Phia Po, Lang Son
Phia Po Peak, also known as Cha Mountain, is located in the Mau Son mountain complex, nearly 200km from Hanoi. At an altitude of 1,541m above the sea level, Phia Po peak is a new trekking spot on the tourist map, so it retains a lot of unspoiled beauty.
From Hanoi, tourists often choose a 2 day and 1 night schedule, take a car or motorbike to the foot of the mountain and hire a guide and porter to go with them. The journey to conquer Phia Po is divided into 2 stages. The first day, you should go trekking 3.5 km from the foot of the mountain to the camping site, setting up a tent to eat and stay overnight. The second day, you continue to climb to the highest peak with the path of the same length.
The path is not long but passes through diverse terrains of forests, streams, and grassy hills with consecutive high slopes. In the beginning of the year, visitors can easily see the sea of clouds floating in the second stage. Especially when reaching the top, not only taking pictures to check-in at the stainless steel spire marking the height, visitors can also explore the ancient mossy green rhododendron forest nearby.
Lung Cung in Yen Bai province
At an altitude of 2,913 m above sea level, Lung Cung peak is named after a village located deep in the rugged mountains of Nam Co commune, Mu Cang Chai district, about 270 km from Hanoi.
This trek is of medium difficulty; strong people can climb in one day but most choose to go for 2 days with a night in a mountain shack. However, to get to the starting point, visitors need to rent a motorbike to carry over 15 km of bad roads, and then climb 11 km to the top.
After the hard journey is the scenery of overlapping mountains and forests with primeval vegetation and many precious herbs. Lung Cung peak is a flat ground of about 1 hectare wide covered with grasses. From here, you can see the whole Lung Cung valley in Che Cu Nha commune of Mu Cang Chai district, and communes of Van Ban district of Lao Cai province.
Lao Than in Lao Cai province
Lao Than is at an altitude of 2,860 m above the sea level in Y Ty commune, Bat Xat district, about 80 km from Sa Pa town and nearly 350 km from Hanoi. This is an easy trekking spot even for beginners. Tourists from Hanoi often take the night car to Sa Pa in early morning of the following day and then continue to Phin Ho village to start their 2 days 1 night climbing journey. Currently, Lao Than is welcoming a lot of visitors in the winter, which is also the season of hunting clouds and climbing mountains.
The topography of the road is not too complicated; the vegetation is not diverse, mainly dry forests, grass hills and small shrubs. However, Lao Than is a place where it is easy to see a sea of clouds floating like a fairy scene. If you climb quickly, you can watch the sunset on the afternoon of the first day and the dawn in the next morning.
Nhiu Co San in Lao Cai province
Located in Sang Ma Sao commune, Bat Xat district, Lao Cai province, about 60 km from Sa Pa, Nhiu Co San, which is at altitude of 2,965 m above sea level, is the 9th highest mountain in Vietnam. Currently, tourists who want to trek this peak often take a bus to Sa Pa, then continue to Den Sang commune, and pick up motorbike taxis of local people to Nhiu Co San hamlet.
The journey to conquer Nhiu Co San also lasts 2 days and 1 night. On the first day, the visitors will cross many streams, waterfalls, forests of cardamom, maples and bamboos, before coming to the shack for the night. The second day usually starts at 3-4 am to catch the sunrise as well as watch the sea of clouds at the peak. The trekking spot has medium difficulty with many slippery slopes, especially after crossing Ong Chua Waterfall.
Ky Quan San in Lao Cai province
Ky Quan San, or Bach Moc Luong Tu, at an altitude of 3,046 m, is the second highest mountain in Lao Cai (after Fansipan). From a deserted mountain top, which was originally a place for the H'Mong to raise livestock and grow crops, in recent years, Ky Quan San has become an attractive place for those who like to climb mountains.
It will take visitors 2-3 days to conquer the path from the foot to the top of the mountain. Currently, there are two climbing directions, one is from Sang Ma Sao commune, the other is from Den Sung hamlet, Sin Sui Ho commune, Phong Tho district, Lai Chau province. Visitors can combine climbing and returning in different directions to gain more experiences.
During climbing, visitors not only stay overnight in a shack, go to the top to check-in, but also stop at Muoi Mountain to welcome the sunrise, take photos and experience the "swing of death".
At this time, the weather in the Northwestern region is dry, with little rain and stable temperatures, creating favorable natural conditions to conquer the trekking routes./.