The weekend will be a 2-day opportunity to check in on the golden season of Mu Cang Chai and beautiful places such as Mam Xoi Hill, Tu Le, and Pung Luong bamboo forest... Depending on your time and health, the itinerary can be 2 days, 1 or 2 days, or 2 nights.

The ripe rice season is in full swing in the highland fields from the Northwest to the high mountains in the Northeast. The weekend will certainly be a 2-day opportunity to check in on the golden season of Mu Cang Chai, Hoang Su Phi or Lao Chai. The golden season hunting destination has been so famous over the years, becoming one of the highlights of Vietnam tourism. Recently, FB Viet Long shared his 2 days, 1-night golden season hunting journey in Mu Cang Chai, attracting a lot of attention on the Check in Vietnam group. This young person checked Mu Cang Chai, Mam Xoi Hill, Khau Pha, Tu Le, Horseshoe Hill, and Bamboo Forest - all famous names associated with Mu Cang Chai.

Mu Cang Chai and near beautiful places

Mu Cang Chai is a district of Yen Bai province, located in the west of this province, bordering Lao Cai and Lai Chau, so it is quite far from the capital Hanoi. When it comes to Mu Cang Chai, every tourist knows that this place has the most beautiful terraced fields in Vietnam, known to many international tourists. In 2019, the Mu Cang Chai terraced field landscape was ranked as a Special National Monument.

Also read: Vietnam’s Mu Cang Chai in ripe rice season a feast for the eyes

The terraced fields in Mu Cang Chai are often sought after by photographers because of their unmatched beauty. Throughout Mu Cang Chai district, you can see cascading terraced fields everywhere, cascading immense layers across the hills. Intertwined with it are high mountains divided by streams, deep pools and vast pine forests; all the landscapes are layer upon layer, layer upon layer, extremely spectacular. A foreign website once commented on the beauty of Mu Cang Chai terraced fields as "the most delicate and captivating beauty, more unique than anywhere in the world".

In the ripe rice season, places with ripe rice hills or the most beautiful terraced fields in Mu Chang Chai district can be mentioned as Lim Mong village.

Lim Mong village (Cao Pham commune), La Pan Tan commune, Che Cu Nha commune. Lim Mong village is known by backpackers as the "four great dangerous places" in the Northwest because the road leading to the village is dusty on dry days and flooded on rainy days with many slopes of over 10 degrees and sharp corners. In return for that dangerous road is a sea of hazy clouds; the village appears in the middle of an immense valley.

The rice fields in La Pan Tan have a spiral shape every autumn, like "golden raspberries". This is the place that people often call Mam Xoi Hill. This place also attracts tourists with poetic, peaceful villages on the hillsides, with glimpses of charming Mong girls.

Che Cu Nha is quite close to Mu Cang Chai town, only about 7 km from this district capital, but the road to the commune is still quite steep and difficult to go. Che Cu Nha has terraced fields shaped like raspberries, creating a characteristic of Mu Cang Chai terraced fields.

Horseshoe Hill is also one of the famous places in Mu Cang Chai, located in Kim Noi commune. The name "Horseshoe" comes from the shape of the hill resembling a horse's foot. When the scenery of terraced fields is adorned with golden strips of ripe rice, Horseshoe Hill takes on a charming, captivating beauty.

Pung Luong bamboo forest (some people call it Khau Pha bamboo forest) in Pung Luong commune is another unique and attractive destination besides the terraced rice field landscape in Mu Cang Chai. This natural bamboo forest system is located near Khau Pha Pass with wild and mysterious beauty and very tall vertical bamboo clusters creating a unique, green space.

Exploring the beauty of Lim Mong and Lim Thai villages in Cao Pha commune is also an activity not to be missed when coming to Mu Cang Chai district. Lim Thai village is a peaceful small village in the middle of the valley, inhabited by the Thai ethnic people in Mu Cang Chai. The Thai village has unique cultural features of the Northwestern Thai people and charming scenery.

Lim Mong village is one of the places with the most beautiful rice fields in Mu Cang Chai, often hidden in the clouds. The road to Lim Mong village is dangerous, but the scenery along the way is extremely interesting as you walk in the middle of the golden sea with waves of rice spreading across the mountain slopes, feeling the vast space of heaven and earth.

Suppose you have a time budget of more than 2 days or a 2-day, 2-night itinerary (for example, departing on Friday night for a weekend trip). In that case, you can visit more equally interesting places and famous outside Mu Cang Chai district. You can start this journey from Khau Pha Pass, located on the border between Mu Cang Chai district and Van Chan district (Yen Bai), known as one of the four great passes of Vietnam.

Khau Pha Pass is extremely winding and dangerous, with cliffs. This pass has a length of about 30 km, an altitude of over 1,200 m, and belongs to Highway 32. Khau Pha is one of the attractive places for tourists with a beautiful panoramic view of the Northwest mountains, and the highlight is the terraced fields in ripe rice season in the distance.

Tu Le town in Van Chan district is one of the extremely attractive destinations near Mu Cang Chai with unique terrain as a beautiful, poetic valley between 3 mountains: Khau Song, Khau Pha and Khau Than. The scenery of Tu Le is like a "muse" of the mountains and forests of Yen Bai. Coming here, you have to conquer the arduous and challenging three-storey slope. Tu Le is also famous for its green rice nuggets made from delicious green or beautifully yellow rice in the beautiful rice fields here.

And remember to enjoy the famous Mu Cang Chai specialties such as Tu Le sticky rice and green rice, salmon and sturgeon, stream fish and crabs, roasted grasshoppers... When you leave, you can buy apples as a gift.

Journey to Mu Cang Chai

From Hanoi to Mu Cang Chai is about 300 km; there are many vehicle options, and travel time can take about 6 - 8 hours, depending on vehicle and road conditions. If you choose to take a bus, the trip mentioned by many travel enthusiasts usually departs at 6:00 p.m. or 10:30 p.m. every day from Hanoi. You can catch a bus at My Dinh bus station. Passenger buses to Mu Cang Chai mainly go through Nghia Lo town (Yen Bai) along Highway 32; a few go through the Noi Bai - Lao Cai highway. To Mu Cang Chai town, you may travel another way by resort car, homestay pick-up or motorbike taxi.

If travelling by personal vehicle, there are two options: travelling by self-driving car or motorbike is both convenient. From Hanoi to Mu Cang Chai, there are the following ways to travel: Follow the Son Tay town route and then go through the Trung Ha - Tam Nong area (Phu Tho), then go along the direction of the Red River to Van Phu (Yen Bai); Follow the route toward Thang Long Bridge, then Highway 12 to Viet Tri - Toan Hung (Phu Tho) and follow Highway 70 to Yen Bai; Or start from Thang Long bridge to Phuc Yen - Vinh Yen - Lap Thach (Vinh Phuc) - Son Duong (Tuyen Quang) and then continue on the Tuyen Quang - Yen Bai route. 

Regarding accommodation, most hotels and motels in Mu Cang Chai are of good quality, meeting the diverse needs of tourists. The type of homestay residence is also diverse, with familiar names in the community such as Hello Mu Cang Chai homestay, Homestay Tu Nguyet Mu Cang Chai, Mu Cang Chai New Homestay...