Mã Pí Lèng Pass
| Mã Pí Lèng Pass | |
|---|---|
| Đèo Mã Pí Lèng | |
A view of Mã Pí Lèng Pass | |
| Elevation | 1,500 m (4,921 ft) |
| Traversed by | National Highway 4C |
| Location | Mèo Vạc, Tuyên Quang province (formerly Hà Giang province), Vietnam |
| Range | Đồng Văn Karst Plateau |
| Coordinates | 23°14′27″N 105°24′39″E / 23.24083°N 105.41083°E |
Location in Vietnam | |
Mã Pí Lèng Pass (Đèo Mã Pí Lèng) is a mountain pass on National Highway 4C in far northern Vietnam, on the route between Đồng Văn and Mèo Vạc in Tuyên Quang province (formerly Hà Giang province). The pass reaches about 1,500 meters above sea level and sits on the winding mountain road across the Đồng Văn Karst Plateau, a karst limestone landscape of ridges, sinkholes, and steep escarpments.
Lookouts near the crest overlook the Nho Quế River valley and the Tú Sản canyon, where the river runs through a narrow gorge beneath near-vertical cliffs. The pass lies within the Đồng Văn Karst Plateau Geopark and is known for its karst geomorphology and highland scenery.
The road over Mã Pí Lèng was built as part of the "Happiness Road" (Con đường Hạnh Phúc), completed in the mid-1960s to connect Hà Giang City with the plateau areas. In 2009, Vietnam's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism listed the Mã Pí Lèng scenic landscape as a national-level monument covering parts of several communes in Mèo Vạc. The pass is also a major stop on the Hà Giang Loop travel circuit.