Traveling to Tram Tau, experiencing the beauty of "clouds across the sky" in Cu Vai village

In Tram Tau, you can bathe in hot mineral springs while admiring terraced fields.

Tram Tau is a mountainous district of Yen Bai province, 110 km west-southwest of Yen Bai city, 31 km from Nghia Lo town. Tram Tau is considered a "hidden gem", attractive for its pristine beauty and many tourism potentials waiting to be discovered. Tram Tau has the strength to develop eco-tourism thanks to its location in the steep terrain of Hoang Lien Son mountain range, with an average altitude of about 800 m and the highest mountain peak is 2,985 m above sea level.

Tram Tau also attracts tourists because of its cool mountain climate in the summer. The cold winter is highlighted by the peak tourist season when the temperature drops to 0 degrees Celsius, the snow covers the high mountains and sparkles under the sunlight and the tree foliage...

As our first stop, we chose Cuong Hai Natural Mineral Spring Area, which is over 600 m wide.²at Luu village, Hat Luu commune, Tram Tau town. With the listed price from 900 thousand - 4.5 million VND/room/night, if only bathing in hot mineral water without staying, the price is from 80,000 - 120,000 VND/person, but our group and other tourists coming here on this occasion were all satisfied. First of all, because of the romantic landscape with mineral water bath right next to the gracefully winding terraced fields in the "golden season" of ripe rice. The rooms also make a good impression because they are meticulous to every small detail according to the quality of 3-4 star hotels. This is something that not all private resorts in the north can guarantee.

“I didn’t expect that there would be such a cool resort in this remote village” - tourist Pham Hai from Hanoi shared. “I thought it wouldn’t be beautiful but it’s incredibly beautiful. If it were a little closer to Hanoi, my family would come here more often” - teacher Anh Dao also from Hanoi commented. “Next time, my family will bring my grandparents here to see how cool it is to bathe in Tram Tau hot spring” - the youngest backpacker in the Sushi group, 12 years old, told his parents…

Off-road in the rain, "hunting" for clouds hovering over the mountain tops

Having planned to experience the adventurous mountain climbing tourist destination of Ban Cong commune in the west of Tram Tau - where Ta Xua peak is at an altitude of about 1,300 m, our group did not stay overnight but continued to Ban Cong to enjoy camping, sleeping in tents on the high mountains waiting to "hunt" clouds to welcome the dawn.

Our final destination was Cu Vai village, located on a mountain peak of about 1,300 m in Xa Ho commune. The poetic shape of Cu Vai village is covered in clouds all year round, just like its name in Thai, meaning "a strip of clouds across the sky", with more than 80% of the 46 households living here being H'Mong ethnic group.

Although it is less than 20 km from Tram Tau center, the journey to conquer Cu Vai is truly a "nightmare" more than the journey to Cong village because we traveled in the rain, the most terrible part was the middle part where we had to drive off-road like "stirring porridge"!

While waiting for my convoy to help me out of the mud, a H'Mong boy and his father riding the "war horse" Win offered to take me to visit their village Cu Vai first. It was equally "cool" when the "war horse" Win zigzagged between deep muddy ditches, splashing mud all the way up to the top of my head, with a deep abyss on one side!

Then the whole group achieved their dream of conquering Cu Vai despite the cold rain, walking together for about 10 minutes along the only road in the middle of the village, taking a few photos to check-in early spring in the highlands... We said goodbye to the hospitable people here, with the promise to return to Cu Vai on a sunny day when the road up here is completed.

More information

Transportation: There are many means of transport for you to access Tram Tau but the most ideal is still motorbike or car. From Hanoi, you can go to Tram Tau along Thang Long Avenue, through National Highway 21 to Son Tay. Then, continue through Khe Pass, to Van Chan District and turn onto Nghia Lo Road to reach Tram Tau Mountain.

Accommodation: In recent years, Tram Tau tourism has developed strongly, so accommodation services are quite diverse. Depending on your travel schedule, you can flexibly choose a number of motels and homestays.

Cuisine: Five-color sticky rice, Nam Thia fish, red rice and fish sauce, fern, stream moss, shrimp floss... are all specialties you should try.

Some destinations in Tram Tau:

- Ta Xua: 1 of the 10 highest mountain peaks in Vietnam, located in Ban Cong commune with an altitude of 2,865 m

- Ta Chi Nhu: 2,979 m high, has complex terrain, dark green primeval forests, dwarf bamboo forests and low-leaf forests with a myriad of flowers

- Ban Cu Vai: a Hmong village located in Xa Ho commune with a peaceful natural space typical of the northern mountains, always immersed in clouds. The village currently has about 50 households living, with wooden houses and trails leading to every alley.

Linh Giang