Early Spring visits "Buddha's Hand"

Quite close to Sa Pa town, Ngu Chi Son mountain stands tall in the shape of five fingers poking straight into the blue sky. After many years, only indigenous people and lumberjacks dared to climb because it was too dangerous, in recent years, Ngu Chi Son has formed an easier climbing path to welcome many climbing enthusiasts to explore the legendary mountain peak. mysterious, wild and most attractive in the Northwest.

Quite close to Sa Pa town, Ngu Chi Son mountain stands tall in the shape of five fingers poking straight into the blue sky. After many years, only indigenous people and lumberjacks dared to climb because it was too dangerous, in recent years, Ngu Chi Son has formed an easier climbing path to welcome many climbing enthusiasts to explore the legendary mountain peak. mysterious, wild and most attractive in the Northwest.

I. Hang A Cho just built a two-story house with a flat roof a few months ago to have a place to welcome and rest for Ngu Chi Son climbers. The house is still in the process of being completed, the door hasn't been installed yet, but many guests have come over the weekend. The weather in early Spring is still very cold, however, a few warm rays of sunlight at the beginning of the day are enough to make the ground wet through a misty night of evaporating frost. A Cho's small house on the hillside seems to be slowly floating in the morning mist, making visitors from prosperous places unable to help but admire...

Conquer Ngu Chi Son peak 2,858 meters.

A Cho is one of the porters (native guides) who have been attached to this land since birth. He is one of the people who contributed to forming the path to conquer the dangerous peak to attract the climbing community to Ngu Chi Son. From Hang A Cho's house to the starting point of the climb is only a few hundred meters. Roads are much better now than a few years ago. 16-seat cars can now go up to A Cho's house, so visitors no longer have to sit on "motorbike taxis" and crawl uphill like before.

A high mountain range located on the border between Lao Cai - Lai Chau provinces and quite close to Sa Pa tourist center but different from many other famous mountains of Lao Cai province such as Fanxipan, Ky Quan San (Bach Moc Luong Tu). , Lao Than... Ngu Chi Son has only emerged in the past few years. The reason is simple because the mountain is very dangerous, the road to the top of the mountain is very difficult, with many steep slopes and dangerous deep abysses, so very few people dare to risk conquering it. Up to now, climbers have only been able to touch the two highest "fingers" of the five peaks. Even brave Mong boys have not been able to climb the remaining three peaks because they are too dangerous.

A few years ago, indigenous people paved the way to the top, made wooden ladders, and arranged rope swings in precarious sections close to deep abysses that were difficult to pass, so this mountain was dubbed "the most majestic landscape in the Northwest". has gradually become more familiar with the Vietnamese climbing community. That's why, from the somewhat arrogant title "the most majestic landscape in the Northwest", Ngu Chi Son seems to have become gentler and closer and many people have called this majestic peak a new name, "Ban Mountain". Buddha's hand". However, to reach the top of the mountain, climbers must have enough physical strength, experience and certain climbing skills if they do not want to give up halfway.

Ngu Chi Son stands proudly in the middle of Ta Giang Phinh valley.

Like many other peaks in Lai Chau and Lao Cai, the road to Ngu Chi Son must also go through Sa Pa Town. Next, we drove by car through O Quy Ho pass, from Highway 4D, we could see this entire mountain range rising from the Ta Giang Phinh valley with a special shape like a hand with just 5 fingers pointing straight up. high sky. Ta Giang Phinh in the local language means "a wide expanse of land with sunshine", located at the foot of Ngu Chi Son mountain covered in fog during four seasons, and was once chosen as the setting for the famous movie "Desolate Valley" by Director Dang Nhue Giang.

II. From Hang A Cho's house, our journey to conquer "Buddha's Hand" began at 9:00 a.m. when the sky and earth were still dark. The trees and grass have turned yellow after a long, harsh winter in the Northwest without even having time to sprout green buds. Stretching out on the rocky dirt road is also a characteristic yellow color, immersed in a pale white mist, making time seem to pass by. slow down. The guy accompanying me exclaimed: "The scenery is like being in Tibet, there's something very Buddhist about the space!".

Visiting "Buddha's Hand" on a lucky day, we encountered a sea of ​​clouds appearing at the foot of the mountain. The entire Ta Giang Phinh valley is covered by dense clouds. The group seemed to be walking in a fairyland with clouds wrapping around each step... while the looming Ngu Chi Son peak in the distance called us to climb to the highest peak.

The group of people walked quickly along the trail along the mountainside, suddenly appearing in the clouds with many dry stream beds, passing through the green cardamom fields of the people. The higher you climb, the more attractive the scenery of Ngu Chi Son becomes. Majestic natural landscape with countless rocky mountain ranges running one after another as if endlessly. The primeval forests gradually brighten as the temperature rises and the wind blows away the fog, creating unique colors for the vast picture. The forest in Ngu Chi Son is said to have very rich vegetation with many types of wood and precious medicinal herbs such as yellow tam, doi, gnat, cho chi, tam that, jade crane, lingzhi... Also located in the Hoang Lien range Son, but compared to many other mountain peaks, the number of large old trees in Ngu Chi Son is still quite large.

The characteristic of the path to conquer Ngu Chi Son is climbing wooden ladders. Perhaps this is the mountain peak with the most wooden ladders in Vietnam... These are especially dangerous areas that in the past it would have been very difficult for normal people to overcome to reach the top. Later, ethnic minorities had to design and install this ladder system so that tourists could climb up. However, this mountain peak is not for those who are afraid of heights because although it is possible to climb a ladder to climb a deep slope, including safety ropes, many sections of wooden ladders are nearly twenty meters high, with steep cliffs on one side. , on one side is a cliff several hundred meters deep... enough to make the faint-hearted want to give up. Not to mention, there are many sections where climbers have to climb ladders to crawl through very narrow rock crevices, winding like cat intestines to reach the top of the mountain.

On the way to the top, climbers can access many interesting "virtual living" spots. Among them, Ngu Chi Son Heaven Gate will surprise you. It's called Heaven's Gate, but it's actually a "finger gap" between two small mountain peaks (climbers must go between two "Buddha fingers" to reach the highest peak, but cannot climb over steep cliffs). . Climbing until you are out of breath for nearly 30 minutes through a towering slope with winds whipping your face as you pass through a narrow V-shaped ravine, the climber will reach Heaven's Gate - a small piece of land the size of the sky. Rare flat in Ngu Chi Son. Resting for a few minutes to regain normal breathing, climbers can stand here and enjoy the vast and beautiful space in the distance with the deep blue sky above their heads and white clouds floating under their feet, truly living up to the title of number one. majestic Northwest…

Wooden steps and vines support climbers.

III. From an altitude of 2,400 - 2,500 meters, the wind roars even more fiercely through the narrow ravines. Cold air poured out from the mountain holes, making us feel like we were in a giant refrigerator. Standing from the rest camp at an altitude of 2,600 meters looking up at the top of Ngu Chi Son, we felt like we were very close, but it turned out that the final part was the strongest challenge when climbers had to wriggle through steep cliffs.

After many hardships, we finally touched the 2,858 meter peak, conquering Ngu Chi Son! Unlike many other peaks of the top 15 high mountains in the Northwest, Ngu Chi Son peak is placed on a large rock. There are almost no trees on all four sides, so the wind blows very strongly. When the wind gusts, we feel wobbly and have difficulty holding on. We have to sit down to reduce the feeling of leaning and gradually get used to the strong winds at the top.

Reaching the top of Ngu Chi Son, the space seemed to light up on a sunny day in early Spring. Amidst the countless clouds, mountains and mountains all around attract the eye, making climbers feel that this is a place where heaven and earth meet. From the top of Ngu Chi Son, on a clear day, we can see many other high peaks of Lao Cai province such as Fanxipan (3,143 meters high), Ky Quan San (3,046 meters) or Putaleng peak (3,049 meters). ) in Tam Duong district (Lai Chau province)…

Looking at the mandarin river, we deeply admired the people who contributed to exploring, conquering and preserving this fierce land. Millions and millions of great footsteps from thousands of years ago were full of hardships and sacrifices so that we can proudly stand on the emotional mountain top today...

Ngu Chi Son peak (2,858 meters high) is the "youngest brother" in the top 15 highest peaks in Vietnam, located in Ta Giang Phinh commune, Bat Xat district, Lao Cai province. The mountain is located about 30 km from Sa Pa town center, taking nearly 1 hour by car. The climb to the top is not long (about 15km round trip) but is mostly steep. The mountain is quite dangerous but is not too difficult to climb because the difficult sections have wooden ladders and climbing vines for support.

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Update day : 14/02/2024