Ta Van Village

Ta Van is located in Vietnam in the northern province of Lao Cai, about 5 kilometres from Sapa, at an altitude of 1, 816 meters. This province borders the province of Yunnan in south-west China, and the indigenous people here share many cultural features with their Chinese neighbours.  Also located in the valley of Muong Hoa, Ta van is a village of Giay people, who look more like the traditional Viet living the Red delta. This village is normally a combination in the visit to Lao chai village on the trek to Muong Hoa valley. It is also a popular stop for those who would like to experience an overnight home stay with a family of Giay people here, sharing dinner with them as a member of their family. Ta Van is a small village set within a picturesque valley not far from the northern Vietnamese mountain resort of Sa Pa. The area is renowned for its colourful ethnic minorities, and Ta Van is home to two such groups. A stay with one of the farmer families here will give you a close-up experience of the life-style and culture typical of the area. Trekking in the surrounding area is most satisfying

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Ham Rong Mountain

Characteristics: Ham Rong Mountain is an attractive tourist area in the center of Sapa Town Legend has it that in the distance past, all animals lived together in a chaotic environment. One day, Jade Emperor gave an order that every species of animal had to find for them an area to live. Having heard the order, they scrambled for a place to reside. The three brothers of dragon who were living in a large lake hurriedly ran to the east but could not find any place; they then ran to the west. The two older brothers ran fast and came to the destination first. The youngest brother ran slowly and strayed into the crowds of lions, tigers and big cats. Fearing that these animals would attack it, the dragon opened its mouth to defense itself. At that time, the order of Jade Emperor was no longer available, so the three dragons petrified. The two older dragons, which were waiting for their brother, face Lao Cai City, and the youngest one raising its head and opening mouth faces the Hoang Lien Mountain Range. So the mountain is named Ham Rong (Jaw of Dragon). Visitors to Ham Rong have chances to climb up the San May (Cloud Yard) to enjoy the panorama of Sapa Townlet, visit the orchid gardens with beautiful and colorful flowers

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Muong Khuong Market

Big market with a wide range of ethnic groups: Hmong, Dao, Nung, and merchants from other ethnic groups who come all the way from China to sell their products. Several Pa Zi women sell traditional incense made from the bark and resin of scented trees. Muong Khuong market takes place on Sundays and is located in a small border town, which is frequented by Flower Hmong, Tu Di, Tay and Giay ethnic minorities. They come from surrounding villages to buy and sell local products such as food and material for agriculture and fabric. Opening: 6 am of Sunday Closed time: 1 am The district is looking to develop into an eco-friendly destination Muong Khuong district is planning to remodel itself into a centre of community-based eco-tourism in northwest Lao Cai Province in its current period of development (2005-10), said the chairman of the district people committee Nong Van Hung at a recent tourism conference. The district, which has 13 markets and seven handicraft villages, has chosen tourism as the driving force that can better the lives of its population of 51,000 who s current capital per head is VND3.5 million (US$209). Muong Khuong District is about a 10-hour train ride from the capital and then approximately 50km east from Lao Cai centre. The district is then accessible by motorbike or bus from Lao Cai City, Vietnam. The locality is home to 14 ethnic groups including HMong (the largest group who account for 43 per cent of the population), Nung, Dao, Pa Di and Phu La. The mix in ethnicity lends the area a colorful character, visible in the market and the wares each group has to offer. "The market is one of the main tourist attractions which sees a lot of visitors, especially as the district also serves as a link to other famous sites like Sa Pa Town, Bac Ha (Bac Ha tour)and Si Ma Cai districts in the province and the border gate with Yunnan, China," said Hung. "The agriculture-based district will target community-based eco-tourism in a sustainable manner that will help develop future social-economic projects over the course of the next few years," he said, adding that the district is expected to open more border gates for increasing tourism traffic from China. Vibrant market Muong Khuong District is well-known to travellers for its many markets lining National Road 4D. It gives visitors a chance to glimpse into the life and traditions, not to mention goods on sale, of the HMong, Nung and Dao. "We want to transform tourism in Lao Cai Province into a powerful industry and Muong Khuong District is just one of the tourist destinations we want to focus on and improve upon. Currently, we are upgrading the infrastructure and landscapes in the district to make it more attractive to tourists," said vice director of Lao Cai Province s Culture, Sport and Tourism Department, Le Duc Luan. Challenges ahead During the conference, travel agents highlighted the problems tourists faced and how they needed to be rectified as it was important to ensure that travelers did not leave with bad impressions of the area. "We are fully aware that Lao Cai is famous for its sites, especially Sa Pa Town and Bac Ha District and how tourists are drawn to the area s weekly markets and lifestyles of the different ethnicities. However, we are afraid that an overload of tourist traffic could prevent visitors from travelling throughout the province," said Dang Thi Tho, head of the Hanoi branch of Phoenix Voyage Travel Company. "What we have learned from our 10 years of offering tours in the province is that authorities need to open more sites so that visitors have more options to avail of when they visit Lao Cai. Our customers, mostly from France, would visit Sa Pa and Bac Ha but never considered prolonging their stay in the province because nothing attractive was on offer there," Tho added. Tran Thi Huyen Thanh, director of Wild Lotus company, said: "I have seen just how beautiful Muong Khuong District s natural landscape is. That is its advantage but it needs to tap into it and explore creative ways to promote it so that the area becomes an ideal destination for travellers to Lao Cai Province." However, the 34-year-old director said that the District needed to revamp the markets to make them easier to access and browse through in a carefree manner. He said locals needed to be made aware of norms of social etiquette in their dealings with tourists. "At the moment, many locals do not even smile or turn their heads if tourists want to take photographs with them. Instead it is common for them to ask for a little money if they are asked to pose for photographs or they trail tourists, and harass them into buying their wares. This chaotic atmosphere needs to change," said Thanh. The district opened a lodge in centre of Cao Son Village, where visitors could stay overnight and then go on a trek the following day throughout forests and markets in or near Cao Son, Lung Khau Nhin, Pha Long, Ta Gia Khau, Ban Lau, Ban Xen and Lung Vai. Many spoke of their pleasure visiting brocade weaving sites and maize wine villages in Ta Chu Phung and Di Thang. Perhaps more such lodgings need to be opened. New plans In the current 2005-10 five-year plan for tourism development in the district, authorities in Lao Cai hope to complete work on a road that will link Muong Khuong and Si Ma Cai districts to Ha Giang next year. This should facilitate tourism in the area as it will give travellers opportunities to explore in a convenient manner. The road will also turn Muong Khuong District into a centre of tourism and provide a viable trade route from Hekou, Ma Guan and Yunnan in China to Bac Ha, Si Ma Cai districts in Lao Cai and Ha Giang provinces

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Bac Ha Market

This is a big market filled with many different hill-tribe peoples. It is the most colorful market in North Vietnam. At the market, you have chance to enjoy BacHa people s simple but unique kinds of food with special wines made from rice, cassavas, corn and different sorts of fruits such as plumps, apples, peaches...

This is a big market filled with many different hill-tribe peoples. It is the most colorful market in North Vietnam. At the market, you have chance to enjoy BacHa people s simple but unique kinds of food with special wines made from rice, cassavas, corn and different sorts of fruits such as plumps, apples, peaches... talking to the minorities through the guide s interpretation. What is more, after visiting the market, you are continuing to visit the H’mong King s house (King Hoang A Tuong) built by the French colonists and the Chinese in 1920. Return the town for lunch (by van). In the afternoon, spend time walking to another village (Ban Pho village) Bac Ha market is well-known for its naturally sub-tropical scenery. Tam Hoa plums are really a local specialty: sweet and fresh. This seems to be created by its own land, people and nature. Average temperature here is 19°C and it's not so cold as in Sa Pa. Bac Ha is specifically identified by each mount, each house and naturally-made carpet of white plum-flowers in spring. There are 14 ethnic minorities and the H’Mong ethnics count for 47% then the Dao, Tay, Nung, Phu La... Mountaineers take care of their horses as their properties, means of transport and close friends. Besides plums, Bac Ha is reputed for its alcohol (made of maize). Maize is grown on high mountains, its low in productivity but high in nutrition. To make alcohol, it's fermented with Hong My seed (the local only plant). Bac Ha alcohol is well-known due to its source of water. So it's surely believed never to have faulted one in Bac Ha market. Visitors can see the locals selling their own alcohol without feelings to be cheated. Brocades are for sales in the market or in shops or by street-vendors. There are hand-made or manufactured products. It takes a village-girl even half a month to make a brocade of 20cm long. Their skirts or costumes cost them long time to make. Their dresses express their patience, skills. Visitors can see the girls making brocades right in the market. Traditional values and identities are well-maintained in the market. Such markets as Bac Ha, Coc Ly have really become rendezvous for visitors at home and abroad. There is almost no bargaining or competition here. Sales girls look quite naive, sincere. They go to the market mainly to meet people and exchange funs. Especially, there is a horse market in town-centre, each market-day there are almost 100 - 200 horses for sales or exchange. H’Mong or Tay or Dao ethnics’ minority girls and boys, with their best dresses on, go to the market to relax and meet their friends. At sunset, they leave with a promise to see again. Visitors to Bac Ha are opportune to understand the local traditions and customs, taste local specialties, meet nice people and know a land code-named: white plateau.

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Coc Ly Market

It is the colorful market in a mountainous area where the Flower H'mong mainly gathers to exchange their homemade products. This Tuesday market is about 35km from Bac Ha. You can get here via a fairly good road, or by road and river; hotels in Sapa and Bac Ha can organise trips. Coc Ly is a small village on the Chay river inhabited by the Flower H'mong Minority people

It is the colorful market in a mountainous area where the Flower H'mong mainly gathers to exchange their homemade products. This Tuesday market is about 35km from Bac Ha. You can get here via a fairly good road, or by road and river; hotels in Sapa and Bac Ha can organise trips. Coc Ly is a small village on the Chay river inhabited by the Flower H'mong Minority people. The Flower H'mong traditionally wear a distinctive and bright colored costume. They are a gentle, softly spoken people who live in the steep mountainous country close to the Chinese border. Because Coc Ly is more remote than Sapa, the dress and way of life is more traditional than in the large centers. The market deals in fruit, vegetable, pork and chickens, in addition to colourful fabrics and items of traditional dress. There is a buffalo sale in progress and many of these placid animals are tethered close to the market. Buffalo are still widely used in the growing process, especially in the mountainous regions. Horse are an important form of transport in the North West and a quite a few, sturdy ponies were tied to tree around the market. The horse carry a light timber frame on their back to carry produce to and from the market. There’s no dancing or singing, but Coc Ly Market in Laocai Province always turns colorful and festive on Tuesdays, when ethnic people gather there to buy and sell goods, dine and drink, or just wander to enjoy the ambience of the montagnard market. Many ethnic traders from Bac Ha and other parts of Lao Cai Province dress up in colorful costumes and bring horses, chickens, buffaloes, vegetables or whatever they can sell to the festive market in the wee hours, and will not return home until 1pm. Certainly, what catches the eyes of visitors most are the different colors of the costumes worn by ethnic people and the handicrafts they sell at the market, about 50 kilometers from Laocai City in the northern province. You can see young and old Hmong women, wearing skirts and hats with different types of embroidered flowers, crowding the market during the opening hours of Coc Ly. Scarves, clothes, decorations and other items made of tho cam (ethnic fabric) on sale also add color to the bazaar by the Chay River. The colorful items are put on sale not just for locals but also tourists, particularly foreigners. However, you should remember to bargain when you want to buy your favorites, and the items at the booths located at the start of the path you walk on always have higher prices. Keep walking toward the end of the traditionally ethnic market until you find a real bargain. A good idea is to stroll every corner of the once-a-week bazaar as you listen to unexpected conversations, see nice surprises and learn how ethnic people sell and buy farm produce, life’s necessities and other things. After visiting the market, which is the most fresh and unspoiled market of the region, offering a wide range of different colorful ethnic minorities such as Flower C'mon, Black Dao, Tay , Fula, Lachi, Sandui and Nung....there will be an exciting boat cruise winding you through a breathtaking, out of this-world landscape where the mountain grow from water presenting their most hidden mysteries, including caves and tiny minority ...A picnic lunch box can be prepared for your most convenience..

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Sapa Landscape

Sapa also known as “Tonkinese Alps”, once was the French Hill Station for its amazing scenery and special climate. Nowadays,  Sapa is a major tourist destination of North Vietnam, not only for its location as a natural starting point for the unique experiences in the mountainous area, on Hoang Lien Son mountain range, but also for its own stunning landscapes. To be favoured by generous nature, Sapa has almost every attraction that the mountainous destination would have. From  Sapa Town, which is 1,600 m asl, one will have a bird eye over the North Vietnam’s deepest and longest Muong Hoa valley set by the towering peaks, including Fansipan, of Hoang Lien Range. There the villages, surrounded by forests and waterfalls, are scattered around and spread to heaven s rim. The mountain, carved to be rice terraced for producing rice and maize, has been the back ground for the enormous painting of the amazing landcape. For decades, the valley has been home for 5 different hill-tribes ( Hmong, Red Dao, Tay, Giay and Xa Pho), each one colorful, distinct, and with its own language and cultural values. Some of the villages, especially the more remote ones, are still largely untouched by modern ways of life

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