Khau Pha is a mountain pass in Yen Bai Province linking Van Chan District and Mu Cang Chai District. The peak of the pass is over 1,200m above sea level and the length of the pass is more than 30km. The summit is covered in fog most of the time. 

Mu Cang Chai is little known to foreign visitors to Vietnam, but for Vietnamese photographers and young travelers that is where they go for photography of stunning golden rice terraces in late September and early October. You come here during this time, everywhere you turn you'll be dazzled by the softly curved lines of the golden rice terraces on low hills just by the roadsides, deep down by the riversides, on the brinks of the ravines, on the vast mountain slopes towering up and stretching all the way to the horizon…

Nghia Lo Town is 80km south-west of Yen Bai provincial capital city and 200km north-west of Hanoi. Nghia Lo along with its Muong Lo Valley has come into Vietnamese literature and history books, it has been a low-key travel destination due to bad road, lack of tourist service and lack of information...

The North-West of Vietnam is characterized by high mountains and colorful ethnic minorities. The North-West of Vietnam includes the provinces of Hoa Binh, Son La, Lai Chau, Dien Bien, Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Yen Bai.

The Ta Chi Nhu Mountain (aka Mount Phu Song Sung) in Tram Tau District of Yen Bai Province, which is 2,979m above sea level, is the 6th highest mountain peak in Vietnam.

The Ta Xua Mountain in Tram Tau District of Yen Bai Province, which is 2,865m above sea level, is the 10th highest mountain peak in Vietnam.

Tram Tau District of Yen Bai Province is 30km south-west of Nghia Lo Town. Tram Tau is bordered to the west and south-west and south by Son La Province. It is 60km from Tram Tau to Bac Yen Town of Son La and the road is almost impassable. The scenery on the way is lovely though. Even locals do not normally travel on this road.

It was Thursday and I was getting funky again. The weather seemed to have changed last night with new rounds of monsoons which made temperatures drop and the air fresh. The breezes were so gentle and the air was dry. This kind of breezes is called “Heo May” in Vietnamese.

Tu Le is a commune of Van Chan District, Yen Bai Province. The commune is surrounded by the Khau Song, Khau Than and Khau Pha Mountains which make it a heavenly valley.

Yen Bai, a land of the rugged mountains that conceal so many records of history, of the breathtaking mountain passes which made many battles of Vietnam into legends, of the evergreen tea plantations which hypnotize the travelers passing by, of the golden rice terraces which have defined the standards of the wild beauty of north-western Vietnam, of the ethnic minorities whose life has remained unchanged for centuries, of the fresh hill stations whose climate remains almost unchanged all year round... is not yet on the tour itineraries or travel plans of most travellers to Vietnam.