Hang Pac Bo is a popular tourist cave up in Cao Bang Province near the China border. It means Water-wheel Cave and was famously the home to Ho Chi Minh while waiting for the end of WWII.
The cave itself is not all that impressive and there are far more beautiful natural attractions in the region, yet it is the history of Hang Pac Bo that is intriguing. Ho Chi Minh stayed here as it was close to China and enabled him to be able to flee across the border at a minute’s notice should the French rumble his hideout.
The stream in front of the cave was named Lenin Creek, along with nearby Karl Marx Peak mountain. Also near the cave is Uncle Ho museum, a 10-minute walk from the cave. Ho Chi Minh’s Jungle Hut is about 15 minutes in the other direction via a dead-drop letterbox on a rocky outcrop that he would make use of.
Getting There & Away
Hang Pac Bo cave is 90 minutes from Cao Bang, accessible via minibus on a tour, or you could hire a car with driver for the most comfort. Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport is north of the Vietnamese capital and around nine hours from Cao Bang by bus or train.