🌏 中文版
Hữu Lũng is a valley, not a wall. The cliffs are scattered through the orchards and rice fields within five kilometers of Yên Thịnh village, and each one has its own landowner, its own access fee, its own sun. This guide covers the nine sectors of the main valley: Head, Chúc Sức Khỏe, Squirrel, L'Ile Noire, La Conche, Dragon, Drone, Dead End, K Wall. The east side of the same valley and the newer walls are in the next article.
This guide helps you decide three things: which homestay to stay in, which wall to start on the first day, and how much cash and how many quickdraws to bring.
What kind of crag
Hữu Lũng / Yên Thịnh Valley sits about 100 km northeast of Hanoi, a limestone karst valley. theCrag's crag description reads: "A remote karst valley at the foot of the northeastern range, 100 km from Hanoi, in rural countryside and traditional settlements."
- Rock and style: vertical faces, roofs, slabs and tufa are all there. The crag description says that "quality sport routes are spread over 17 walls within a 5 km radius, with representative grades running from a solid 6b to 7c", and it describes "a variety of limestone climbing techniques, including tufa, huecos and slopers, on vertical and steep walls".
- Scale: the whole of Hữu Lũng is 267 routes across 21 sectors on theCrag (October 2026). The nine sectors in this guide add up to 147 routes. The paper guidebook covering the same routes lists only 122 of them, and Vertical-Life lists 231 — three numbers, three registration scopes, not three different truths.
- Bolts: the whole area uses 316 stainless steel. The same source says the grades are "roughly accurate — this is generally not a place where grades are softened for holiday climbers", so if you expect a 6b, it is a 6b.
- Who it suits: people who want to walk out the door every day and climb two or three short routes, and who would rather not deal with ferries and boats. A typical full trip is 4 to 6 nights, one wall a day.
What is unusual here is that the routes are in an orchard. Most of the cliffs sit inside private orchards, and the landowners charge an access fee; the fruit trees are custard apple, so watch where you step and do not crush them. theCrag puts it plainly: "Most landowners will probably charge a fee, usually 20,000 to 25,000 VND. Bring exact change."
When to go
Hữu Lũng has no weather station of its own, so use Hanoi's numbers as a reference (the same northeastern lowland, 100 km away).
| Month | Average high / low | Rainfall | Rain days | Sunshine hours | How to plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December | 21.3 / 13.8 °C | 19.5 mm | 5.1 days | 124 hours | The driest, sunniest window, and the best friction |
| January | 20.2 / 14.1 °C | 19.8 mm | 10.3 days | 74 hours | Just as little rain, but twice as many rainy days |
| February | 21.7 / 16.4 °C | 20.2 mm | 12.4 days | 45 hours | Not much rain, but the rock stays wet; noticeably less sun |
| March | 25.9 / 20.5 °C | 35.8 mm | 15.9 days | 47 hours | It starts to heat up, and this is the month with the most rainy days |
The real seasonal variable is sun, not rain. Rainfall from December to February is low enough to ignore, but sunshine drops from 124 hours to 45, and under the roofs it stays cool and shaded all day, which makes for cold hands while you are belaying. If you want sun on a cold day, look at the aspect of the wall: Dragon Wall faces northwest, so it is in shade all morning until after midday and only gets sun in the afternoon; Drone Wall is "shaded in the afternoon, with shade starting on the right-hand side after 11 am", which complements Dragon Wall across the road; L'Ile Noire is tagged "sun in the morning", and it sits in the rice fields in the middle of the village, the most direct place to get sun on a cold day.
A rainy day gives you fewer choices, not more. Only two places in the whole of Hữu Lũng are explicitly tagged "dry in the rain": Dragon Wall (the roof) and Infinity Cave (the big cave). The other sectors — Head Wall, La Conche, L'Ile Noire and Squirrel Wall among them — carry no rain tag at all, which is the same as having no data, so do not treat them as rain-sheltered. What you should really avoid is the approach: for Dead End and The Arch, the dirt road and the clay path are more dangerous after rain than the rock itself.
December to February is the quietest period, which is good news if you want to climb without an audience; the cost is short days and cold evenings.
Getting there
Public transport
The cheapest and easiest option is the shuttle that VietClimb arranges with the homestay:
- Every day at 09:00 and 16:00, departing from 490 Minh Khai in Hanoi, about 3 hours, dropping you at the door of the homestay, 250,000 VND one way.
- The driver does not speak English, so use Zalo 0084 813071992 to confirm the meeting point and the time. Departures change, so check with your accommodation or the driver before you leave.
- The other option is a service leaving Gia Lam bus station at midday, 160,000 VND, also about 3 hours, but it only reaches the market, which is still 2.5 km from the homestay (driver phone 0965060090).
theCrag's own bus route goes like this: get to Gia Lam station, take a bus to Lạng Sơn, get off at Yên Vuong and take a taxi into Yên Thịnh village — "this requires the ability to communicate in Vietnamese, because nobody speaks English". This is the cheapest way in, and it has the least room for error.
Driving
- Private car with driver: a four-seater for 1,500,000 VND, about 2 hours, booked directly through VietClimb. Both homestays (Mao Homestay, Duc Bungalow) can help arrange it.
- Motorbike: about 2.5 hours if you rent one in Hanoi, which is theCrag's "standard mode of transport to the crag". The same passage spells out the practical detail: "it is easy to arrange on arrival at the homestay, usually assuming one bike for two people plus luggage; you may not get an automatic, so be ready to ride a manual". There are no gas stations nearby; local shops sell bottled petrol.
- There is no scheduled direct bus between Hữu Lũng and Cat Ba Island, and a car with driver is 2,580,000 VND.
Parking
Parking is the least consistent thing about this place, and every wall does it differently. Here is what the theCrag sector pages say:
| Sector | Where to park | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Head Wall | Park at Hữu Lũng Mountain Climbing Hostel (21.604243,106.351115), walk 150 m north along the main road, go through the orchard gate, 5 minutes on foot | No parking fee (the hostel's owner is the owner of Head Wall), and guests are exempt from the access fee |
| Dragon Wall | Park under the trees near the wooden shelter on the west side of the cliff (21.613292,106.322973); the main approach goes from the corner at (21.614471,106.323475) over a low wall | Access fee 25,000 VND per person per day, collected by the landowner at the crag |
| Drone Wall | Drive past the building on the right, turn left through the gate and follow the narrow path, 30 seconds on foot | Access fee 20,000 VND per person, bring exact change |
| Dead End | Same directions as Dragon Wall: at the fork before the bridge turn left and follow the dirt road for about 2 km, through the iron gate to the second wooden gate; you can park at the wooden gate (21.608376,106.312565) or right in front of the cliff | Access fee 20,000 VND per person per day, collected by the farmer |
| La Conche | Park by the roadside (21.623785,106.347870), 200 m on foot | The landowner charges the fee |
| L'Ile Noire | 3 km from Mao Homestay; from Làng village west to Diễn village, a few hundred meters past the market on the left | Access fee 15,000 VND per day |
| Squirrel Wall, K Wall | The source lists no access or parking information | The landowner charges the fee |
Dead End has one practical note: if you park at the wooden gate, the farmer may move your car in front of the cliff, so leave the steering lock off, or he will ask you for the key.
Rules before you go
The access fee is cash, and it has to be exact. That is the most practical rule at Hữu Lũng. The landowners mostly collect cash on the spot, the nearest ATM in the valley is a 40-minute drive, and "the road there is busy and riding a bike on it is risky". Passe-Muraille is free, and the rates for the other sectors are whatever the landowner charges on the day.
Do not damage the fruit trees. The cliffs are in an orchard, and the custard apple trees were planted by the landowner. theCrag warns specifically: "take care of the crops, especially the custard apple trees".
The owner of L'Ile Noire is a family. The sector page paints a vivid picture: you may meet a young woman landowner who is very talkative and "may be a bit unstable mentally"; she and her family are the owners; and once you have paid the access fee, nothing like "your climbing shoes getting thrown down the hillside" will happen.
Check the bolts yourself. The fixed-point warnings in the main valley are concentrated in a few places: on Head Wall, Sắc! is tagged "some bolts look rusty"; Squirrel Wall is tagged "corrosion of the anchor rings"; L'Ile Noire is tagged "the 7th bolt has a loose nut" and "the first bolt has a loose nut"; Dead End is tagged "the 4th bolt is loose"; Dragon Wall is tagged "missing fixed point"; Drone Wall is tagged "the bolt on the left anchor is loose". These are climber reports, with no dates and no evidence of a full re-bolt. Bring a wrench and look at the hangers and nuts before you get on the wall.
The further the wall, the slower the rescue. Head Wall is at the edge of the village; Dead End is 2 km down a dirt road. There is no ambulance in the valley, and a serious injury means a trip all the way to a hospital in Lạng Sơn.
Emergency numbers: police 113, fire 114, ambulance 115; the national search and rescue center is 020 7008 5000 (24 hours, but in Vietnamese only). Before you leave, save the crag name, the Vietnamese place names and an offline map location. Check the insurance line by line for outdoor lead climbing, search and rescue, medical treatment and evacuation.
Wet stalactites break. Mountain Project's warning is simple: do not climb when it is wet.
Routes by level
YDS and V-grade conversions follow the Mountain Project international grade comparison chart and are approximate; "approx." marks grades the sources give without a/b/c (such as 4 or 5+). The original grade is the one that counts.
Beginner: up to 6a (YDS 5.10a and below)
The beginner routes in the main valley are in three places: the east ramp at Head Wall, the first-anchor routes on Dragon Wall, and a few short routes at Dead End. The Dragon Wall routes tagged "(first anchor)" are short versions that only climb to the first belay station, which makes them good for warm-up.
| Route | Grade | YDS | Length / pitches | Sector | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robusta Beans | 4c | 5.6 | 10 m | Dragon Wall | theCrag 1 star; the easiest route in the whole area |
| Escalade Verbale (first anchor) | 5a | 5.7 | 12 m | Dragon Wall | the full version of Escalade Verbale is 7a, 40 m, 23 bolts |
| Mắm tôm (first anchor) | 5b | 5.8 | 11 m | Dragon Wall | theCrag 3 stars |
| Bi-dihedral | 5b | 5.8 | 14 m | Dragon Wall | technical short route |
| Mama come back | 5b | 5.8 | 16 m | Dragon Wall | a slab for warm-up |
| Viet Times | 5c | 5.9 | 17 m | Dragon Wall | theCrag 2 stars |
| You've got to be pulling my Dong! | 5a | 5.7 | 20 m | Head Wall | theCrag 2 stars |
| Got any Dong? | 5b | 5.8 | 24 m | Head Wall | theCrag 2 stars |
| On the border | 5c | 5.9 | 15 m | Head Wall | theCrag 1 star |
| Spicy Times | 5c | 5.9 | 22 m | Head Wall | theCrag 1 star |
| I own an orchard | 5c | 5.9 | 20 m | Head Wall | theCrag 1 star |
| Bambi Line | 5c | 5.9 | 20 m | L'Ile Noire | theCrag 1 star; vertical face, finger holds and small tufa |
| Les Fées Colibri | 6a | 5.10a | 18 m | La Conche | theCrag 2 stars |
| Fakir Rosa | 6a | 5.10a | — | La Conche | theCrag 1 star |
| The Gardener | 5c | 5.9 | 25 m | Dead End | theCrag 1 star |
| Plug & Play | 6a | 5.10a | 29 m | Dead End | theCrag 2 stars |
| Belayer's Bait | 6a | 5.10a | 18 m | Dead End | theCrag 2 stars |
Intermediate: 6a+ to 6c+ (YDS 5.10b–5.11c)
This is the thickest band in the main valley, and almost every route on Head Wall sits in it. The 6s on Head Wall are the best place to start above beginner level: it is at the edge of the village, 5 minutes on foot, and the landowner comes to collect the fee.
| Route | Grade | YDS | Length / pitches | Sector | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sắc! | 6a+ | 5.10b | 29 m | Head Wall | theCrag 1 star; the sector is tagged "some bolts look rusty" |
| Strange Brew | 6a+ | 5.10b | 16 m | Head Wall | theCrag 2 stars |
| Use your Groove | 6a+ | 5.10b | 20 m | Head Wall | theCrag 2 stars |
| Free the Spirit | 6b | 5.10c | 25 m | Head Wall | theCrag 3 stars |
| Metaphysics of the Moral | 6b+ | 5.10d | 25 m | Head Wall | theCrag 2 stars |
| Good Morning Vietnam | 6b+ | 5.10d | 55 m, 3 pitches | Head Wall | theCrag 2 stars; there is also a 6c+ third-pitch variant |
| Gravical Slab | 6c+ | 5.11c | 26 m | Head Wall | theCrag 3 stars |
| War and Peace | 6c | 5.11a/b | 25 m | Head Wall | theCrag 3 stars |
| Afro V.C | 6c | 5.11a/b | 32 m | Dragon Wall | theCrag 2 stars |
| Little Pear | 6c+ | 5.11c | 30 m | Dragon Wall | theCrag 2 stars |
| Requiem For A Tree | 6b | 5.10c | 32 m | Drone Wall | theCrag 3 stars |
| Mắt Cáo | 6b+ | 5.10d | 32 m | Drone Wall | theCrag 3 stars |
| Bamboo Symphony | 6c+ | 5.11c | 28 m | Drone Wall | theCrag 3 stars |
| Blue Bird | 6c+ | 5.11c | 29 m | Drone Wall | theCrag 3 stars |
| 40° pour Noël | 6b+ | 5.10d | 32 m | La Conche | theCrag 3 stars |
| La Corde Rouge | 6b+ | 5.10d | 23 m | La Conche | theCrag 3 stars |
| Fort dans la Bataille | 6c+ | 5.11c | — | La Conche | theCrag 2 stars; the sector carries an ant nest warning |
| Je suis Cordiste et J'ai rien à dire | 6b+ | 5.10d | — | L'Ile Noire | theCrag 2 stars; there is also a 6c+ variant |
| Flying Frenchy | 6b+ | 5.10d | 28 m | L'Ile Noire | theCrag 2 stars |
| Catalunya Libre | 6b+ | 5.10d | — | L'Ile Noire | theCrag 3 stars |
| Chut Kho | 6b+ | 5.10d | 20 m | Dead End | theCrag 2 stars |
| Joint-Venture | 6b+ | 5.10d | 35 m | Dead End | theCrag 2 stars |
| Kama Rocks I | 6c | 5.11a/b | 32 m | Dead End | theCrag 2 stars |
| A New Beginning | 6c+ | 5.11c | — | Dead End | theCrag 3 stars |
Advanced: 7a to 7c+ (YDS 5.11d–5.13a)
Dragon Wall is the densest wall in this band: long routes in the 40 m range, plus roofs, running from 7a all the way to 7c+. Dead End is where the hard routes concentrate: 5 7b+ routes and the 7c are all there.
| Route | Grade | YDS | Length / pitches | Sector | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hanoi Hilti | 7a | 5.11d | 29 m | Head Wall | theCrag 3 stars, 18 bolts |
| Chúc Sức Khỏe | 7a+ | 5.12a | 96 m, 5 pitches | Chúc Sức Khỏe Wall | theCrag 3 stars; the only long multipitch in the area, entered via Head Wall |
| Nidhogg le Serpent | 7a | 5.11d | 30 m | Squirrel Wall | theCrag 3 stars; the sector carries a corrosion warning on the anchor rings |
| Salbutamol | 7a | 5.11d | 24 m | Squirrel Wall | theCrag 3 stars |
| Clepsydre | 7a | 5.11d | 24 m | Squirrel Wall | theCrag 3 stars |
| Vào Đời | 7a | 5.11d | 40 m | Dragon Wall | theCrag 3 stars, 17 bolts |
| Escalade Verbale | 7a | 5.11d | 40 m | Dragon Wall | theCrag 3 stars, 23 bolts |
| Việt Nam Tươi Đẹp | 7a+ | 5.12a | 30 m | Dragon Wall | theCrag 3 stars |
| The Daring Chicken | 7a+ | 5.12a | — | Dragon Wall | theCrag 3 stars; there is also a 6c first-anchor version |
| La Chaponoise | 7b | 5.12b | 35 m | Dragon Wall | theCrag 3 stars |
| Không send không về | 7b+ | 5.12c | 40 m | Dragon Wall | theCrag 3 stars, 20 bolts |
| Bushido | 7c | 5.12d | — | Dragon Wall | theCrag 3 stars |
| The Last Monkey | 7b | 5.12b | — | Drone Wall | theCrag 3 stars |
| Maverick | 7b | 5.12b | — | Drone Wall | theCrag 3 stars |
| Les Copains D'abord | 7b+ | 5.12c | — | Drone Wall | theCrag 3 stars |
| Wo｜Andering | 7c | 5.12d | — | Drone Wall | theCrag 3 stars; there is also a 7b+ low-anchor version |
| La Voie de Trop | 7c | 5.12d | 30 m | Dead End | theCrag 1 star |
| Beer Belly | 7c | 5.12d | 25 m | Dead End | theCrag 3 stars |
| Mental Abuse | 7b | 5.12b | 20 m | Dead End | theCrag 3 stars |
| A New Beginning II | 7b+ | 5.12c | — | Dead End | theCrag 3 stars |
| Strike! | 7b+ | 5.12c | 25 m | Dead End | theCrag 3 stars |
| In The Pocket | 7b+ | 5.12c | 25 m | Dead End | theCrag 3 stars |
| Kama Rocks II | 7a+ | 5.12a | 45 m | Dead End | theCrag 2 stars, 22 bolts |
| Auprès De Mon Arbre | 7a | 5.11d | 30 m | Dead End | theCrag 3 stars |
| Rosetta | 7a+ | 5.12a | 30 m | Dead End | theCrag 3 stars |
| Changing Corner | 7a | 5.11d | — | L'Ile Noire | theCrag 3 stars |
| Tufa slumming | 7b | 5.12b | — | La Conche | theCrag 3 stars |
| Wolf Trap | 7a+ | 5.12a | — | La Conche | theCrag 2 stars |
| La Loi d'Attraction | 7a+ | 5.12a | — | La Conche | theCrag 3 stars |
Expert: 8a and up (YDS 5.13b and up)
The main valley has only two 8s, one on Squirrel Wall and one on Dead End. Both are routes with high star ratings or high ascent counts on theCrag, so do not use them as warm-ups on a first visit.
| Route | Grade | YDS | Length / pitches | Sector | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tominator | 8a | 5.13b | 35 m | Squirrel Wall | theCrag 3 stars, 16 bolts |
| Perfecto Jeannot | 8a+ | 5.13c | 30 m | Dead End | theCrag 1 star, 14 bolts |
Bouldering
Dead End has a small patch of boulders. All five problems carry V grades recorded directly on theCrag, and the source gives no Font grades, so they are copied over as they are with no conversion.
| Route | V grade | Sector | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Milky Way | V1 | Dead End | 3 m |
| Fuck The Universe | V2 | Dead End | 4 m |
| Universe Expand | V3 | Dead End | 4 m |
| Thanks Universe | V4 | Dead End | 5 m |
| Entire Universe We Known | V5 | Dead End | 9 m |
The only multipitch
Chúc Sức Khỏe is the only multipitch route in the whole of Hữu Lũng: 7a+, 96 m, 5 pitches, with 3 stars on theCrag. The approach is written up as "entered via Head Wall", so in practice you walk over from Head Wall. It is the route where a 60 m rope is not enough — do the rope-length math yourself, down to the descent from the last pitch, instead of bringing a short rope because the maximum is 96 m.
Where to look things up
- theCrag: Hữu Lũng: the index of 267 routes and 21 sectors, plus the crag description (entry fees, transport, advice on how much gear to bring).
- theCrag: Head Wall, Dragon Wall, Dead End: approach maps, parking coordinates, access fees and fixed-point warnings for each sector.
- theCrag: Cat Ba Island, Vịnh Lan Hạ: the other two bases under the same Vietnam crag index.
- VietClimb: homestays, shuttles, guides and trip prices; they also handle the coordination with orchard owners, village authorities and local government, so write to them before you leave and ask for the current situation.
- Guidebook: Grades and route counts here come mainly from online databases; the guidebook is the authority.
- Vietnam Climbing, Luca De Giorgi and Gavi Piper, 2nd edition 2023, 230 pages, ISBN 9781727545128, English. It covers the whole country: sport climbing and deep-water bouldering in Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba Island, plus overviews of Hữu Lũng, Quốc Oai and Mai Châu. It lists only 122 routes at Hữu Lũng, less than half of the online database, so anyone going to Hữu Lũng still relies mainly on the online data. Each copy comes with a Vertical-Life app redemption code.
- A guidebook is also sold locally on Cat Ba Island (in the Cat Ba Climbing shop, 600,000 VND); the product description says it is the 2018 edition, covering Ha Long Bay / Lan Ha Bay / Cat Ba Island. The edition and contents depend on the copy in the shop.
References
- theCrag: Hữu Lũng
- theCrag: Head Wall
- theCrag: Chúc Sức Khỏe Wall
- theCrag: Squirrel Wall
- theCrag: L'Ile Noire
- theCrag: La Conche
- theCrag: Dragon Wall
- theCrag: Drone Wall
- theCrag: Dead End
- theCrag: K Wall
- VietClimb: Outdoor Trips, Mao Homestay, Duc Bungalow
- UK travel advice: Getting help in Vietnam
- Wikipedia: Hanoi (climate table)
- Mountain Project: Hữu Lũng, international grade comparison