Yen Bai (Yenbai) is located in the northern part of the country. It is surrounded by the provinces of Lao Cai (north), Sonla (south), Tuyen Quang (northeast), and Phu Tho (southeast). Several ethnic minorities live in Yen Bai Province , including the H'mong, Dao, Tay , Thai, Nung, San Chay, Phu La, and Kinh.
Yen Bai is the gate to the Northwestern region and has many famous beauty spots such as Thac Ba Lake , gemstone land of Luc Yen , grottoes and caves at Sao Pagoda, the green plateau of Khai Trung, etc. In addition, there are many festivals of the ethnic people. All form the harmonious beauty between man and nature and turn the local region into an attractive tourist area.
Thac Ba Hydroelectric Plant is an interesting tourist site. This artificial lake has an area of 23,400ha and 1,331 islands and hills with diverse ecological environments. The water in Thacba lake is blue and clear, and imprinted with the reflections of the surrounding ancient forest, thousands of hills and islands feature caves such as the Hum, Cau Cuoi and Bach Xa, and the Thac Ba Temple always draws visitors.
There are plans in the works to develop Thac Ba Lake into an ecological tourist centre with entertainment, mountain climbing and hiking.
