Article: Khue Viet Truong, Hai An, Ngoc Hanh, Phuong Thao, Cac Truc
Northwest Spring Flowers
Spring in the Northwest is like an attraction that takes tourists into a state of intoxication, intoxicated by the sky and earth, intoxicated by the budding trees and plants, intoxicated by the sound of the flute calling friends, red cheeks and smiling eyes, and intoxicated by the tipsy scent of new rice...
Following Highway 6, only 180km from Hanoi is Moc Chau flower land. Spring comes when the sun has just cleared the fog, and the plum blossoms are in full bloom. Along the highway, visitors can easily see the roofs of houses lying peacefully under the canopy of white plum blossoms, each tiny petal flying in the wind. Going deep into the villages in the valley, you will reach Long Luong village (20km from Moc Chau town). The road to the village is lined with long rows of plum trees. On the spring festival day, the bright colors of the Mong girls walking on the village road under the rows of white plum blossoms can make anyone fall in love.
January is also the time when the white mustard gardens are still full of flowers. What could be more wonderful than looking up to see plum blossoms and looking down to see white mustard, a scene that makes every girl think she is a princess walking in Wonderland!
Meanwhile, Hua Tat Pass on the old National Highway 6 offers you an interesting experience. The white plum gardens stretching across the hillsides and mountainsides attract the attention of many photographers. In the scene of the high blue sky, windy steppe, cool air and the immense white plum gardens blooming in small villages, on rocky mountain slopes and in the blue valleys of the rocky mountains make everyone stunned. Hidden in the early morning mist and the white color of plum blossoms filling the mountains and forests are the images of simple stilt houses and the peaceful life of ethnic minorities in the highlands.
Spring in the Northwest would not be complete without warm pink peach blossoms. On spring days, walking among the floating sea of clouds in the Northwest, in the mountainous areas of Bac Ha, Muong Hum, Khau Pha... visitors will be overwhelmed when standing in the middle of the fragile, bright pink peach blossom forest shining in the spring sunshine. The majestic and wild Northwest suddenly becomes gentle when there are peach blossoms blooming in the forests, clinging to the cliffs, painting the roads to the villages pink beside the stone fences.
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The flower routes of the Northern spring also have the presence of pear flowers, a "strange girl". Strange because we know that pear flowers will bloom in spring, but knowing when they bloom is always a big question for any photographer who loves to travel. Pear flowers bloom at the exact moment when the spring winds bring sunshine to play with the fog. Scattered from Sapa, Bac Ha to Ha Giang, and because they do not have much economic purpose, pears are planted very little. Therefore, if tourists want to see this "strange girl" with their own eyes, remember to follow the weather and set off as soon as they know that "she" has bloomed.
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More information:
+ From Hanoi, visitors can follow national highways 6, 2, 279, 43… to reach the northern mountainous areas. Along these routes, visitors can see many flowers typical of spring in the Northwest mountains and forests. The roads in the northern mountainous areas are quite winding, with many steep passes, so be careful when traveling.
+ The weather in this area is still very cold even in spring, visitors need to prepare warm clothes.
+ Thick fog in the late winter and early spring days brings a lot of humidity, don't forget to carefully preserve your photography equipment to be able to capture the best photos when you arrive.
Sapa in the fog
Sapa is always the dream of all those who want to have a journey, especially in spring, to admire the bright pink peach blossoms, the green space and the amazing terraced fields.
Coming to Sapa is like coming to another world. Looking at the Hoang Lien Son mountain range in the distance, the clouds hovering over the mountains is strangely touching. Then shimmering in the sunlight are deep valleys and hills appearing and disappearing. The “town in the clouds” is not large, with only a few roads, and it is easy to find the attractions, because they have almost all been named after the places tourists will visit.
An interesting place is Ta Van, more than 10km from the town center. Walking on the road across Muong Hoa valley, the traveler feels like he is contemplating a strange happiness. Many foreign tourists with backpacks carrying all the necessary items on their shoulders for a backpacking trip, trudge on the dirt road in Sapa, and that is called enjoyment!
Another place is Silver Waterfall, located about 15km from Sapa town towards Lai Chau, Dien Bien. Silver Waterfall has a system of iron steps to take visitors from the foot of the waterfall to the top. Silver Waterfall is located at an altitude of 200m, the source of Muong Hoa stream. Looking from below to above, you can see the main waterfall is high and beautiful, like pouring silver streams down deep. Meanwhile, not far from Sapa, Cat Cat village is charming with ethnic minority houses built against the valley, along Muong Hoa stream.
Sapa also has an ancient stone field. A large area of land paved with cement has an iron corridor for visitors to stand and admire the ancient stone field. Right next to that safe corridor is the largest ancient stone with ancient patterns carved on the stone, also surrounded by a safe fence. The ancient stone field consists of 159 large and small stones mixed in with the trees and leaves, located right next to the road with an area of up to 8km2. The ancient stone field of Spa was discovered in 1923 by the famous French-Russian Indochinese scholar Victor Goloubev...
In Sa Pa, there are dishes that you can’t find anywhere else after eating them when you return home. There are many grilled food stalls, concentrated at the Sapa church at night; right on the road at the foot of Ham Rong mountain, and in the streets and at Cat Cat village or Ham Rong mountain. The dishes have very local names: thang co, local chicken, armpit pig, bamboo rice, grilled eggs, grilled potatoes, grilled corn… Wine includes corn wine, worm wine, apple wine in half-liter plastic pet bottles. The way of eating “on the go” in Sapa always makes visitors excited.
More information:
+ Travel: From Hanoi, you can go to Lao Cai by train (distance 294km) or by car on the new Noi Bai - Lao Cai highway.
+ Accommodation: Sapa has a total of 67 hotels. There are two areas with many cheap motels and hotels: Cau May and Fansipan, with average prices starting from 300,000 VND/night and higher during the holiday season.
+ Usually, tourist attractions in Sapa are close to each other such as Cat Cat village, Ham Rong mountain... so most tourists go on foot. You can rent a motorbike (150,000 VND/day) to go deep into the ancient stone field and Ta Phin village. You should spend a night in Ta Van village or Ta Phin village (12km from Sapa) or Ho village (28km from Sapa).
+ In spring, Sapa turns cold, you should wear more warm clothes. You should wear sneakers because you move mainly on steep mountain passes.
+ Other notes: Food prices in Sapa are not expensive, but you should ask the price before eating. At night, you can go out to the street to drink cassava wine and eat grilled food. There are many strange grilled foods: grilled eggs, grilled intestines, grilled stomach, grilled chicken, grilled purple potatoes, chicken eggs, grilled duck eggs, bamboo rice.
