Trung Hieu (33 years old, Quang Nam) has trekked to conquer 13 peaks among the highest in Vietnam. Although he has traveled through many roads and high mountains, the Northwest region is still the place the freelance photographer "falls in love" with the most. Since 2015, he has returned here regularly 2-3 times a year. Last March, Trung Hieu decided to go to Nam Nghiep village (Ngoc Chien commune, Muong La district, Son La province) to conquer Ta Chi Nhu peak (2979 m). This trip has given him many valuable experiences.
Tran Trung Hieu is currently a freelance photographer living in Hoi An, Quang Nam.
When is the best time to visit Nam Nghiep?
The ideal time to climb Ta Chi Nhu is from November to March, especially suitable on sunny winter or early spring days. At this time, the weather is relatively dry, it will be a bit cold but there is little rain and you can hunt clouds. The roof cloud paradise of Yen Bai - Ta Chi Nhu will bring you a 360° view so you can see the whole sea of clouds. In addition, when trekking up Ta Chi Nhu from Nam Nghiep, you can consider the time of exploration to have the opportunity to enjoy the hawthorn flower season.
Nam Nghiep village in early March will be covered in white hawthorn flowers. The blooming time is very fast, only lasting about half a month. Therefore, if you want to combine flower viewing with trekking, you should choose the right time to admire the outstanding scenery of Nam Nghiep village in the hawthorn flowers.
Hawthorn flowers stand out in Nam Nghiep village, as beautiful as apricot and plum flowers in Son La.
Trung Hieu added that last March, the hawthorn crop here failed. According to the experience of people living in Nam Nghiep, normally in two years, one year will have a good harvest, the other year will have a bad harvest. "The flower coverage in a bad year will be 20 - 30% compared to a good year," Hieu said.
So, if you intend to go to Nam Nghiep in March next year, the chance to immerse yourself in a forest of hawthorn flowers will be very high. You should arrange to go early in the week or mid-week to fully experience the beauty of Nam Nghiep, because there are usually many people coming here for trekking on weekends.
How to get to Nam Nghiep village
From Hanoi, you can choose a bus to Mu Cang Chai. The bus departs at 9 pm and arrives at 5 am. You can tell the driver to stop at Ba Kim intersection (Mu Cang Chai town). From here, you can travel to the village by renting a motorbike or asking a motorbike taxi to take you to the village, a distance of 40 km. The one-way motorbike taxi fare will fluctuate around 400,000 VND.
Some bus companies will be crowded with customers on weekends, so in addition to arranging to come here early in the week, you should also consider transportation services to Mu Cang Chai. There are 3 reputable bus companies that Trung Hieu wants to share with readers: Thao Nguyen bus company, Hung Thanh bus company and Cuong Lan bus company.
Scenery of Nam Nghiep village. You can imagine the level of dust if you travel here by motorbike through this image.
The road to the village is relatively easy to travel, many people come here by motorbike from Hanoi so you don't need to worry too much. But note that the road to the village is dusty, so if you intend to go by motorbike, you should prepare a mask, jacket, and glasses for protection. If you go in a large group, you can book a car to get here to avoid being "shocked" by the "dust flying everywhere".
Trekking from Nam Nghiep to Ta Chi Nhu
You should hire a porter (a guide who carries luggage for guests) to make your journey safer. This service will also include accommodation (a hut in the forest), meals at the hut. Usually, the porter will bring rice, food and some other utensils to cook while resting at the hut. The total cost including guide, luggage and meals will fluctuate around 1,500,000 VND.
Tourists trekking up to Ta Chi Nhu have the opportunity to pass through a beautiful primeval forest.
The road to Ta Chi Nhu from Nam Nghiep is not too difficult. "If compared to other trekking routes that are considered difficult, conquering Ta Chi Nhu will be at a low average level for professionals," Hieu continued, "no matter which route you climb, you need to prepare your physical strength and endurance." During the recent Ta Chi Nhu trekking trip, Hieu also encountered many office workers - not professional trekkers - still climbing the mountain normally. In addition, if you hire a porter to go with you, you do not need to worry too much. The most important thing is to train your physical strength for the trip.
Normally, this trekking route would be done in a day, but because he wanted to have more time to rest and admire the scenery, he spent more than a day trekking Nam Nghiep - Ta Chi Nhu round trip.
What to experience in Nam Nghiep village?
You can combine trekking with a day of camping at Nam Nghiep. Due to not being noticed and exploited too much, Nam Nghiep still retains its pristine landscape. The village also sells all kinds of food, tools,... so it is not necessary to bring too many necessities if there is no special need. However, when planning to camp, you can prepare additional specialized camping equipment such as tents, sleeping bags, stoves...
The scene Trung Hieu chose to camp.
When staying overnight here, you should also be aware that you may be suddenly awakened by strange footsteps. "That night, when I had just dozed off a little, I heard footsteps, feeling like not one but many people were approaching. I lay still, not knowing what to do. At that time, I wanted to know who was outside, but also wanted to lie still to see what they would do next. In my head, there were 3 scenarios - one was the militia, two was a forest ranger, three was a robber. After waiting for about 2 minutes, I decided to get out of the tent to see who it was, it turned out to be two wild boars... They came to rummage through the remaining food", Hieu shared a memorable moment during the camping night at Nam Nghiep.
The children here are innocent, lovely and do not run after tourists to ask for money.
Coming to Nam Nghiep for the first time during the hawthorn flower season, Trung Hieu was not only impressed by the beautiful scenery of the village in the pure white color of this flower. The photographer also loved the village in Ngoc Chien commune when witnessing the innocence and gentleness of the children here. When meeting tourists, the children still played with each other, there was no phenomenon of running out to ask for money from tourists.
He also advised those who intend to travel here not to give money to children, because this will form bad habits for them. Most of the children here go to school, and their family circumstances are normal, not too difficult. If we love the children and want to preserve their loveliness, we should only give them candy. When giving money, the children will begin to form the habit of following tourists around and asking for money, even in some places like Ha Giang, Sa Pa, many children have dropped out of school to go begging.
