This Northwest highland district not only has a charming ripe rice season but also has hot mineral spring bathing spots, markets, festivals and many delicious specialties.
What season is beautiful in Mu Cang Chai?
Mu Cang Chai is beautiful all year round. In spring, young seedlings shine on the water; In the warm summer months, green terraced fields brighten the mountains and hills. Most impressive during the watering season (seeding season) and rice ripening season (Winter-Spring harvest). The pouring season falls from late May to early June, the fields are like "mirrors" reflecting the whole world.
From September to October is the golden season of Mu Cang Chai, attracting photographers and tourists to see the colorful highland paintings. In winter, the fields are like a watercolor painting of the mountains and forests. The end of December is the season of wild peach blossoms.
Move To Mu Cang Chai
From Hanoi to Mu Cang Chai is about 300 km - not too far, but the road is more difficult to travel than Sa Pa and Moc Chau because of the passes and slopes from one road to another.
Mu Cang Chai, Van Chan, Tram Tau, Nghia Lo town are four districts in western Yen Bai, located separately on the western slope of the Hoang Lien Son - Pung Luong range. To get here, the only road is Highway 32, the rest are branch roads only for backpackers and local people .
Coach
The first way: If traveling from Hanoi, you can catch a bus at My Dinh bus station. Passenger buses to Mu Cang Chai mainly go through Nghia Lo town.
Second way: Travel by shuttle bus from resorts. But there is only one resort here, the unfinished Mu Cang Chai Resort. Therefore, if you want to stay at the resort, you should choose Le Champ Tu Le, then rent a car to go to Mu Cang Chai.
Private car
Tourists should choose the traditional route which is route 32. Suggested route: My Dinh - Nhon - Son Tay - Trung Ha Bridge Ba Vi (or Dong Quang bridge from Son Tay turn left towards K9) - Thanh Thuy - Thanh Son Phu Tho - Tan Son Thu Cuc - Ba Khe - Van Chan - Nghia Lo town - Tu Le - Khau Pha Pass - Kim Nga Ba - Mu Cang Chai town. You should leave at 5am to arrive just in time for lunch.
The route from Hanoi follows Noi Bai - Lao Cai - National Highway 279 - National Highway 32, moving smoothly on the highway section, but is more than 50 km long and the road is bad.
Accommodation
Mu Cang Chai mainly has budget hotels, motel-style homestays , stilt houses and not many high-end options. Among them, people's stilt houses and homestays are the most popular types of accommodation in Mu Cang Chai. The stilt houses have dormitory rooms for 10 to 30 people. Visitors can easily find a stilt house around famous tourist destinations such as Ban Thai, La Pan Tan terraced fields, Tu Le... All of these places have accommodation services and grocery sales right away. under the house.
Hotels are mainly concentrated in Mu Cang Chai town. Budget hotels range from one star to 3 stars, rooms have basic amenities such as bed, bathroom, TV, refrigerator...
Some new locations in the "Ecolodge" style (eco-resort) include: Hello MCC, MCC Eco lodge in La Pan Tan. Or you can go to Tu Le , Nghia Lo where there are slightly more upscale hotels.
In addition, visitors can stay at Hello Mu Cang Chai, Vu Linh Family, Thac Ba, Ngoc Thuy Homestay Mu Cang Chai... room prices range from 100,000 - 700,000 VND per night.
Where to play?
Khau Pha Pass is where paragliding activities take place every year called the Flying in the Golden Season festival. From here, pilots and tourists can parachute and experience thrilling experiences while also viewing the panoramic view of Lim Mong valley during the ripe rice season. If you are interested, you should book a tour in advance to have a chance to skydive.
Lim Mong and Lim Thai valleys are home to Thai villages located in the valley right below Khau Pha pass - one of the four great passes of Vietnam.
Crossing the romantic suspension bridge leads to small, thread-like roads sloping up the mountain. Coming to Lim Mong in September, 10 tourists will be able to travel in the middle of the golden season with ripe rice fields laden with grain on both sides of the road.
Visitors can drive between ripe rice fields, watch peaceful villages during harvest time, meet children and the elderly, or play by cool streams.
Terraced fields cover more than 2,200 hectares of land in Mu Cang Chai. Of these, 500 hectares were recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national heritage in three villages La Pan Tan, Che Cu Nha and De Xu Phinh.
Tu Le commune , Van Chan district, Yen Bai province, 3 km from Khau Pha pass, famous for its typical tan sticky rice variety. When the rice begins to ripen on the terraced fields, Thai people in Tu Le are busy preparing new batches of green rice to sell everywhere. Each kilogram of green rice costs 120,000 VND.
You can stay in Tu Le for one night or go straight from Tu Le to Mu Cang Chai town. Community motels and homestays in Mu Cang Chai rent for 100,000 - 400,000 VND per person per night. If you stay in Mu Cang Chai at night, you can go to the market to enjoy Thai ethnic food and there are many more restaurants to choose from.
Mam Xoi Hill has been a symbolic image of the golden season of Mu Cang Chai for many years. The hill is located in La Pan Tan, more than 8 km from the town center. The road is difficult, so stop and park your car and hire a motorbike taxi from local people to take you to the place. In addition, near the hill there is a buckwheat flower garden and ethnic dress rental service for tourists to take photos. At Big Mam Xoi Hill, if you go up to the photo booth, it costs an additional 5,000 VND per person. Going to the rice fields costs an additional 10,000 VND per person.
Horseshoe Hill in Sang Nhu, more than 2 km from Mu Cang Chai town, has picturesque semicircular terraced fields. Every ripe rice season, this place attracts a large number of photographers to take pictures. Tickets to each of the above locations are 20,000 VND per adult, 10,000 VND per child. The price of a motorbike taxi to the place ranges from 60,000 - 100,000 VND per person round trip.
Bamboo forest in Na Han Tua village
The 60-year-old bamboo forest is located 20 km from the center of Mu Cang Chai town. This is also the place that provides bamboo shoot specialties for the region. The road here on rainy days is very muddy and steep. Tourists often have to walk or hire locals to carry motorbikes up to the attraction because the dirt road is narrow, steep and slippery, making it impossible to drive by car.
Zipline swing
The longest zipline route in Vietnam is located in the Aeris Hill adventure game area in Nuoc Nong village, Tu Le commune, Van Chan district. Zipline has 2 stages with a total length of 1.2 km connecting Van Chan and Mu Cang Chai districts.
The first stage is nearly 1 km long, giving visitors the opportunity to take in the panoramic view of Tu Le valley and rolling mountains. Stage 2 will take guests to the bus stop to return to the amusement park.
Currently, Aeris Hill adventure game area welcomes guests all week (except Wednesday) from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Ticket prices to participate in the games range from 200,000 VND per person.