The beauty of Mu Cang Chai attracts visitors.

In an article posted last Sunday titled Why this remote gem should top your 2020 travel list, writer Monica Buchanan Pitrelli extolled the virtues of the region, “a series of colorful (sic) mountain villages are encircled by fields of towering rice terraces. The fields are agricultural feats of precision – rugged mountains blanketed with emerald stairways that, seemingly, ascend to the heavens above.”

Located at the foot of the majestic Hoàng Liên Sơn range, Mù Cang Chải terraced fields is a cultural heritage created by local ethnic minorities for generations. The 500ha of terraced fields, located in the communes of La Pán Tẩn, Chế Cu Nha and Dế Xu Phình in Mù Cang Chải District have been recognised as special national sites by Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc. The site was listed among national relics and distinguighsed landscapes by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2007. They have also been on the list of ten most beautiful terraced fields in the world for many years.

Hiking, cycling and taking photos are three most interesting activities in exploring Mù Cang Chải District, together with experiencing local lives of the ethnic communities there like Thái, Mông or Dao Đỏ, and tasting local food, according to CNBC.

Riding motorbikes is also a favourite activity, particularly for young travellers. However, due to the low quality of the district’s roads, travel agencies do not encourage tourists to try this experience for safety reasons.

Festivals in Mù Cang Chải District have also attracted a large number of tourists every year, including the Mù Cang Chải Paragliding Festival that takes place in autumn that helps turn the district into a new magnet for adventure travel.

Other popular activities include crossing Khau Phạ pass or exploring Mơ waterfall and Pú Nhu waterfall.

Mù Cang Chải District is worth visiting all year round, as each season brings different beauty to the terraced fields.

In the spring, the area is blanketed with the green colour of the seedlings while in warm summer months, the terraced fields are still covered with a vibrant green.

In the fall, the harvest season, the fields turn into a golden sea and at the end of winter, they become shimmering ponds hung along the mountainside, quietly waiting for the arrival of a new crop.

Along with the increase in the number of tourists to Việt Nam in general, it is estimated that Mù Cang Chải District welcomed 90,000 visitors in 2018, much higher than the 20,000 visitors in 2015.

Local authorities are making great efforts to preserve the local ethnic identities and raise awareness about the environment and ecotourism.