Mu Cang Chai terraces, Muong Lo field, Suoi Giang tea hills and Thac Ba Lake resort are beautiful landscapes in Yen Bai that should not be missedon your trip to the Northwest region of Vietnam, particularly in spring.
Mu Cang Chai
Mu Cang Chai is a mountainous district of Yen Bai province with over 90 percent of the population H’Mong people. Coming to Mu Cang Chai, visitors will admire the grandeur of nature and the vast terraced fields.
Yen Bai people call Mu Cang Chai "Khau Pha sea of clouds" because to reach Mu Cang Chai, visitors must go through the Khau Pha Pass of 2100m high - one of the most winding and steepest passes in Vietnam.
Mu Cang Chai is known for the beautiful terraced fields spanning from Tu Le to Khau Pha, La Pan Tan, Che Cu Nha ...
Coming to Mu Cang Chai this season, you'll see the vitality of nature, with green rice fields, green buds and pink-white peach and apricot flowers.
Muong Lo Fields
80 km west of Yen Bai City, Muong Lo is located between Nghia Lo town and Van Chan district and is considered the second largest field of the majestic, romantic Northwest region. It is home to Thai ethnic minority group whohave unique traditional culture.
Nghia Lo, with a population of 30,000, is tucked away in a big, flat valley called Muong Lo and offers many experiences for tourists. It is second only to the Muong Thanh valley of Dien Bien Province in terms of size and is surrounded by unlimited chains of mountains.
In this region, at this altitude (approximately 1000 meters) the rice is ripe between the end of September and the beginning of October: some fields have been harvested and have the brown color of dry land while others are yet to be harvested and show a beautiful bright yellow color. In this region of Vietnam, the ripening of the rice happens 2-3 weeks after those in Sapa (the most popular place in Vietnam where most tourists go to see terraced rice fields).
Thac Ba Hydro Power Plant
Thac Ba Lake is the largest artificial lake in Vietnam built in 1970 with total area of 23.400 hectares.
Not only is it a tourist attraction, Thac Ba Lake also pay an important role in protecting and improving environment. Due to a stunning cave system of limestone mountain ranges, the lake attracts thousands of arrivals every year.
The most prominent of all is Thuy Tien cave, 100 m long, situated inside rocky mountain. In addition, tourists visit Xuan Long cave to admire stunning natural statutes.
Cao Bien is the largest and longest mountain range of Thac Ba Lake. Standing at the peak of the mountain, tourists will get bird’s eye-view of misty Thac Ba Lake in early morning.
Traveling to Thac Ba, tourists will have a chance to exchange culture with ethnic groups such as Nung, H’Mong, dao, Phu La…. through folk festivals.
Suoi Giang
Suoi Giang is situated at the height of 800-1000m above the sea level, 20km from Nghia Lo Town. This site is home to age-old tea trees. With the temperature in summer around 30-320C, and very pure air, Suoi Giang is suitable for relaxation, sightseeing and exploring the cultural life of H’Mong ethnic group.
The area is also surrounded by small villages and wooden houses of Thai and Hmong ethnic people. The town also held variegated market where you can buy almost anything. You can visit the area near the village of Suoi Giang, where you can see the tea trees which are 100-400 of years old. Local people of the area call this tea “medicinal tea” (Zie Sua) and believethat it is medicine. This area is located approximately 1500 – 2200 meters above sea level, where there is a mild climate and average annual temperature of 20 °C.
VNN/goasiatravel