Attraction of Mu Cang Chai

Coming to Mu Cang Chai, visitors can not only enjoy the beauty of terraced fields and the sea of ​​white clouds on top of Khau Pha pass but also immerse themselves in the unique cultural festivals of the Mong people.

Coming to Mu Cang Chai, visitors can not only enjoy the beauty of terraced fields and the sea of ​​white clouds on top of Khau Pha pass but also immerse themselves in the unique cultural festivals of the Mong people.

Mu Cang Chai is a western highland district of Yen Bai province, 180km from Yen Bai city center, more than 300km northwest of Hanoi capital. This land is located at the foot of the Hoang Lien Son mountain range, at an altitude of over 2,000m above sea level. Coming to Mu Cang Chai, visitors can take Highway 32 in two directions. If from Hanoi, you will go to Yen Bai, from Yen Bai to Muong Lo 70km, sleep here so that you can drive from Muong Lo early tomorrow morning, and in the afternoon you will arrive at Mu Cang Chai. This section is nearly 100km long, but more than 80km is a steep mountain pass that continuously advances. Once it reaches an altitude of 1,750m, covered with mist and clouds, it will soon reach Mu Cang Chai town. In the middle of the pass, there is a flat land, stop here to enjoy the fragrant Tu Le sticky rice that is famous throughout the region. In the second direction, tourists go all the way to Noi Bai - Lao Cai highway, go to Sa Pa and pass O Quy Ho pass, then go through Tan Uyen and Than Uyen of Lai Chau to reach Mu Cang Chai.

Mu Cang Chai terraced fields in ripe rice season.

Coming to Mu Cang Chai even once, visitors will feel the richness of nature, the uniqueness of culture, and the warmth of human love. The road to Mu Cang Chai is far and difficult, but very interesting. The scenery changes constantly on the road. Tourists have not yet had time to see all the Thai stilt houses on the vast Muong Lo field with countless white daylilies before they have reached the winding, meandering roads on the steep hillsides. stand. Geological movements have created high peaks for Mu Cang Chai such as: Pung Luong (2,985m), Phu Ba (2,512m), Mo De (2,100m)... Through Khau Pha Pass (2,100m high), this is The highest mountain peak in the "four great passes" of the Northwest is covered in a sea of ​​floating clouds, with a cool climate all year round. The top of Cao Pha Pass is also the 4th most beautiful place in the world for paragliding pilots, for those who love thrills and adventure games to conquer the sky and enjoy admiring. Explore the majestic natural beauty of heaven and earth from the air through paragliding. From here, from pass to pass, mountain to mountain, visitors will clearly feel the change in altitude. On both sides of the road are beautiful terraced fields that make each of us feel stunned. overwhelmed.

Mong women carry their children to the fields.

The beautiful small town of Mu Cang Chai is nestled between two mountain slopes with peaceful villages in the green valley or on Khau Pha pass. Accounting for 90% of the district's population, the Mong people in Mu Cang Chai have 4 groups: Mong Do (White Mong); Butt Swing (Black Butt); Mong Linh (Mong Hoa); Mong Si (Red Mong), they reside on mountain slopes from 800 to 1,700m high with rich traditional and unique cultural features that always attract many researchers. Coming here, visitors can visit Mong ethnic villages, explore the culture and customs of the Northwest highlands with many unique folk cultural and artistic values ​​and famous products. language. Watch the Khen dance, go with Mong boys and girls to the Sai San festival, experience some traditional crafts such as blacksmithing, flax weaving, jewelry making and enjoy traditional dishes of the Mong people. . In particular, tourists cannot miss and visit Thai village, just cross the bridge right in the center of the district (towards Che Tao commune where there is a conservation area for ornamental species) and then turn left about 1km to get there. Thai version. A small peaceful village located in the middle of the valley, its back leaning against the mountain. Here, visitors will enjoy Thai specialties, take a herbal bath in the traditional Thai way, rest in a stilt house and organize exchanges, light a campfire, and dance.

Coming to Mu Cang Chai, visitors can enjoy the beauty of the Mu Cang Chai National Scenic Rice Terraces complex with a total area of ​​330 hectares distributed mainly in 3 communes Che Cu Nha, La Pan Tan and De Su Phinh, The place has been recognized as a National Landscape by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism since 2007. The terraced fields here are as beautiful as the fingerprints of heaven, an artistic architectural work full of creativity from the couple. the skillful hands of the Mong people.

Not just now but for a long time, the harsh land of Mu Cang Chai with the meaning of "dry tree village" in the Mong language has become a symbol of human diligence and persistent creativity. From an arid, deserted land, the Mong people who are good at climbing passes and crossing mountains have cleverly turned each bed of land and each hill into beautiful terraced fields, not only providing a source of food to feed the community but It also adds highlights to nature, turning wild mountains and hills into unique masterpieces imbued with the traditional cultural values ​​and creative feats of the Mong people. The fields are level by level, each level hugs the mountain slopes. Throughout the 13 communes and towns of Mu Cang Chai, there are terraced fields.

Raspberry hill in La Pan Tan commune.

The terraced fields are most beautiful in May-June when the fields are in the flood season and September-October when the sticky rice is ripe and shiny golden spreading across the hillsides. Tourists come to Mu Cang Chai at these two times to witness firsthand the green and yellow raspberries appearing among the vast hills and mountains. Stopping at the three communes of La Pan Tan, Che Cu Nha and De Su Phinh, everywhere visitors can see terraced fields spread across the hills. Visitors will not be able to help but admire, admire, and appreciate the glorious brocade painting between heaven and earth woven by the "peasant artists" of the Northwest. This entire mountainous area is a beautiful picture of the Northwest highlands painted by blue sky, white clouds, high fields and a simple, simple but realistic life down to every look and smile. laugh.

Visitors can take photos and admire the scenery on the 7km road through the district town. However, if you want to truly admire the majestic nature and terraced rice paradise, the only way is to walk from a few hours to... a few days on trails through the canyons. According to voting by Insider - a famous American travel electronic newspaper, recently, Mu Cang Chai (Yen Bai) of Vietnam has entered the top most beautiful mountain regions in the world, on par with many famous names. of the world such as Rainbow Mountain in Peru, the Andes Mountains in Bolivia or Mount Fuji in Japan.

Mu Cang Chai's climate has a distinct sub-regional nature, the average temperature is 190C, cool in summer, cold in winter. This place is still known as "the land of clouds, high mountains and deep ravines". The stream and stream system of Mu Cang Chai is quite dense, running along Highway 32, Nam Kim is the largest and only stream in the district flowing in the Southeast - Northwest direction. Nam Kim water flows murmuring all year round, dividing Mu Cang Chai into left and right banks, bringing rare poetic beauty to the Mu Cang Chai highland. In addition, Mu Cang Chai has many small stream systems such as: Nam Hu, Nam Mu, Nam Muoi, Nam Co, Nam Pang, Nam Khat, Nam Khot... contributing to bringing a cool, fresh climate. Along with the system of streams and streams are a series of famous, multi-layered waterfalls such as: Nam Mo Waterfall (Mo De), De Thang Waterfall (Che Cu Nha),... Visitors will be immersed in white water streams. .

Pu Nhu Waterfall is located 10 km west of Pu Nhu village, La Pan Tan commune. Originating from streams in the forests upstream from Than Uyen district - Lai Chau, the waterfall has a high slope with a water column of about 20 m divided into many steps. Thac Mo, Mu Cang Chai district, is located between two hills of Na Hang A and Na Hang B, in Mo De commune. During the journey to conquer Thac Mo, there are 7 impressive points for visitors to stop and enjoy. From the district center, it takes about 30 minutes to walk to Thac Mo. From here, visitors will reach the point of a one-story waterfall where the water flows in a spiral shape. To reach the 4-storey waterfall, visitors must continue to walk upstream. This is also the most impressive place for visitors to save beautiful images of Thac Mo. In addition, visitors can also visit the caves of Nam Khat commune, conquer the mountain peaks of Pung Luong commune and Lao Chai ancient rock field.

Forests are the strength of Mu Cang Chai with an area of ​​80,000 hectares, including 20,293 hectares of old forests and primary forests, 12,863 hectares of pine forests, more than 2,000 hectares of hawthorn forests, in addition to plums, precious medicinal herbs such as: astragalus. Ginseng, Polygonum multiflora, Amomum... also have conditions to develop and initially bring income to residents here. Mu Cang Chai has a conservation area for ornamental species with the center being Che Tao commune and the northern and eastern peripheries of De Su Phinh, Pung Luong, Nam Khat communes. In the immense forests, over many years of surveys, people have discovered 22 species of reptiles and amphibians; 127 species of birds, the babbler family alone has up to 41 species such as: striped babbler, red-tailed babbler, Pigmi ground babbler, red-tailed pygmy babbler, tawny-necked babbler, yellow flat-billed babbler... The rarest is the tawny-necked babbler Aceros Nipalensis , currently only found in Mu Cang Chai and Pu Mat National Park (Nghe An). Here, there are only 28 - 30 individuals left, but it is also the largest population of red hermit crabs in Vietnam. Mammals are extremely diverse with 53 different species such as: civet, short-tailed porcupine, small loris, wolf, monkey, warthog, deer, red-faced monkey, chamois, bear, horse, leopard, fire leopard, leopard, gray langur... Especially the pure black gibbon with about more than 200 individuals, currently in Vietnam has only been identified in two locations: the north of Van Ban district (Lao Cai) and the border area. The boundary between Mu Cang Chai (Yen Bai) and Muong La (Son La).

Sea of ​​clouds at Khau Pha pass.

Coming to Mu Cang Chai, visitors will be immersed in the sea of ​​white clouds covering the mountainside, discover many interesting things about the natural scenery, terraced fields in the flood season and other special features. The beauty of highland culture with simple, honest people who are always attentive and attentive to tourists from all over.

Let's explore Mu Cang Chai in the most special way, because this place will be one of the interesting experiences for those who are passionate about natural scenery. With many beautiful scenes like those in Mu Cang Chai paintings, Yen Bai province is increasingly attracting photographers and tourists both at home and abroad.

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Update day : 18/12/2023