gold at harvest, and in October and November buckwheat is planted on the hillsides around the pass. In winter the top can be in cloud.
Pho Cao and the Nine Bends
After Tham Ma the road runs across the plateau edge past Pho Cao, a H’Mong commune with a market that follows the old six-day cycle rather than the weekday. About 7 km on comes the second slope, Chin Khoanh, the Nine Bends, which winds up towards Sung La. It is often confused with Tham Ma, but the classic photograph of stacked hairpins is Tham Ma’s.
By the top of the Nine Bends you are on the plateau proper: earth-walled houses, dry-stone walls around every field, and maize growing in pockets between grey rock.
How our trips cross the middle of the loop
| Tour | The middle of the loop | Timing |
|---|---|---|
| Ha Giang Loop by private car, 3 days | Heaven Gate and the Twin Mountains, Yen Minh, Tham Ma, Sung La, night in Dong Van | All on day one |
| Ha Giang Loop from Hanoi, 4 days | Lung Tam, lunch in Yen Minh, Tham Ma, Sung La, the Vuong palace, Lung Cu, night in Dong Van | Day two, Lung Tam at 08:30, Sung La at 13:30 |
On the three-day loop it is a full first day, with Quan Ba Heaven Gate in the morning and the plateau in the afternoon. On the Hanoi trip the night in Quan Ba splits it, and the morning starts at the Lung Tam linen cooperative. In both, the driver stops at the top of Tham Ma for as long as you want.
The middle of the loop at your pace
Three days from Ha Giang city or four door to door from Hanoi, private for your group and tailored on request.
Ha Giang Loop by Private Car — 3 Days3 days, 2 nightsSee the tour →Ha Giang Loop from Hanoi — 4 Days by Private Car4 days, 3 nightsSee the tour →Questions about the Tham Ma pass and Yen Minh
Where is the Tham Ma pass?
On National Highway 4C just north of Yen Minh, where the road climbs from the Yen Minh valley onto the Dong Van plateau towards Pho Cao. It is the first big set of hairpins after Yen Minh on the way to Dong Van.
How long is the Tham Ma pass?
About 5 km of hairpins. By car it takes a few minutes to drive, and most people stop at the top for 10 to 15 minutes.
Is the Tham Ma pass the same as the Nine Bends?
No. The Nine Bends, Chin Khoanh, is a second slope about 7 km further on, between Pho Cao and Sung La. Tham Ma is the one with the famous view down the hairpins.
Is Yen Minh worth staying overnight?
For most people, no. It is a useful lunch stop with fuel and cash machines, and some self-riders stay to split the first day. Dong Van, 45 km on, has more to see and more places to stay.
Is the Tham Ma pass safe by car?
It is paved and used by trucks and coaches every day. The risk is on the tight inside of each bend, where larger vehicles swing wide, which is why a driver who knows the road matters more than the car.
From Yen Minh to the plateau by private car
Car, mountain driver, licensed local guide, rooms, meals, the boat and the permit in one price for your group, free to cancel until 5 days before.
★Ha Giang Loop by Private Car — 3 DaysThree days around the Ha Giang Loop in your own car, from Ha Giang city — Heaven Gate, Lung Cu, the Sky Path on Ma Pi Leng and a private boat on the Nho Que. · 3 days, 2 nightsfrom$354/ person›
Choose your group size · price is the group totalSolo traveller$975BOOK →2 guests$1,075BOOK →3 guests$1,315BOOK →4 guests$1,415BOOK →See the full tour page →Ha Giang Loop from Hanoi — 4 Days by Private CarDoor to door from Hanoi: four days on the Ha Giang Loop with your own car, a licensed local guide and a good hotel every night. · 4 days, 3 nightsfrom$543/ person›
Choose your group size · price is the group totalSolo traveller$1,515BOOK →2 guests$1,640BOOK →3 guests$2,045BOOK →4 guests$2,170BOOK →See the full tour page →Distances and road details were checked in September 2026; landslides and roadworks can change driving times.