VPT

We are local Hanoi car company and provide private car of 7 seats for an adventure trip to Luc Yen and Yen The (for exploring the gemstone mining area or shopping gemstone).
Overnight in local hotel in Yen The township, It takes some  5 and half hours from Hanoi to Luc Yen Gemstone Market.

Travel schedules (should be, but flexible to meet your idea):

Day1: Hanoi - Yen The Township
At 08.00 Am, pick up at hotel in Hanoi and drive on the highway (of Hanoi- lao Cai) for Yen Bai city, some 3 hours from Hanoi, next will continue our trip for further 90km to the Yen The Township of Luc Yen, arrival time around 02.30 Pm.
Stop for lunch en route at any small township en route such as Lang Dat.
Check in local hotel on arrival and free time your own exporation Yen The Township 
Dinner at local restaurant and Overnight Yen Bai (hotel room and meals on your account).

Day2: Yen The Gemstone market - Hanoi
Am: have breakfast at local restaurant (suggest with Pho Noodle soup) and next will visit local gemstone market (just in walking distance from hotel), best time to visit from 08.30 Am to 10.30 Am,  free time your own shopping and sightseeing the market, there is some busy day.you can meet up from 70-100 shop owners, gemstone dealers at the market.

At 11.30 Am, meet back our driver and depart back for Hanoi, lunch can be at any local restaurant en route, drop at your hotel or Noi Bai International airport on arrival Hanoi (around 05.30 Pm).

Car hire included: driver, private car, gas, road toll, parking fee and driver own expense

Car hire Excluded: Travel insurance (advise must to buy before travel Vietnam), hotel rooms, meals, water, personnel expenses..

Surcharge:
+ If you need to hire an English speaking guide for this trip from Hanoi, guide fee : 70 $/ day + guide accommodation (very basic) 40$/ night (upon request only), if you would like to visit the An Phu Gemstone/ Ruby Mines, you need to hire a local (An Phu village) jungle guide to escort from An Phu Village for this special trek, local guide fee = 70$/day.

+ In An Phu village, it is necessary to hire a local guide to lead the way through forest trails up to Elephant Mountain, where there are open-pit gemstone mining sites and tunnels dug deep into the limestone mountain. The route is very challenging and slippery, especially after heavy rains. Without a local guide, you could easily get lost on the mountain and would not be able to access the mining camps.

Note:
+ Local Hotel in Yen The Township can be booked through us before coming, standard double/ twin room = 45 $ (no breakfast )

+ Our driver can speak very little in English, so can not be as a tour guide (Of course, even without an English speaking tour guide, the driver can still carry out the trip for you in a safe and friendly manner. Along the way, you can stop anywhere you like to rest, take photos of the scenery, or have meals in a local restaurant en route. However, due to limited (or low) English skills, the driver may not be able to communicate effectively or provide detailed information about everything you need, so the overall experience of the trip may not be as fulfilling.).


+ Visit local An Phu gemstone mines in the high mountain, you need to hire a local tour guide from An Phu Township,  as he will know the trail to take us to visit the gemstone mines that still working and he can on behalf to ask permission to visit these mines too.

The biggest challenge of this trip is that without a local jungle guide to lead the way up to the gemstone mining area, the journey simply cannot be carried out. You would not be able to reach the local miners’ camps on Elephant Mountain, observe their mining methods, or even purchase gemstones directly from them (of course, at original prices much cheaper than those at the Yen The gemstone market).

Along the way, especially near the streams, you can also find many small, high-quality gemstones to take home as memorable souvenirs of the trip

+ Highlight to visit the local gemstone mining area at : Nui Voi (Elephant Mountains), some 2 hours trekking (2ways) at Nuoc Ngap Village, An Phu Sub-district, Luc Yen District, Yen Bai Province ( you need a local tour guide, also permission to visit local mining area too), driving time from Yen The township (luc Yen ) to An Phu gemstone mountains will take some over 1 hour (only 30km).
Recently (officially since 2023), the previously rough trail that was difficult for cars has been expanded from Yen The town to An Phu village. The travel time is estimated to be just over one hour by car, so most standard vehicles can now access the route. However, during the rainy season, when traveling in the mountainous forest areas of An Phu, it is recommended to use a four-wheel-drive vehicle to avoid landslide-prone sections after heavy rains.
We also advise you to do 3days 2nights Luc Yen trip to have enough time for adventure trip to the An Phu Gemstone mountains that normally will take for 1day trip.

Please contact us further information at  Email: info@vietnampathfinder.com or WhatsApp : (084)913323977

Luc Yen Gem Market

Local ruby trader at Luc Yen Gemstone Market - Yen Bai province, north Vietnam

She (also other local ruby traders) will show you some other better star ruby that they have
They all have special with high quality ones, if you wish to see or purchase.

gemstone for sale by local people  in Luc Yen, Yen Bai

According to the sellers, gems are gathered from the persons who have gone to the mountains … and if having time, craftsmen will arrange the gems to make pendants of rings, necklaces, earrings, etc… Gems are also used as materials for making a gem picture, which are sold in the unit of kilogram or gram.

Each blue, red, purple, yellow, white, black gems have different sizes and shapes and is supervised and considered by the customers who are conversant with gems. The prices are announced depending on the type of gem which can be ten thousands, hundreds of thousand or a million, tens of millions dong. However, the succession of transaction is decided by the bargaining process.

With large choice of Spinel and Ruby from just 200$ to 50 000$ at Luc Yen gemstone market.
The market works in just several hours in every morning. Depending on reasons and weather, the market can take place sooner or later, but at about 08.00 am there are sellers in the market.

Local Luc Yen Gemstone Dealers at Market
There is some foreign ruby traders from India, Srilanka, Singapore, Australia, USA, European also come to visit this local ruby market

This luc yen spinel is value around 600$ (i just check with at market with a local dealer in Dec 2019)
You need some good skill to see of which ones are good for value.

When other (also) Luc Yen Ruby is value just 500$
The price is not fixed, all can be negotiable with local owners

Luc Yen star ruby - This high quality star ruby is value of 5000$
(The local ruby trader in Luc yen Market told me that is a whole sale price and the dealer from Hanoi can re-sell at big city at higher price, but at least from 8000$ up !)

This is an outstanding of Luc yen Ruby and Spinel with value of 5000$ (for each of them)
All local dealers in this market would like to show you what they have on offer.

Based on my experience visiting this Yen The gemstone market several times and observing transactions there, early in the morning local people from An Phu village or the Elephant Mountain mines often bring a few high-quality stones down to sell. At that time, traders from cities like Hanoi, Hai Phong, or Ho Chi Minh City gather around to examine, inquire, and negotiate. As for higher-value stones, deals are usually arranged privately elsewhere (often at the seller’s home in the village).

Spinel - Blue Gem founded in Sept 2019 at Bai Buoi Village- Lieu Do- Luc yen Dist- Yen Bai Province Lục Yên (tỉnh Yên Bái). its weigh of 2,1kg and just 1 meter under ground.
(Spinel has verious colors: White, Colorless, Blue, Red, Green, Yellow, Orange, Brown, Pink, Purple, Black)

Spinel - Blue Gem founded in Sept 2019 at Bai Buoi Village- Lieu Do- Luc yen Dist- Yen Bai Province Lục Yên (tỉnh Yên Bái)
Its weight 2.1 Kg, size: Length 13 Cm and Width 6 cm (a local Luc Yen Gemstone Miner had sold for a dealer at over 200.000 USD)

The picture is Bai Buoi Village- Lieu Do- Luc yen Dist- Yen Bai Province Lục Yên (tỉnh Yên Bái) where local Luc Yen people founded Spinel stone in Sept 2019 (its weight 2.1kg)

Spinel is a gemstone that comes in a variety of colors. Pure Spinel is colorless, but impurities are responsible for the wide range of colors. The most valuable and desirable Spinel color is a deep blood red, though blue, yellow, orange, pink, and purple colors also make fine gemstones. Spinel is often fluorescent in ultraviolet light, and this can be helpful in its identification.

Fine red Spinel is actually rarer than Ruby of equal color. However, its is an undervalued gemstone, with its cost is about 30% lower then comparable Ruby. The scarcity of good Spinel is the reason for its lack of demand and popularity. Gem Spinel is in very limited supply, and therefore jewelry companies and gem cartels don't really market this gemstone to the consumer. This inhibits Spinel from being a more mainstream gemstone.

Spinel is easily synthesized, and can be made into any color by adding impurities. Synthetic Spinel is often simulated to replicate many other gemstones such as Diamond, Sapphire, and Zircon. Because of the abundance of synthetic Spinel, one must always be careful only to purchase this gemstone from reputable dealers. Almost all colorless Spinel gemstones are synthetic, as it rarely occurs colorless in nature. 

The "Star of Vietnam", a ruby stone of  Vietnam with its outstanding of 2160 Gram- 10.800 Cara was found in An Phu- Luc Yen on 26 April 1997
This is the biggest ruby stone in the world and the Vietnam national treasure
This giant ruby has 2 parts, the smaller part is called " male ruby stone" is weight 290 Cara when the "Female ruby stone" is weight 10.800 Cara to make it become the most valuable in the whole world
Vietnamese government makes it name " the star of Vietnam"
After a meeting of local and Foreign ruby experts in Hanoi capital in Nov 1999, the 'Female ruby" was estimated of value with over 10 million USD

Tan Huong Gemstone mininga area in Yen Bai mountains where the giant ruby "star of Vietnam" was found in1997
 

car trip from yen the township to An Phu gemstone mountains that will take for one hour to An phu village before you will start for long trekking and cilmbing

Climb up the An Phu gemstone mountains .
This area is made up of limestone mountains, and the trail leading up after rain becomes very difficult to navigate. In many sections, you have to hold onto the rock face to move forward. If you are not physically fit or have any mobility issues, it is best not to attempt the climb, as slipping could be very dangerous.

 

Climb up the An Phu gemstone mountains, An phu village is some 1 hour drive from Yen The Township, there are a hundred of private gemstone mines can be found at this high mountains, some the first gemstone mine can visit will take for around 1 hour trekking and climbing, some parts of the trail can be very difficult for climbing up and you need a local guys for help.

 Here is our first gemstone mine in An Phu mountains that we had reached after over one hour of trekking and climbing.
 

a gemstone mine in An Phu Mountains
There are a hundred of local and small gemstone mines like this in An Phu high mountains, some will take for a day trekking and climbing to reach to the mines

Visit more local gemstone mine.
Along the way, especially near the streams, you can also find many small, high-quality gemstones to take home as memorable souvenirs of the trip.

The local miners had digged some narrow and deep caves into the rocky mountains of An Phu to search for gemstone.

Up on Elephant Mountain (Nui Voi), the gemstone mining camps are located about half a day’s trek away. For this reason, some foreign visitors who come to study gemstones or seek an adventurous experience have chosen to stay overnight on the mountain with the miners.

Searching for gemstones from the washed sand dunes

These gemstones that we got just in 5 minutes of searching (you also can find and get as many as you want for a gifts of the trip to An Phu mines)

And this cobalt stone had been found from the An Phu gemstone mine

Our trekking back An Phu village at around 4 Pm and start our late lunch ( you need to order your lunch at a local family before start trekking trip to An phu gemstone mines,  so when you come back the village then everythings are ready).
After late lunch, start our car trip back the Yen The Township for overnight.

The trip from Yen The township to visit An phu Gemstone mines will take for full-day, depart at 08.30 am and return trip at around 6.00 PM.

to make this trip, please contact: info@vietnampathfinder.com
or Whatsapp: (084) 913323977 (Mr Pham)

 Local Gemstone dealers, traders at Luc Yen Gemstone Market - Yen The Township - Yen Bai province

Luc Yen gem market sparkles with life

For over 15 years now, Luc Yen gem market has been an excellent place to buy and sell precious stones, specifically from Luc Yen District’s plentiful gemstone mining areas. The market has been open since 1992, following fast on the heels of An Phu Village’s nearby discovery of gem-quality rubies.

And though the market still operates today, it’s not nearly as busy or noisy as it used to be.

Luc Yen is located about 100km from the small Yen Bai capital in Yen The Town, and is one of only three locations, including Quy Hop and Dac Nong, famous for gemstones in Viet Nam.

To reach Luc Yen, we entered through the mountains on narrow roads, that twisted like snakes. The houses we passed appeared small and covered by the leaves of many palm trees. The atmosphere was very clean and fresh.

Upon hearing that the Luc Yen gem market was only open in the very early morning, between 6.30 and 9.30am, we planned to go there first thing the following day. We spent the night in the town so that the next morning we could easily get to the market.

"There are more than 40 small tables upon which many different kinds of gemstones are shown on Sundays, though during the week there are only about 10 tables," said Pham Thi Hoa, chief of Luc Yen District’s People’s Committee Secretariat.

At the market, you can see sellers show off their products, including rubies, spinel, opal and jadeite, on rows of small tables.

But at the market one can often see buyers and sellers using a torch-like tool, trying to figure out the value of the gemstones.

Nguyen Van Hung, a gemstone trader since the market was formed, said, "A gemstone will have the highest value if it is dark red, otherwise, when it is black. The harder it is, the more it is worth. When a gemstone is examined by a torch, if it has a strong light refraction and has the form of a star which is clear and has no cracks, then its quality is very good.