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We have 3 full days in Hue and I am toying with giving one to Bach Ma National Park. The summit views over the lagoons look unreal, but everything I read says the park is a maze of trails with limited signage and the best walks (Five Lakes, the rhododendron trail) basically need a guide.
Has anyone done it as a day trip without booking a tour? Is the road up to the summit doable on a rented motorbike, or is that madness? I am also a bit worried about leeches in the rainy season, are they as bad as people say?
If you went, what did your day look like, and would you spend one of three Hue days on it again?
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We did Bach Ma last March on a rented motorbike from Hue, no tour. The road up is fully paved, no problem on a bike, but it is narrow and the fog can get thick around the top, so go slow and go early. The summit viewpoint is maybe 30 minutes. The Five Lakes trail is the one that really needs a guide or at least good preparation, the signage there is rough and the path splits in places. Leeches were a real thing on that trail even in dry-ish season, wear long socks tucked in.
Replying to Laura Pickrell
Thanks, that is really useful. Did you do the Five Lakes trail yourselves then? I am trying to decide whether to bother with leech socks. Also how long did the whole summit trip take you door to door from Hue?
Replying to Adrian Woods
We did Five Lakes with a guide from a Hue trekking shop, honestly glad we did, he knew which fork to take and spotted a snake we would have walked past. The trail itself took about 3 hours at a relaxed pace. Door to door from Hue it was a full day, left at 7am, back by 6pm. Buy the leech socks, they cost almost nothing at the outdoor shops in Hue and you will feel much braver on the forest floor.