Pusilung, a mountain with an altitude of 3080m, is the second-highest mountain in Vietnam after Fansipan but ranked No. 1 in difficulty is the dream destination of any traveler.

The most dangerous climbing bow in the Northwest

Pusilung is located in Pa Ve Su commune, Muong Te district, Lai Chau province bordering China.

The longest, most rugged and tough climbing palace in the Northwest with a total length of more than 60km has just been reopened after exactly a year of banning climbing for many reasons such as tourists straying to your land and translating covid. 

After receiving a license from the Border Guard Headquarters of Lai Chau Province, our group of 7 people with great experience in mountaineering took a 12-hour bed ride for the distance of 520km from Hanoi to Muong Te town ( Lai Chau province).

From here we rent a 7-seater car for about 2 more hours to the Pa Ve Su border post to do the necessary procedures before starting the journey.

After checking in at the border post, we met 4 guides and pickers (often called porters) of the Dao ethnic group and started the journey 3 days 2 nights at 11am. Our four porters had to travel more than 150km from Lang village in Po Ma Lung (Lai Chau) to support us since the La Hu ethnic people here are not in the habit of supporting mountain groups.

The path from the edge of the forest to the camping site takes about 8 continuous hours. After more than a year without people walking, trees and grass grew blocking the path. Our group was walking while cutting trees and removing the thorns, so it took quite a bit of effort and time.

Pusilung climbing palace has a total of 11 streams, large and small, is the climbing bow with many streams after Nam Kang Ho Tao. According to Nguyen Trung Kien, one of the people who regularly organizes climbing tours in the Northwest, if you go to Pusilung with heavy rain, the trip will be forced to cancel because the water in the streams rises very quickly and flows rapidly, separating. visitors go on or return.

Pusilung is a primeval forest, extremely unspoiled, able to meet snakes, centipedes, scorpions, bears and wild boars so we are asked to stay behind porters, who are observant and have better reflexes. On the first day, there were many bends that bent knees when climbing and there were sections where one side was the reed forest and the other was a deep pool, if not concentrated and careful, it could fall to the cliff. We stopped and took pictures next to the shack of the old La Hu people

According to the experience of Mr. Tan Chinh Khue, who has been leading guests to conquer Pusilung more than 10 times, to reach the top and return for 3 days 2 nights, it is necessary to come and spend the night camp in the area in front of the cave. In front of the cave entrance is a fairly flat land, located in the valley, so it’s hidden from the wind and next to the stream, convenient for bathing and cooking.

Although very tired, hungry and had to travel for more than an hour in the dark, the group determined to go to the cave area to build a tent. From the cave to the top of Pusilung takes about 6 hours to climb. If we camped here, we could reach the top and return before dark. Overcoming all fatigue, we reached the campsite by the rocky cave at an altitude of 2600m at 19:00. After setting up tents, bathing by the stream next to the campsite and having dinner, the group of 11 quickly went to bed early to prepare for 12 consecutive hours of climbing the next day, the hardest day of the journey.

Conquer landmark 42 and the top of Pusilung

We get up for breakfast and depart at 6 a.m. It was still dark now and the group had to use flashlights to light the way.

We were lucky to go in fine weather and catch dawn right after leaving the campsite before entering the jungle. The scenery of the mountains, trees, flowers and leaves under the sunrise is really beautiful in words and pictures.

After passing the slope for 3 hours (as the locals call it), the bamboo forest, chestnut forest, oak, landmark 42 appeared in front of the frontier land and sky. Milestone 42, built in 2004, is the second tallest border landmark in the whole of Vietnam (just after landmark 79) located at an altitude of 2,866 meters.

After taking a break, greeting the milestone and taking commemorative photos, the group quickly set out. The road from milestone 42 to the top of Pusilung is the most difficult part of the climbing bow because of the high slope and continuous up and down and this is also the place where visitors also often stray to China most.

According to Mr. Nguyen Hoang Bac of Lim Travelling Company, which organizes tours in the Northwest mountainous regions, many people climb to landmark 42 and return because the road from the landmark to the top is too long, steep and difficult. go.

In addition, if the weather is rainy or incorrectly calculated on time, cannot reach milestone 42 in the morning, there will not be enough time to go to the summit and return to the shack, Mr. Bac shared.

However, this is also the most beautiful stretch of the bow. We stick closely together, led by a porter and at the end is a porter, going through an old forest with big trees, moss, perhaps a few hundred years ago. There are forests with only one type of tree, ancient maple and rhododendron trees. The old yellow rhododendron forest here is more and more beautiful than anywhere in the Northwest.

Early winter is the time when the leaves are changing, so the whole forest glows under the rays of sunlight passing through the trees. The old forest without a sound but the sound of leaves rustling in the wind becomes more primitive and mysterious.

The group reached the summit of Pusilung at 12 o’clock, as planned. The stainless steel spire is currently stored at the Pa Ve Su border post, so we have prepared it from the house for our own group.

“Although we have well prepared physically and mentally for the trip, conquering the longest and hardest mountain in the Northwest brings us a great feeling, completely different from all the times of the summit. members of our group, “said Vu Ba Duy, 24, the youngest member of the group.

The group took pictures, had lunch and then left the summit at 1pm and arrived at the campsite beside the cave at 18:30. Unlike all other climbing arcs, the descent time is only half of the ascending time, the ascending and descending time from the top of Pusilung is the same due to the continuous up and down slopes. We keep going about 15-20 minutes and rest 2-3 minutes to drink water and wipe sweat to avoid the case of sweat seeping back into the body leading to colds.

The group rested for 1 more night at the campsite by the cave and the next morning packed up and departed at 5am. We arrived at the border post at 12 noon, ending the journey of 3 days 2 nights to conquer the roof of the magnificent and mysterious border house of Pusilung.

(Photo taken on the way down the mountain on the last day of the journey) Conquering Pusilung is the biggest physical and willpower test our group has faced and overcome. We could not do this without good preparation of strength, endurance, determination and teamwork to support each other during climbing and especially in good weather.

Nguyen Duc Hung/ Dan trí

Photo: Duc Hung, Hoang Bac, Ba Duy, Mai Tran