VietNamNet Bridge – The nation’s northwest is a popular travel destination thanks to its cool atmosphere, beautiful flowers and tasty fruits. The best time to visit this region is autumn as it is sunny, terraced paddy fields turn yellow, and buckwheat flowers become pink.

Tourists walk on terraced paddy fields.

There are many ways to travel to the northwest but riding a motorbike is highly recommended as it helps tourists easily get through winding and sloping roads, and stop anywhere along the way. Motorcycles can be rented in Hanoi or northwestern cities and towns.

If the border province of Ha Giang is chosen as their destination, tourists will see the stunning beauty of buckwheat flowers grown on mountain sides by Mong ethnic people, the striking terraced paddy fields, and the magnificent Dong Van Karst Plateau acknowledged in 2010 as the global geo-park by UNESCO.

Yen Bai Province is another option in the northwest. During the trip from Yen Bai City to Tu Le and Mu Cang Chai districts, tourists can explore the unique culture of ethnic communities in the upland or try parachuting from Khau Pha Pass. Mu Cang Chai is well known for its vast terraced paddy fields, especially those on the mountain and hill sides in La Pan Tan, Che Cu Nha and De Xu Phinh communes.

Those wanting to get a feel of cold weather should drop by Sapa Town in Lao Cai Province where they climb the peak of Ham Rong Mountain in the early morning. In Sapa, tourists should not miss market sessions where typical products of ethnic minorities are sold.

Autumn is also the blooming season of yellow cabbage flowers and the harvest season of docynia indica, a kind of fruit which grows only in the northwest.

Touring the northwest, one should not worry about accommodation as they can find a place to stay overnight in every village, either a local host family or a boarding house, or a lot of newly built hotels in the region.

For food, there are a variety of northwestern specialties, including dishes from young pigs, buffalos, stream fish, horse meat, chicken and corn wine.

A buckwheat flower field.       Cabbage flowers in the blooming season.       A striking view of the nation’s northwest in autumn. – Photos: Nguyen The Luong

SGT

Nguyen The Luong