Explore the mysterious Mam Xoi Hu Tru Lin hill in Lao Chai Commune, Mu Cang Chai District, Yen Bai Province, Vietnam

If Mam Xoi Hill in La Pan Tan commune, Mu Cang Chai district, Yen Bai province is so famous and familiar to tourists from all over the country, then cross dozens of kilometers towards the remote Lao Chai commune bordering the border. Lai Chau province will have a Mam Xoi Hu Tru Lin Hill that few people know about but is so beautiful and imbued with the peaceful golden season of Lao Chai people’s life.

Visiting Mam Xoi Hu Tru Lin Hill, not only enjoy the stunning scenery but also can explore the culture and lifestyle of the H’Mong people

I accidentally watched Nem Tivi channel and saw him reviewing Mam Xoi Hill in Lao Chai commune, I was fascinated and determined to fly from Southern Vietnam to Yen Bai to explore.

1.Where is Hu Tru Lin?

Hu Tru Lin is a poor village and in the most remote area of Lao Chai commune – one of the most difficult communes in the country – 15km from Mu Cang Chai town (Yen Bai province) towards the border with Lai Chau province.

Lao Chai is a poor commune located 13km from the town center, and is not on the list of terraced rice heritage of Yen Bai province so few people know about it. Lao Chai commune has 14 Mong ethnic villages including nearly 9,000 people located on an area of 15,600 hectares, mostly terraced fields growing rice and corn.

Since the discovery of ancient stone fields with drawings of terraced fields in Lao Chai commune, Mu Cang Chai district, this place has attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors to explore.

Although it is quite far from the center of Mu Cang Chai town, the road is difficult, and few people know about it, the terraced fields in Lao Chai commune are very beautiful, wild and not touristized.

2. Which season should you go to Mam Xoi Hu Tru Lin Hill?

Around September-October is the season of golden ripe rice in Mu Cang Chai district, so everywhere “wears” the shiny yellow color of ripe rice. This is also the most beautiful season of the year so go explore

3. How to get to Mam Xoi Hu Tru Lin Hill?

– Motorbike: is the most convenient means of transportation. If you are a backpacker or experienced in mountain passes and terrain and are in good health, you can ride a motorbike from Hanoi to Mu Cang Chai (MCC) with a passenger. Travel nearly 300km, and experience one of the four great passes – Khau Pha. Or rent a motorbike in Nghia Lo and drive to Mu Cang Chai and back, to save time and health.

– Car: Renting a private car is also a good means for you to keep your strength to conquer difficult spots and is also very convenient if you want to stop anywhere on the road if there is a beautiful scene. However, by car, it is not possible to get there, you have to park the car in Lao Chai commune and hire a motorbike taxi to continue.

– Sleeping Bus/Limousine: Actually, Mu Cang Chai is an undeveloped highland district of Yen Bai (compared to Sapa or Ha Giang), so there are not many good service vehicles that travel every day, but only seasonally. Some sleeper bus companies such as Cuong Lan, The Anh,… transport passengers from Hanoi to Yen Bai, Nghia Lo, Mu Cang Chai, however, due to the large number of tourists, they are often overloaded and the buses are not very clean. As for Limousine, the price is higher, but there are also many bus companies that spring up based on the season and the service is not very good, easily causing scandals.

– Motorbike taxi: On rainy days, the roads are muddy, potholed, steep, strange and difficult roads from Hu Tru Lin school to the raspberry hill. If you are not familiar with the road, it is very difficult to travel, so you need to hire local H’mong people to drive you. .

4. Journey to conquer Mam Xoi Hu Tru Lin hill:

No matter where you rent a homestay or hotel, you should take Mu Cang Chai Market as the meeting point (with porter if any) to depart for Lao Chai commune.

Narrow, winding road as if crossing hills and mountains between layers of terraced fields in Lao Chai commune, Mu Cang Chai district, Yen Bai province

– The distance of more than 10km from Mu Cang Chai market to Lao Chai commune is quite beautiful, airy, but deserted, quite steep and many places can be eroded if it rains the day before.

The road to Lao Chai village, Lao Chai commune, Mu Cang Chai district

-The next stop is Lao Chai cultural village, you search google map to find it. This section is filled with concrete, the road is beautiful but small, and quite steep. There are only many motorbikes for local people to go to work in the fields or go to Mu Cang Chai district market.

Welcome gate of Lao Chai village, Lao Chai commune, Mu Cang Chai district, Yen Bai

Continuing deeper into Lao Chai village, the road is quite slippery due to last night’s rain

The deeper you go to Hu Tru Lin village, the narrower the concrete road becomes

Và cuối cùng là cũng không còn đường bê tông, mà là đường đất đỏ lấy lội từ đêm mưa, lúc này porter kiêm tài xế phải dừng lại đeo xích sắt cho bánh xe để có thể tiếp tục di chuyển

And finally, there is no longer a concrete road, but muddy red soil from last night's rain.  At this time, the porter and driver must stop to attach iron chains to the wheels so they can continue moving

Because it is a remote village, the roads are very bad, muddy and steep, so iron chains must often be used to help the vehicle move on this terrain.

-The next stop is Hu Tru Lin school. Stop and park your car here and hire a local to take you to Mam Xoi Hu Tru Lin hill. Because it rained last night, the road was extremely muddy and the motorbike we rented couldn’t go.

Behind me is Hu Tru Lin school – the furthest village of Lao Chai commune

H’Mong people are gathering to make roofs to protect children from the rain in Hu Tru Lin village to prepare for back to school. From 2022, this playground has been built with clean, beautiful concrete by the local government for children. From now on, you will no longer be afraid of getting muddy on rainy days.

Around the H’Mong people’s houses, they grow a lot of apples, a specialty apple of this Northwest region, often used to soak wine, but they are very sour to eat.

Among the types of Docynia (Tao Meo) in Vietnam, people appreciate the delicious Docynia in Mu Cang Chai, a specialty of the Northwest mountains and forests because of its unique flavor and health-protecting effects.

After asking the porter to discuss and negotiate the price with the Mong people in Hu Tru Lin village to take us to the raspberry hill, they agreed. Local vehicles have to wear iron chains on their wheels to drive, but we sometimes have to get off motorbike and walk because the roads are steep and muddy.

For local vehicles, they have to attach iron chains to the wheels to increase traction so the motorbike can move easily

And forget those shiny shoes or sneakers, instead these honeycomb sandals or plastic boots will help you move more easily on muddy ground.

Đây là một trong những đoThis is one of the most “normal” muddy roads from Hu Tru Lin village to Mam Xoi hill.

One of the “easy to run” roads up Mam Xoi Hu Tru Lin hill

That was the most terrifying stretch of road that we conquered so far, to the point where we all had thoughts of stopping. But then, “There are no difficult paths, only feet that block the path”, to compensate for all the hardships is to feast your eyes on the beautiful Mam Xoi Hu Tru Lin hill, full of natural colors.

Even though we were transported by local H’mong people, some sections were too muddy and scary, so we decided to walk to see the scenery.

Even though we walked on such a steep path, we were very happy

Sitting on the “horse stable” and looking far away at the village at the foot of the mountain, located next to a small gentle stream, the scenery is beautiful and indescribable.

Hello HU TRU LIN, finally successfully conquered the most remote Mam Xoi hill in Yen Bai province

The joy of being able to touch the trees and grass with your own hands, watching the golden round Mam Xoi Hu Tru Lin hill in the distance

Mam Xoi Hu Tru Lin Hill has a natural altitude of over 1,000m above sea level with an evenly round shape, rising like a full tray of sticky rice.

Dawn on Mam Xoi Hu Tru Lin hill in the ripe rice season is around 5:00 a.m. – 5:30 a.m. In the afternoon, the sun goes down quite quickly around 4:30-5:30. Depending on the rainy days like the day I went, high up there are clouds that cover the sun so I can’t see the sunset, but the view of the rice fields is very steady and beautiful.

Me and the little-known Mam Xoi hill in Hu Tru Lin village, Lao Chai commune, Mu Cang Chai district

This is our team from Southern Vietnam to Yen Bai, with H’Mong friends here carrying motorbikes on the muddiest and most difficult roads, some with potholes and steep slopes that make our waists break.

If you have a lot of time, when you return to Hu Tru Lin school, you can visit people’s houses and ask them to cook a meal and together enjoy the simple flavors of local cuisine that is no less unique and rich in the people’s culture. here. In the afternoon, our group also had a schedule to go see rice at Mong Ngua hill in La Pan Tan commune, so we tried to get back to town in time. Goodbye to the most remote peaceful land in Yen Bai province, see you again a brighter day.

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