Northwest Vietnam
15/05/2024Northwest or literally known as Tay Bac with Hoang Lien Son Moutnain Range is considered the roof of Southeast Asia. It located in the mountainous northwestern part of the country. It consists of four provinces: Điện Biên, Lai Châu, Sơn La, and Hòa Bình. Lào Cai and Yên Bái provinces sharing border with Laos and China, and each of the provinces offers travelers different sceneries and cultures.
Northwest is also home of many ethnic minorities who are in elaborate costumes. For hundreds of years, they created a diverse culture that plays an important role in Vietnamese culture. Northwest tour is a perfect option for those who love discovering nature with remote hill tribe villages, unique culture and lifestyle. Especially, beautiful terraced rice field is called Northwest’s specialty that you can see everywhere for traveling from May to September.
Attractions in Northeast Vietnam
*** 1. Mai Chau Valley: Mai Chau Valley is a moutainous region of Hoa Binh Province in the Northwest of Vietnam. It is located 160km from Hanoi, 65km from Hoa Binh Province and 150 metres above sea level. It takes around 3,5 hours drive from the center of Hanoi.
Mai Chau Vietnam offers mesmerizing landscape, rich ethnic culture, unique cuisines, and a wide range of outdoor adventures. This town is an ideal place to escape from Hanoi’s hustle. Mai Chau is an ideal place for homestay, relaxing, light trekking & countryside areas. Besides that, you will be impressed while passing the beautiful road running along Hoa Binh Lake.
*** 2. Pù Luông Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in northern Vietnam in Thanh Hoa Province . It is 160 km away from Hanoi and takes 4-hour driving to south-west of Hanoi.
In Pu Luong Nature Reserve, you’ll see why the ethnic Thai people made this enchanting valley their home long ago. Visitors coming to Pu Luong in Thanh Hoa can partake in many exciting activities as Cycling through rice paddies, exploring caves, and relaxing by waterfalls, for instance, are some of the best things to do. Combining untouched beauty and warm hospitality.
Moc Chau Plateau: Moc Chau Plateau is a cool region even in Summer where you will feel close to the poetic nature while viewing tea plantation, rice fields and endless grass steppes. There are some different ethnic groups in Moc Chau consisting of Dao, Thai, Mong, Kho Mu and Xin Mun. It is worth enjoying their traditional dances that represent their soul and culture. And even it is sunny or foggy, the plateau is till beautiful thanks to its dreamlike beauty.
*** 3. Sapa is a small town which located in Lao Cai Province in North – West Vietnam. It is 350km from Hanoi and close to the Chinese border. Sapa known as one of Vietnam’s most popular destionations and a tourist attractions.
Sapa town is famous with rugged scenery and rich cultural diversity. It is one of the main market towns where there are many ethnic minority groups such as Tay, Red Dao, H’mong, Giay and Xa Pho. You will find the Hoang Lien Son range of mountains dominates. This range includes Vietnam’s highest mountain, FanSiPan, at a height of 3143m above sea level.
Nowadays, Sapa welcome a diverse range of visitors from over the world. Almost visitors attracted by the ethinic minority, rice paddies, forest trek and trek to Mt Fansipan
*** 4. Bac Ha: Bac Ha is firstly well-known for its interesting ethnic market where is gathering places of hundreds of ethnic people from nearby areas and opens on Sundays only. You can see busy trading scene while traveling to Bac Ha as well as a lot of agricultural products from rice, corn, mushroom, ginger, chilly, vegetable to wine, buffalo, cow, dog, pig, etc. The market is but only for business but also for making friend and relaxing time. In case you can’t manage to visit to Bac Ha market, you have many other options consisting of Can Cau market on Saturdays, Cao Son Market on Wednesdays, Coc Ly market on Tuesdays.
*** 5. Thac Ba Lake in Yen Bai: Thac Ba Lake is a tranquil oasis nestled amidst the lush landscapes of Northern Vietnam. It is one of the largest artificial lakes in Vietnam and created on mountain during the construction of an electrical dam in 1970. The lake covers an area of 24.300 hectares with many beautiful islands so that people call it Halong Bay on mountain. Besides a short boat trip around the lake to see local fishermen working, to see caves, you can trek to nearby Dao white pants villages to discover their daily life activities. Coming here, visitors can embark on a captivating adventure, immerse themselves in natural beauty, and explore rich cultural heritage.
*** 6. Mu Cang Chai terraced fields: are located in the mesmerizing region of Northern Vietnam. Situated within the enchanting Yen Bai Province, this remarkable destination is renowned for its breathtaking landscapes and cultural significance. As you venture to the location of Mu Cang Chai, you will find yourself surrounded by rolling hills and majestic mountains. The terraced fields, ingeniously carved into the steep slopes, create a stunning panorama of cascading greenery. This location offers visitors a serene and awe-inspiring experience, providing a glimpse into the harmonious relationship between nature and the local Hmong ethnic minority communities who have preserved and cultivated these terraces for generations.
*** 7. The Battle of Điện Biên Phủ was a climactic confrontation of the First Indochina War that took place between 13 March and 7 May 1954. It was fought between the French Union’s colonial Far East Expeditionary Corps and Viet Minh communist revolutionaries.
When you visit Dien Bien Phu city, you should visit Him Lam Hill, A1 Hill, bunker of the French General De Castries, Dien Bien Phu Museum, etc. The other natural sites are Pa Khoang Lake, Tham Pua Cave, in which, Pha Din Pass, located 1000 above the sea level is amazing as you can see panoramic view of the whole region.
When is the best time to travel to the Northwest?
The Weather is the most important you need to pay attention when travel in the Northwest Vietnam. Best time for traveling to the Northwest is not really based on dry season or rainy season that should really be the most beautiful time for enjoying the natural beauty. Then it must be at the end of August and beginning of September if you want to see terraced rice fields at the best beauty. Or it can be February when you can enjoy the amazing beauty of peach and plum flower in both Moc Chau and Sapa.
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