Pocket the following small “tips” to make the journey to discover the Northwest become great-Travel

The Northwest is always an attractive place for tourists to explore. To have a great trip, we will give you these little “tips”, to make your discovery journey safe and enjoyable.

Traveling to the Northwest region of Vietnam is always a really interesting experience. Some prominent places are: SapaMu Cang Chai, Moc Chau, Ta Xua,.. will captivate guests tourism. Traveling to the Northwest is interesting because it has beautiful natural scenery, and the lives of ethnic people are always peaceful. Cool atmosphere and hospitality are the strong points of tourism.

If you are intending to explore this beautiful land, then we will share with you a few small “tips” to prepare for the upcoming journey.

The right time to travel to the Northwest

The Northwest has a cool climate, so we can travel in any season of the year, but there are some notes that the rainy season in the Northwest usually lasts from June – August. December – February again. It’s a cold winter. Therefore, spring and autumn are the most suitable times for your trip.

February-March is the time when a lot of flowers bloom, if you want to have the experience of seeing the forests of plum, pear, peach blossoms, etc., covering the mountains and hills, you should go to the Northwest in spring. In addition, spring is the season of festivals, coming to the Northwest in spring, you can discover interesting things in the culture as well as the identity of the highland ethnic groups here. Experience traveling, learn and understand more about the local culture as well as traditional costumes.

Spring is the flower season of the Northwest with all kinds of blooming flowers

September-November is the time of autumn, if you come to the Northwest in this season, you will have the opportunity to experience interesting cloud hunting. Watch the sunrise above the clouds and the white cloud-covered mountain peaks. Zoom out into the distance and you will feel like you are lost in a sea of ​​clouds. Autumn is also the season of buckwheat flowers, small flowers that grow along the hillsides, covering the whole space in pink and white. You can go to Ha Giang to admire this beautiful flower.

Ta Xua rattan hunting is an interesting experience when traveling to the Northwest

If you want to see the terraced fields and learn about the lives of people, you can go to the Northwest and October. This is the time when the rice is ripe and golden all over the terraced fields.

The terraced fields in the ripe rice season

If you like winter, go to the Northwest and December-January, this is the coldest time of the year. Some highland places like Fansipan, Mau Son peak,… may have frost or white snow.

Suggest some travel schedules for the trip:

Traveling to the Northwest for 3 days, you can explore according to the route: Hanoi – Mai Chau – Moc Chau – Son La.

Or travel to the Northwest for 1 week: Hanoi – Mai Chau – Moc Chau – Son La – Dien Bien – Lai Chau – Lao Cai.

Choose the way and means of transportation when you want to go to the Northwest

There are many ways to move to the Northwest. If you come from Hanoi, you can travel by bus, motorbike or train.

If you choose the destination as Sapa – Lao Cai, the travel schedule will be as follows: You catch a bus at My Dinh, Luong Yen, Gia Lam bus stations, it takes about 8 hours. Or move by train to Lao Cai station and take a bus to Sapa.

If the destination is Moc Chau – Son La, the process will be as follows: You take the bus from Hanoi to Son La at My Dinh bus station. Then go straight to Moc Chau Town.

According to the self-sufficient and fun Northwest travel experience, you should invite a group of friends to go with you, you can rent a car or ride a motorbike, it will be more interesting and you can explore beautiful roads along the way.

A few things to note when traveling to the Northwest

When traveling by motorbike to the Northwest, the first important thing you should pay attention to is to carefully check the machinery, brakes, oil … before departure. Pay attention to fill up the fuel tank, watch out for roads without gas stations.

Explore the Northwest with a group of wonderful memories of youth

The roads to the Northwest are often winding passes along the hillsides, so you should pay attention to your travel speed. Do not go more than 60km/h when going up steep passes. It is best to go 40-50km/h, while admiring the roadside scenery and ensuring safety for the trip. Every day you should not go more than 200km, about 150km you should stop for a night is best.

Considerations when choosing motels, hotels or Homestays as a stopover

When traveling to the Northwest, you can choose from many places to stay. There are many forms of accommodation such as renting a hotel, motel or Homestay.

Accommodation places like Homestay will give you a lot of space to see the beauty of the Northwest

If you want convenient travel and easy access to places to eat and drink, at night you can rent hotels and motels in the central area. If you want to save money, you can rent a room in a motel, a guest house, etc. Note that you should carefully review the room before renting.

The Northwest has many small towns about 40-50km apart, so there will be many motels or hotels for you to stay. However, be sure to check the room and ask for the price before renting!

The cuisine of the Northwest is very unique, you should not miss it

Referring to cuisine, the Northwest is famous for its ethnic dishes and very specific flavors. The taste leaves a strong impression on visitors because of the ingredients in the dish such as: mac Khen, cardamom,….

Some dishes that you must try when coming to the Northwest

Lam rice is cooked from delicious glutinous rice put in a bamboo tube and grilled on fire, served with sesame salt or grilled pork.

Com Lam is a specialty of Northwest cuisine

Kitchen buffalo meat (other names: smoked buffalo meat, dried buffalo meat) is a specialty dish with bold flavors of the Northwest highlands. The meat is selected from the firm muscle of the hill buffalo, then filtered and seasoned with typical spices. After that, smoke it and “hang the kitchen” for a while. About two months, the meat will be dry, black in color and have a very attractive sweet taste. This specialty can also be a gift for friends and relatives after a trip to the Northwest.

Kitchen buffalo meat is a unique dish of Northwest cuisine

Thang Co is a dish not to be missed when traveling to the Northwest, cooked from horse meat, buffalo and offal with special spices. Enjoy Thang Co with a cup of spicy corn wine to feel this unique dish of the Northwest mountains.

Thang Co Tay Bac is a delicious dish but very picky eaters

Northwest vegetables are famous such as sauteed chayote with garlic, mustard greens, flowers in soup, coriander,…

Axillary pig is a famous small pig breed in the Northwest region, which is a cross between a Muong pig and a wild boar. Ethnic people in the highlands often let their pigs roam freely in the mountains. Pigs run around looking for food, so the meat is firm and delicious. The breed is small, only about 15kg/head, so people often “take it under the arm” to sell. That’s how the name “pig steals armpits” was born.

The black pig in Sapa’s armpit looks very attractive

The suckling pig is best enjoyed when grilled or smoked whole. Biting into a hot piece of pork with a crispy skin, dipping it with a distinctive dipping sauce is mouth-watering. In addition, pork underarms cooked in imitation of civet or sausage, steamed heart is also a must-try dish!

Some famous tourist destinations when traveling to the Northwest

Lao Cai

On the first day to Lao Cai, you go straight to Sapa to visit the sights in the center of town such as Sapa Stone Church, Ham Rong Mountain tourist area, Ta Van village (1.5km), Cat Cat village (2km). The next day, you should rent a motorbike to visit and conquer O Quy Ho Pass, 23km from the center, on the way you will visit Silver Waterfall. Coming to O Quy Ho pass, do not forget to stop to enjoy the water dishes at the foot of the pass, very delicious and reasonably priced, very interesting. In the afternoon, return to town to continue to explore the cultural identity in Ta Phin village (10km). Come to Sapa every Saturday night, go to the center to enjoy the special Love market.

Lao Cai is a province with many wonderful tourist attractions to explore the Northwest

Son La

In Son La city, you should visit the Son La Provincial Museum – located in the historical site of Son La Museum and Prison built by the French colonialists in 1908, Son La Prison, Tham Tet Toong Cave. , Mong village, Son La hydroelectric power plant – 40km from the city, this is considered the work of the century with many records. To the center of Moc Chau district, you should visit famous places around the district center such as: Bat cave (Son Moc Huong cave), pine forest in Ang village, Orchid garden, strawberries or Dai Yem waterfall.

The next day, go to Moc Chau Farm Town (about 5-7 km from the district center), where there is a tea company and a milk company in Moc Chau. You can admire the green tea hills, freely take pictures with the vast grasslands. Continue to Tan Lap, there are heart-shaped tea hills, Ngu Dong Ban On or fields of cabbage, wild sunflowers, poinsettias, peach blossoms, and plum blossoms.

Tea hill in Moc Chau – Son La is also a place to visit when traveling to the Northwest

Ha Giang

Visiting Ha Giang, you are easily captivated by the majestic and charming mountains. Or in October-December, you will have the opportunity to fully enjoy the subtle fragrance, witness with your own eyes a purple color of buckwheat flowers covered with small children. Ha Giang tourism also has the majestic and magnificent Ma Pi Leng Pass. People here also often say to each other that “going to Ha Giang without conquering the top of Ma Pi Leng pass is a failure”.

Ha Giang is a beautiful land you should visit in your Northwest travel itinerary

There are also many other tourist attractions in the Northwest: Mu Cang Chai (Yen Bai), Mai Chau (Hoa Binh), Y Ty (Lao Cai), Ta Xua (Son La),…