Five spectacular places to see the ripe rice season

Floating in the sea of clouds in Y Ty

The road to Y Ty is divided into three. One road starts from the foot of O Quy Ho pass, going uphill. One road goes through Bat Xat - Ban Vuoc through Muong Hum and the third road is from A Mu Sung, a point close to Lung Po - where the Red River flows into Vietnam.

The land of Y Ty lies deep in the mountains, surrounded by high mountains, covered in clouds all year round. At an altitude of 2,000 meters, leaning against the Nhiu Co San mountain range with a peak of 2,660 meters, it is rare to see the sunlight shining all day. Therefore, many people call Y Ty "the land of mist".

Passing Den Sang, the beautiful terraced fields have reached the golden ripe stage. On the fields, red and pink skirts are undulating, bending down to harvest.

Sapa Golden Season

Every August and September, the terraced fields in the villages of Sapa (Lao Cai) gradually change from green to golden yellow, creating a beautiful landscape. This year, the terraced fields in Nam Cang ripen earlier than ever.

Nam Cang is a village located about 50km from the center of Sa Pa town. This place attracts tourists to visit because of its peaceful, poetic scenery with terraced fields surrounding the houses of local people.

In Sa Pa, there is only one rice crop per year and it will be harvested in August and September. Layer upon layer of terraced fields with green patches, yellow patches interspersed, stretching to the horizon, making visitors amazed. The immense space and peaceful scenery seem to make all worries disappear.

Photo: Lam Linh

Mu Cang Chai's Far Away

The terraced fields that have been carefully tended for generations by the Mong people have begun to turn yellow on the fields. The ethnic minorities in the Yen Bai highlands cultivate on the high mountain slopes. After spring, people have to wait until the rains come, when the terraced fields are flooded (people still call it the flooding season), to start planting the only rice crop of the year. The Thai people set up villages in the lowlands, growing sticky rice in the Tu Le valley. The Mong people are good at climbing passes and crossing mountains, they have turned the rugged mountain slopes into beautiful terraced fields. The talented and diligent hands of the Dao, Mong, Ha Nhi, Giay, Tay, Xa Pho, Nung, Pa Di... generation after generation create masterpieces.

The only way to Mu is National Highway 32. From Hanoi, cross Khe Pass to Yen Bai and from there, follow this road through Nghia Lo to Mu Cang Chai. Before reaching the immense terraced fields, stop at Tu Le, enjoy sticky rice with fragrant hill chicken, before crossing the winding Khau Pha Pass of nearly 20km to reach Mu.

The road passes through La Pan Tan and Che Cu Nha, two communes with the most beautiful rice fields in Mu Cang Chai.

Photo: Lam Linh

“Rice hunting” in Pu Luong

June and September are the most beautiful times of the year in Pu Luong, a nature reserve located between Quan Hoa and Ba Thuoc districts of Thanh Hoa province, about 150km from Thanh Hoa city. Pu Luong can be accessed by both routes, from Thanh Hoa or from Hoa Binh. This is the time when the rice fields in the villages in Pu Luong are all heavy on the gently sloping fields along the streams, creating a rare poetic scene and the weather has not yet deteriorated with the summer rains.

You can get to Pu Luong by car, but the favorite means of transport for young people to Pu Luong is motorbike. An offroad trip through the forest or trekking routes along the mountainside will leave you with wonderful impressions of the scenery and people here.

From Hanoi, you can follow National Highway 6 through Hoa Binh city, then go straight through Mai Chau, Co Luong and continue along Highway 15C.

Photo: Truong Dinh Minh

Hoang Su Phi - Endless golden season

Coming to Hoang Su Phi, you will be able to enjoy the majestic natural scenery, relax comfortably in the fresh air with the overlapping mountains and forests and the sound of the streams. Hoang Su Phi has 4 cultural and tourist villages: Nam Hong, Giang Thuong, Phin Ho and Lang Giang. Hoang Su Phi is an attractive destination for community tours, especially the Pan Hour eco-tourism area next to Thong Nguyen stream, in a very peaceful and romantic setting, the youthful innocence of the Dao girls will bring visitors very good first impressions. Not only that, when coming here, visitors have the opportunity to learn about the cultural life of the Dao people - an ethnic minority but accounting for 80% of the population here.

Photo: Hoang Cuong