Golden rice terraces at Mu Cang Chai, Yen Bai

Tinh Yen Bai Holiday Weather today


Date/time of update: March 19, 2024, 5:25 am, Timezone: GMT+7
Light Rain

Temperature: 17.7°C
Temperature feels like: 17.93°C
Minimum Temperature: 17.7°C
Maximum Temperature: 17.7°C
Atmospheric pressure: 1022hPa
Humidity:92%
Visibility: 10000m
Wind speed: 1.32m/sec
Wind Direction: 13 degrees
Cloudiness: 100%
Sunrise: 2024-03-18 11:06:18
Sunset: 2024-03-19 11:11:53

Yen Bai is a mountainous province in the North West of Vietnam. The capital of the province is Yen Bai City, 182km from Hanoi. Yen Bai has a number of tourist attractions that are ideal for the adventure travellers including: Thac Ba Lake, Muong Lo Valley, Tu Le rice terraces, Mu Cang Chai rice terraces.

Yen Bai Travel Guide, Tourist Attractions in Yen Bai Vietnam

1/ Ta Xua Mountain (2,865m)

The mountain offers sensational trekking adventure experience. The hiking tour to the summit of the Ta Xua Mountain can start from Ban Cong Village or Ta Xua Village. The tour takes 3 days 2 nights to make it all to the three summits of Mount Ta Xua. The best time to climb the mountain is in the dry season from December through March and early April. It may be slightly warm in the latter half of April. The unreal mossy forest is something you do not often encounter in other mountains in Vietnam.

The challenging Dinosaur Backbone on the Ta Xua Mountain trekking tour
The challenging Dinosaur Backbone on the Ta Xua Mountain trekking tour

2/ Pu Song Sung, Ta Nhi Chu, Chung Chua Nha (2,971)

The point where the trekking tour to the Pu Song Sung (Ta Chi Nhu) is in Xa Ho Commune, 12km from the Tram Tau Township. The mountain offers panoramic views of amazing mountains and valleys and white clouds are available in late October through March which makes the landscape ethereal. 

The magnificent landscape on the trekking tour to the Ta Chi Nhu (Pu Song Sung) Mountain in Yen Bai
The magnificent landscape on the trekking tour to the Ta Chi Nhu (Pu Song Sung) Mountain in Yen Bai

3/ Lung Cung Mountain (2,913m)

The mountain is in Mu Cang Chai District of Yen Bai Province. The best time to climb the mountain is in the dry season December-March. It is almost not possible to take a trekking tour to the Lung Cung Mountain as the 25km road from Tu Le to Nam Co is in bad conditions. The Lung Cung Mountain also offers unreal white clouds which take your breath away!

Unreal beauty on top of Mount Lung Cung Yen Bai
Unreal beauty on top of Mount Lung Cung Yen Bai

4/ Mu Cang Chai Rice Terraces

You love flooded terraces or golden rice terraces for your photo albums, then Mu Cang Chai is the place. The best time in in early June for flooded terraces and in late September early October for golden rice terraces.

Staggering rice terraces in Mu Cang Chai, Yen Bai, Vietnam
Staggering rice terraces in Mu Cang Chai, Yen Bai, Vietnam

5/ Khau Pha Pass

The sublime mountain pass is between Van Chan District and Mu Cang Chai District of Yen Bai Province. The clouds, rice terraces, sublime mountains… make it a really great place to visit in our lifetime!

The Khau Pha Pass at twilight
The Khau Pha Pass at twilight

6/ Muong Lo Valley, Tu Le Valley

These valleys in Yen Bai are home to Thai communities. It is a lovely experience to visit these places during the harvest time as you can enjoy different dishes from newly harvested rice and take part in different spiritual ceremonies.

The idyllic Muong Lo Valley at Nghia Lo Yen Bai Vietnam
The idyllic Muong Lo Valley at Nghia Lo Yen Bai Vietnam

 

The lovely Tu Le Valley in Yen Bai Vietnam
The lovely Tu Le Valley in Yen Bai Vietnam

7/ Hang Te Cho Waterfall

A hidden beauty amid towering wild mountains. To get to the waterfall requires a hiking adventure tour with local guide.

The Hang Te Cho Waterfall in Tram Tau Yen Bai
The Hang Te Cho Waterfall in Tram Tau Yen Bai

How to get to Yen Bai

1/ From Hanoi to Yen Bai City via Vinh Phuc and Phu Tho following Road 2

This is the shortest route and the most used route between Hanoi and Yen Bai City. Local buses between two cities normally take this route. The road conditions are excellent; earlier Road 2 traveled through quite a few towns and cities in between, but nowadays there are detour roads which makes it much easier without having to pass through busy traffic.

The road is mostly flat and the landscape on the roadsides offer not much of a beauty. There is a chance though for you to go to Thac Ba Lake where you can have a boat trip visiting the scenic lake or take a hiking trip visiting ethnic communities inhabiting by the roadside.

Route 2 at Doan Hung (Phu Tho Province) connects Hanoi and Yen Bai Province
Route 2 at Doan Hung (Phu Tho Province) connects Hanoi and Yen Bai Province

2/From Hanoi to Muong Lo Valley, Tram Tau and Mu Cang Chai via Phu Tho following Route 32

Route 32 is mostly in good conditions nowadays; it is flat in Hanoi and Phu Tho while it goes up all the way from Phu Tho to Van Chan Yen Bai, goes down into the Muong Lo Valley (Nghia Lo) and goes up steeply into Mu Cang Chai.

The landscapes by the roadside are really nice with rice fields, hills covered with green tea, scenic mountains at Phu Tho; sublime wild mountainscape and spectacular rice terraces at the Muong Lo Valley and Mu Cang Chai.

The Khau Pha Pass, Yen Bai, Vietnam
The Khau Pha Pass, Yen Bai, Vietnam

3/From Lao Cai to Yen Bai via Route 70

This route is deserted and the road is in degradation; there are hundreds of blind curves every few hundred meters which make it among the most dangerous roads in Vietnam nowadays. Once this was the main route between Hanoi and Sapa which is now replaced by the newly-built expressway between Hanoi and Lao Cai. The road is mostly flat and there are some scenic ethnic villages and rice fields along the way though.

Countryside at Yen Binh, Yen Bai
Countryside at Yen Binh, Yen Bai

4/From Lai Chau and Sapa to Mu Cang Chai following Route 4D and Route 32

The roads are fairly in good conditions and the landscape by the roadside are captivating: rice terraces, amazing rice valleys, evergreen forests, wild mountains, and ethnic villages. Those who take the trip from Sapa also has an opportunity to adore the sublime beauty of O Quy Ho Pass between Lao Cai and Lai Chau.

Mu Cang Chai
Mu Cang Chai

 

Kids after school at Mu Cang Chai
Kids after school at Mu Cang Chai

5/From Ha Giang to Pho Rang Town (Lao Cai) via Route 279 then to Yen Bai (via Route 70)

The dilapidated 279 in the territory of Ha Giang is horrendous and should be awarded the worst road in Vietnam. There are thousands of elephant holes on the road surface which make you wonder if it is called a road at all! The part of the road in Lao Cai is in fairly good conditions. The adventurers who take this route are awarded with idyllic countryside landscape and wild mountainscape just by the roadside. There are several ethnic villages on the way for you to visit and take a peep into local life.

Rice fields near Pho Rang, Lao Cai, on the way to Ha Giang
Rice fields near Pho Rang, Lao Cai, on the way to Ha Giang

AdventureGreen’s Adventure Tours and Accommodations, Things to Do in Yen Bai

1/ Boat Trips, Eco Tous at the Thac Ba Lake

AdventureGreen organizes boat trips and eco tours around Thac Ba Lake and the accommodation is at a lovely guesthouse by the lakeside.

Thac Ba Lake - Yen Bai - Vietnam
Thac Ba Lake

2/ Adventure Tours, Bicycle Tours at Muong Lo Valley, Homestay and Trekking Tours at Tu Le, Mu Cang Chai, Tram Tau

At Muong Lo Valley, you can enjoy a cycling tours with our local team to Tram Tau and the accommodation is homestay at a Thai family. If you love trekking, then join AdventureGreen on hiking tours and trekking tours around Tu Le and Mu Cang Chai. The accommodations are either at local guest houses or homestay with ethnic families (Thai, Hmong).

Muong Lo Valley, Nghia Lo, Yen Bai, Vietnam
Muong Lo Valley, Nghia Lo, Yen Bai, Vietnam

All these tours start and conclude in Hanoi of which the tour duration ranges from 2 to 4 days. You can also join us on an adventure tour of the North West of Vietnam which travels through the different provinces in the region.

Tu Le Cao Pha Valley, Yen Bai, Vietnam
Tu Le Cao Pha Valley, Yen Bai, Vietnam

3/ Motorbike Tours from Hanoi to Mu Cang Chai

If you love traveling by motorbike, then AdventureGreen arranges a motorcycle adventure to Mu Cang Chai from Hanoi. The tour is for 3 days which could be extended to visit Sapa, Lao Cai and Ha Giang if you request.

Amazing rice terraces at Tu Le - Cao Pha Valley
Amazing rice terraces at Tu Le - Cao Pha Valley

 

A young Thai girl at a festival at Tu Le
A young Thai girl at a festival at Tu Le

 

Muong Lo Valley, Nghia Lo
Muong Lo Valley, Nghia Lo

4/ Mountain Climbing, Mountain Trekking Tours to Ta Xua, Phu Song Sung (Ta Chi Nhu), Lung Cung

For fans of mountain climbing, then you may like to know that Yen Bai is home to those of the highest mountain peaks in Vietnam: Pu Luong (also called Cot Co Peak, 2,985m), Pu Song Sung (or Ta Chi Nhu, or Chung Chua Nha, 2,979m), Lung Cung (2,913m), Ta Xua (2,865m).

Trekking to the summit of the Ta Chi Nhu (Phu Song Sung) Mountain in Yen Bai Vietnam
Trekking to the summit of the Ta Chi Nhu (Phu Song Sung) Mountain in Yen Bai Vietnam

 

Trekking the Ta Xua Mountain with wild mossy forest and captivating landscape
Trekking the Ta Xua Mountain with wild mossy forest and captivating landscape

AdventureGreen hosts a number of trekking tours to these mountains which take 3-4 days each. The accommodations are at mountain huts or camps. Do not hesitate to contact AdventureGreen for advice on any daunting adventure tours through Yen Bai.

Mu Cang Chai - Yen Bai - Vietnam
Rice terraces at Mu Cang Chai, Yen Bai

 

Tu Le - Yen Bai - Vietnam
Tu Le rice valley of Yen Bai from Khau Pha Pass

 

Khau Pha Pass - Yen Bai - Vietnam
Khau Pha Pass

 

Muong Lo Valley, Yen Bai, Vietnam
Muong Lo Valley, Yen Bai, Vietnam

5/ Photo Adventure Tours to Mu Cang Chai

AdventureGreen hosts a number of 3-day to 7-day photography tours to Mu Cang Chai during the rice transplanting season and harvest season. Please contact us for a customized private tour.

Fluid line of the rice terraces at Mu Cang Chai in Yen Bai Vietnam
Fluid line of the rice terraces at Mu Cang Chai in Yen Bai Vietnam

6/ Hotspring bathing adventure holidays

Yen Bai is home to a number of hotspring. The tourist facilities at these hotsprings or geysers are quite poor ranging from basic homestay at local ethnic families or simple hotels.

A hotspring in Yen Bai Province Vietnam
A hotspring in Yen Bai Province Vietnam

 

A lovely swimming pool at a hotspring in Yen Bai Vietnam
A lovely swimming pool at a hotspring in Yen Bai Vietnam


Yen Bai Average Monthly Rainfalls and Temperatures


Vietnam Adventure Travel