Climbing in Huu Lung
About two hours from Hanoi, Huu Lung/Huu Lien—more specifically Yen Thinh Commune—is a quiet rural area surrounded by limestone mountains, rivers and farmland. This is climbing in a very different Vietnam from the busy cities and tourist hubs. Life moves slowly here. Most local people work in farming, and the area is known for “Na”, or custard apples. It’s also still a small rural community, so don’t expect an endless supply of ATMs, cafés or convenience stores. In fact, there is no ATM or card payment facility in the village; the nearest ATM and bank are about 40 minutes away in Huu Lung town. Bring enough Vietnamese cash with you.
A Little History
Huu Lung was first discovered by a French climbing couple travelling through northern Vietnam by motorbike in 2011. They spotted the area’s climbing potential and contacted their friend Jean Verly, founder of Vietclimb. Since then, Vietclimb has played a major role in developing the area. What was once a little-known village with nowhere for climbers to stay has grown into Vietnam’s largest and fastest-growing climbing area.
As of 2026, Huu Lung has 21 crags and 265 routes, ranging from 4+ to 8c/9a, with a large number of routes in the 6–7 range.
Equipment
Huu Lung has quite a few long routes. For the best coverage, bring at least a 70m rope and 20 quickdraws, and if you enjoy climbing long routes, bring a 80m rope and 25 quickdraws.
You can climb with a 60m rope and 15 quickdraws, but your options will be considerably more limited.
Getting to Huu Lung
Huu Lung is around 115 km from Hanoi.
- About 2 hours by private car, ~1.5-2 million VND / US$60-80 one way
- About 3 hours by local bus, ~300-350,000 VND / US$12-14 per person, one way
The local bus is cheap, but it is not particularly straightforward for international visitors. The driver doesn’t speak English, there is no proper office, and pickup is from a specific roadside address.
The easiest option is to ask your homestay to arrange it. If you’re staying at one of the Vietclimb homestays, Vietclimb can help organise transportation, either by private car or local bus.
Where to Stay
Vietclimb operates two homestays—Mao’s and Duc’s—in collaboration with local families. Both are popular with Vietnamese and visiting climbers. You can choose between dorms and private bungalows, with hot showers and fans or air conditioning. Meals are available and are particularly useful here because restaurant options are limited, especially in the evening.
- Dorm: 390,000–550,000 VND, including meals
- Private bungalow: 1.2–1.8 million VND, including 3 meals
Staying at these homestays also helps support local families and Vietclimb’s ongoing climbing development and bolting work.
Other accommodation options include Vietclimb partner properties where you can get 5% off when booking through Vietclimb:
- Nabum Retreat — around 2 million VND/private room
- May Retreat — 1.25–1.35 million VND/private room
- Mo Nong Homestay — from 900,000 VND/private room
- Phu Quy Homestay
- La Nha Homestay
And a few other homestays in the area:
- Đến Nơi Có Gió – Home and Coffee – ~1.3 million VND/private room
- Làng Giàng Climbing Homestay
- Huu Lung Mountain Climbing Hostel – Hung Hue
Getting Around
The easiest way to explore Huu Lung is by scooter. Most homestays can arrange one for around 100,000 VND/day, excluding fuel.
There is no petrol station in the commune but you can refill at a few convenience stores along the “main” road or at the local market.
Crag Access
Except the Arch, the crags in Huu Lung have short and easy access. Park your scooter by the road or at the base of a crag and walk or hike for about 5 minutes to reach the crag. Closed footwear is recommended for most crags, but you can also access some on flip flops.
Several crags are accessed across private land. A landowner may collect an access fee of around 20,000–25,000 VND per person. Bring some small cash and exact change—it makes things much easier.
Rock, Climbing & Local Life
Something for Every Climber
Huu Lung offers world-class limestone with an impressive variety of difficulty levels and climbing styles. There are easy and beginner-friendly routes from French 4+ to 5s and low 6s, to intermediate high 6s-7s, to hard routes 8a-9a. You can go from steep, juggy walls to horizontal cave climbing, three-dimensional tufa lines, technical vertical faces covered in crimps, cracks, pockets, tricky slopers and slabs—all within the same area.
And the development isn’t slowing down. New crags are being developed every year, meaning plenty of pristine rock and fresh routes to discover. The combination of high-quality limestone, varied movement and relatively uncrowded crags makes Huu Lung a particularly enjoyable place to climb.
Climbing in the Countryside
Huu Lung is still a relatively undeveloped rural area, with mountains, farmland and small villages spread across the valleys. Don’t expect busy roads or crowds around the crags. Instead, you’ll find yourself climbing in quiet, peaceful and wonderfully wild surroundings, with views over limestone valleys, streams, rice fields and fruit farms.
It’s the kind of place where you can spend the morning projecting a route and the afternoon riding a scooter through the countryside, stopping whenever something catches your eye.
The Locals
One of the most memorable parts of climbing in Huu Lung is meeting the local people. They’re generally friendly, curious and fascinated by climbers and this strange sport involving just going up and down the cliffs—especially the kids.
Don’t be surprised if children come over to say hello, give you a high-five and try to start a conversation:
“What your name?”
“How are you?”
And that’s usually where the conversation ends too, because very few people in the area speak English. But language doesn’t seem to be much of a problem. A smile, a high-five and a bit of climbing-related sign language go a surprisingly long way.
Local hospitality can also take some interesting forms. Adult men may invite you to try local corn wine or thuốc lào, traditional tobacco smoked through a large bamboo pipe. Women may be curious enough to admire—or even touch—your hair. And if you’re around at the right time, they will be very delighted to invite you to join a volleyball match or a karaoke session.
In Huu Lung, climbing isn’t just about the rock. It’s also an opportunity to experience a quieter, more rural side of Vietnam—and perhaps make a few unexpected friends along the way.
Huu Lung Crag & Route Recommendations
There are 21 crags in the area and more to come, so you won’t run out of things to explore anytime soon. Here are some popular crags and selected routes, grouped by proximity.
Drone Wall · Dragon Wall · Dead End
These 3 crags are the largest in Huu Lung and are some of my favorites, with some very long and steep routes (up to 40m) of varied styles. They are located deep inside a valley, about 10-15 minutes by scooter from Mao’s homestay. Dragon Wall (28 routes) and Drone Wall (27 routes) are just facing each other and have alternate shades: morning shade at Dragon and afternoon shade at Drone, so it’s a convenient area to spend the whole day. Dead End (32 routes) is located further down the road and has morning shade.
Dragon Wall
- La Chaponoise – 7b
- Mắm tôm – 7a+
- Escalade Verbale — 7a
- A Le Le — 7a
- Little Pear – 6c+
- Thought for Mr Robot — 6c
- Once Upon a Time in the East — 6b
Drone Wall
- Maverick — 7b
- The Last Monkey — 7b
- Marx Attacks — 7a
- Bad Day for Tarzan — 6c
- Requiem for a Tree — 6b
Dead End
- Beer Belly — 7c
- Strike — 7b+
- Les Murs de Poussière — 7a
- A New Beginning — 6c+
- Choose Your Weapon — 6c
- Rock Frenzy — 6c
- Trà Phê — 6b+
- Plug & Play — 6a
Woofstuck · Thánh Gióng · Infinity Cave
These 3 crags are located close to Duc’s homestay. Woofstuck (13 routes) offers epic long and hard routes and is conveniently located right behind Duc’s. Infinity Cave, with fewer routes (10), offers some of the best cave climbing and hardest lines in Vietnam. Meanwhile Thánh Gióng is a big crag with 23 routes catering to different levels from 5s to high 7s.
Woofstuck
- Back to Reality — 8b
- I Have a Dream — 7c
- The Aggressive Bum Gun Technique — 7b+
- Goosebump — 7a+
- Bandolle — 6c+
Thánh Gióng
- Ngựa Sắt — 7b
- Khoan Cắt Bê Tông — 7a+
- Tufarathon — 7a+
- Sisyphus — 6c+
- Expression Minérale — 6b+
- Babylone Spirit — 6a+
Infinity Cave
- Lotus and Ao Dai — 8a/+
- Bumble — 7b
- Allegory — 7a
Head Wall · La Conche · Squirrel Wall
These three crags are among Huu Lung’s earliest developed areas and offer excellent climbing in a variety of styles. Head Wall (22 routes) was the first crag discovered and developed. It’s a great introduction to limestone and tufa climbing, with plenty of easier routes in the French 5–6 range and short bolt spacing (1–1.5m), plus several classic longer 6c–7a routes. Squirrel Wall, just around the corner, is a small six-route crag aimed more at advanced climbers, with three 7a routes and a classic 8a. La Conche, a few minutes away, offers 13 shorter, more boulder-style routes from 6a to 7b.
Head Wall
- Hanoi Hilti — 7a
- Gravical Slab — 6c+
- War and Peace – 6c
- Seven Days Later — 6b+
- I Want My VTV — 6b
- Chasing the Dragon — 6b
- Use Your Groove — 6a+
- Got Any Dong? — 5b
- You’ve Got to Be Pulling My Dong — 5a
La Conche
- La Loi d’Attraction — 7a+
- Un Air Grimaceux — 7a+
- Le Pouvoir du Moment Présent — 7a+
- Fort dans la Bataille — 6c+
- La Corde Rouge — 6b+
- La Méduse — 6b
- Tonton Roro — 6b
- Les Fées Colibri — 6a
Squirrel Wall
- Tominator — 8a
- Sabultamol — 7a
- Clepsydre — 7a
- La Voie Yersin — 6c
Passe-Muraille · Weeping Wall · Floatin’ Shore
These newer, smaller crags lie deeper in the mountains and offer longer, harder routes of superb quality in wild surroundings. Passe-Muraille (11 routes) and Weeping Wall (9 routes) are conveniently located in the same valley, Mỏ Mạ, while Floatin’ Shore (9 routes) is reached by taking a different turn from Mao’s Homestay.
Passe-Muraille
- Bold Nuts — 7a+
- Psy Phenix — 7a+
- Yalouz — 6c+
- Dragon Slayer — 6c
- Rapport de Force — 6c+
Weeping Wall
- Tam to Climb — 7c
- Ruins of Self — 7b+
- Le Tocsin de la Raison — 7b
- DJ Hammer — 6c
Floatin’ Shore
- Mi Nói Với Tao À? — 8a+
- Nắng Quắt Queo — 7b
- Muczilla — 7a+
- Mochara — 6c
- Travity — 6b
Food & Drinks
Don’t come to Huu Lung expecting a huge restaurant scene. Outside your homestay, food and café options are limited—but that’s part of the charm.
- Local Market: There’s a breakfast spot serving bánh cuốn, Vietnamese steamed rice rolls, in the morning. The local market also comes alive on around three days each lunar month, when sellers from the surrounding area come to sell food, produce and other local products. Ask your homestay host when the next market day is—it’s a great way to get a glimpse of everyday local life.
- Mer Tea Milk – Coffee: A good stop for coffee, smoothies and snacks. Their smoothie bowls are particularly popular. It’s on the road towards Huu Lien Nature Reserve, close to Mo Nong Homestay.
- Bảo Long Quán: A local option for lunch, dinner and drinks, near the secondary school.
- Quynh Nga Milk Tea: On the main road, around 200m east of the market.
- Khói Restaurant: Pizza and pasta when you need a break from Vietnamese food.
- Beer Restaurant: A local beer spot next to Hat Village.
Rest Days in Huu Lung
Your fingers may eventually demand a day off. Luckily, Huu Lung has plenty to do beyond climbing.
- Explore by Bike or Scooter: Take a slow ride through the countryside, explore the villages and enjoy the limestone landscape without a harness attached to you.
- Hat Waterfall: A good place for a swim and a refreshing escape from the rock.
- Lakes, Reservoirs & Valleys: Visit Đập Tràn Cầu Gạo, Mỏ Mây Sơn Thủy, or the stream through Mỏ Mạ Valley, where Passe-Muraille is located
- Huu Lien Nature Reserve: Take a motorbike trip to explore the surrounding area, including: Nong Dung Lake, Dong Lam Valley, and Bac Mo Reservoir
The area around Huu Lung offers plenty of options for exploring on foot, bike or motorbike, so a rest day doesn’t have to mean sitting around doing nothing.
