To celebrate a decade of friendship, Quynh and I were filled with excitement for the trip to Ta Xua, Son La. Looking at the cloud hunting photos on social media, we were even more confident that we would produce great photos like that. And then the journey began.
Ta Xua is known as a famous cloud hunting spot in the Northern mountainous region. This place attracts many tourists on weekends, especially young people who like to experience, explore cloud hunting, watch the sunset...
Ta Xua is a highland commune in Bac Yen district, Son La province with a total area of over 44 km2Located at an altitude of 1,500 m to 2,000 m above sea level. Surrounded by high mountains, Ta Xua is always covered in thick fog and winding clouds. Ta Xua is mainly inhabited by the H'Mong ethnic group.
Since emerging with the name “Ta Xua cloud hunting paradise”, this place has become a tourist attraction attracting a large number of visitors. Especially for young people who love to experience and explore the downhill roads to hunt clouds and watch the sunset.
Ta Xua is mainly home to the H'Mong ethnic group.
From Hanoi, we travel to Ta Xua by sleeper bus. The daily bus will pick up passengers at 9:30 pm and arrive at Ta Xua center at 4 am. You can sleep on the bus until morning and then continue exploring by motorbike.
On the first day, Quynh and I rented a motorbike in Bac Yen town to go to the accommodation near the dinosaur's spine. Most people will book a room in the center but because they book close to the week, there are always no rooms available on weekends. So if you plan to go to Ta Xua, you should book at least 2 weeks in advance.
Local people sell dishes such as: beetroot sticky rice, grilled meat skewers, grilled eggs, and bamboo rice along the roadside to tourists.
Beetroot sticky rice is quite eye-catching.
According to the schedule, the first day we would hunt clouds and conquer famous check-in spots in Ta Xua. But what surprised me the most was that on the first day there was only fog covering the road, we couldn’t even see the road clearly. We were disappointed and joked that we went from Hanoi to Ta Xua just to change sleeping and coffee places.
On the first day, all plans to visit places in Ta Xua were dashed when the fog covered the road and we could not see clearly. We decided to go to a coffee shop near our accommodation.
According to the locals, cloud hunting in Ta Xua has no fixed time. Sometimes you will see thick clouds in the early morning sun. Sometimes the clouds wait until late afternoon and evening. But sometimes at noon you can see a vast sea of clouds. Clouds can also appear in a flash, or stay for a long time depending on the thickness of the clouds. Clouds will appear after rains and depend on the humidity of the air.
To have a smooth trip to hunt clouds in Ta Xua, visitors need to prepare some light and thick clothes for easy movement such as windbreakers and thermal shirts. In addition, you should also prepare a raincoat to avoid unexpected rains or sometimes the morning weather is also foggy and denser.
In the evening, we enjoyed black chicken hotpot - a specialty of the highlands. After finishing the meal, Quynh and I immersed ourselves in the warm atmosphere, lit a fire and made new friends who were staying at the homestay.
It would be quite boring if we spent a day that was already “cloudy” and then just stayed in the room. But instead, the thing we felt most happy about this trip was meeting and making new companions. Chatting, singing, eating... and joining groups for the next day's journey.
The second day was much better. Clear skies, some clouds and a bit of sunshine. The fun was back and we and our new friends conquered the dinosaur spine.
Majestic natural scenery on the dinosaur's back
Located at an altitude of 1600 m above sea level, at this altitude, if you stand on the spine, you will take in the natural scenery of the mountains and hills blending into the immense sea of clouds. With the terrain of many steep hills, bad, narrow roads and about 1.5 km long, to admire the beauty of the spine, you need to hire a local motorbike taxi for 60,000 VND/round trip/person.
In the early afternoon, we continued to move to the famous check-in locations: Dolphin Point and Lonely Pine Tree. These places are quite close to each other, but the road from the center of Bac Yen town to here is quite steep and downhill continuously, you need to hold the steering wheel firmly to avoid slipping.
The rock promontory is made up of two stacked slabs of rock that form the shape of a dolphin's beak.
Dolphin Point is popular with many tourists thanks to its prime location and unique shape. The name Dolphin Point comes from the shape of the rock, which looks exactly like the head of a dolphin. When taken from below, the rock looks like a dolphin pouncing out of the water. Moss patches cling to the rock, creating a very unique scene for tourists to easily create many different poses. In particular, although located in a seemingly precarious position, this rock is not dangerous and easy to climb to take pictures.
The reason it is called “lonely tree” is because in the middle of an extremely vast landscape and only this tree stands in the middle of the vast sky and earth, it has created a brand for the land of Ta Xua. Anyone who comes here wants to have beautiful pictures with this place. The scenery from the lonely tree looking down is likened to Nho Que river, Ha Giang.
At the end of the 2-day-1-night trip to Ta Xua, we said goodbye to our new friends and promised to meet again at the nearest destination. Then, we moved from Bac Yen town to Hanoi. Summarizing the trip, Quynh and I learned a few things that those who are planning to go to Ta Xua should pay attention to.
The trip has new friends
Ta Xua is considered a keyword in the top of the most searched destinations in the Northern mountainous region on social networks recently. In fact, Ta Xua cannot be compared with famous tourist destinations in the North such as Sapa or Tam Dao because this place has only been noticed for a few years. Therefore, Ta Xua still has some issues that have not been fully exploited or simply put, there are still shortcomings in tourism services from: accommodation, restaurants, means of transportation.
H'Mong ethnic people play trumpets on the back of dinosaurs
Being a remote and dangerous tourist destination, most of Ta Xua still does not have a diverse and rich hotel system like other tourist destinations. Currently, there are quite a few homestays springing up. In fact, the room rates here are considered expensive compared to many other tourist destinations, especially on weekends. The basic room rates on weekends usually range from 500,000 - 1,000,000 VND/night.
Besides, motorbikes almost do not have helmets while the route has to go downhill and encounter a lot of fog, so you need to ask this carefully with the person renting the vehicle.
With its wild natural beauty, cool climate and mountainous terrain. In recent years, Ta Xua has become a hot spot for backpackers.
Anyway, Ta Xua is still an ideal destination for a short weekend trip to immerse yourself in majestic nature. Not only cloud hunting, unique check-in spots, but Ta Xua also brings the experience of going downhill on winding roads, especially for those who are passionate about traveling.
