Experience the climate of Van Son highlands

Sleeping muse

Hidden in the midst of nearly 1,000m high of Van Son commune, Thung Waterfall appears like a soft white silk strip hanging over the mountainside. The Muong people here often compare the waterfall to "sleeping fairy in the forest". Because of its beauty that is both pristine and gentle to an unbelievable extent, only more than 100km from Hanoi.

The road leading to the waterfall passes through lush green forests, terraced fields and Muong villages nestled under the clouds. From afar, the sound of water pouring echoes in the quiet space of the great forest. Then suddenly, amidst the green of the mountains and forests, Thung Waterfall appears. The water flow from a height of nearly 30m pours down many layers of limestone covered with green moss, billowing white foam in the dim space of water vapor. At the foot of the waterfall is a natural lake as blue as jade, so clear that each stone slab lying at the bottom can be clearly seen.

Ms. Nguyen Thu Ha, a tourist from Hanoi, shared after the experience: "The thing that surprised me the most is that the air here is cool, completely different from the lowlands. In the morning, I hunt for clouds, in the afternoon I go down to the waterfall to soak my feet in the cold water in the old forest, in the evening I sit and listen to the sound of insects and the sound of streams flowing... a feeling of healing. I think Van Son still retains the pristine beauty that many other tourist destinations have gradually lost".

The strange thing is that the waterfall is almost never dry. Local people say that thanks to the forest ecosystem covering it year-round, the groundwater from the heart of the mountain still silently feeds Thung Waterfall throughout the four seasons. In hot summer days, just setting foot at the foot of the waterfall, you can immediately feel the cold emanating from the rocks and water. Something cool and very different from regulating the city.

What surprises many tourists the most is that in the hot weather, Van Son still maintains a rare cool climate. Early in the morning, in Hay Duoi hamlet, Bac Thung or Luong Ca, the sea of clouds still regularly overflows into the valley, covering the stilt houses. Some days, the clouds are so thick that standing on the hill, you can only see a white color under your feet.

The Muong people call it "sleeping clouds". As for tourists from the lowlands, it feels like just stepping into a "miniature Sa Pa". During the day, you can trek through the forest, bathe in streams, explore Nam Son Cave. At night, you can light a campfire at Pang beach, listening to insect sounds mixed with the sound of waterfalls echoing from afar. It is hard to imagine that, just a few hours by car from the Capital, there is still a land that retains its pristine beauty.

The "rough gems" in Muong Bi

In addition to experiencing community culture, Van Son also possesses "rough gems" of nature that each destination has its own unique beauty. The most prominent is Nam Son Cave - a cave likened to a "geological museum" in the heart of the limestone mountain.

To reach the cave, visitors must trek through the old forest, cross the cat ear cliffs covered with moss before sneaking through the narrow cave entrance. And right behind that rock crevice is a whole other world opening up. The stalactite strips fall down sparkling like jade curtains. There are rock blocks in the shape of gruessels, elephants, and some places are like a giant underground palace silently carved by nature for millions of years.

In the heart of the cave is a lake as blue as jade, calm and deep. The light of a flashlight reflected on the water surface makes the whole space become magical like an ancient dream of the great forest.

Not far away is a complex of 11 heritage nghiến trees in Bo Tram hamlet. Giant trunks of trees stand tall in the old forest, rough bark covered with moss like silent "witnesses" of mountains and forests for hundreds, thousands of years. Walking under the canopy of that ancient nghiến tree, people suddenly feel strangely small.

All those beauties, from the sea of clouds, caves, nghiến forests to the pristine waterfall, are still being preserved by Van Son as treasures of the great forest. The "rough gems" are still waiting to be awakened in the most sustainable and decent way.

But perhaps, what makes Van Son most different is not the waterfall or the sea of clouds, but the people. In stilt houses with turtle shells still burning every afternoon. In the sound of gongs still echoing in the valley. And in the elderly people over a hundred years old who are still lucid by the red fire of the "valley of longevity".

Tourists coming here are often invited to sit around a tray of leaves with grilled stream fish, boiled black pig, forest vegetables, grilled chicken seeds and a cup of spicy leaf wine... Everything is simple enough to make people remember for a long time.

Mr. Nguyen Duy Tu - Secretary of the Party Committee of Van Son commune, said: "The commune is orienting community tourism development in the direction of preserving the forest ecosystem and ancient Muong cultural identity. We want tourists to come to experience the nature, culture and true peace of the highlands.

With a cool climate all year round, floating sea of clouds, trekking routes through primeval forests, majestic caves, pristine waterfalls... and the ancient Muong cultural identity still preserved intact, Van Son is gradually emerging as a completely different destination of the Northwest region. This place attracts tourists with its inherent pristine beauty. From Nam Son Cave, Thung Waterfall, Pang Beach to the thousand-year-old nghiến complex in Bo Tram, each stop opens up a unique experience, imbued with the breath of local culture.