Let’s plan an off-road motorbike to stunning Hoang Su Phi, Ha Giang. You would like to know when is the right time for a trip to explore the best of this mountainous region. Reading this will help you choose the good time frame for the journey
Hoang Su Phi beauty & the ideal time to visit Hoang Su Phi?
Hoang Su Phi – the less travelled region of spectacular mountain scenery, breathtaking rice terraces & rich local cultures that has attracted a number of natural lovers & adventurers in the last few years.Following our blog about Ha Giang, some of travellers ask us the question about “ when is the ideal time to visit Hoang Su Phi?” and we would like to detail in this blog about the climate in Hoang Su Phi & typical time to visit its rice terraces.
We would like to say that you can pay a visit to Hoang Su Phi at any time of the year for your own interest ( trekking and getting to know local cultures or admiring rice terrace & mountain landscapes)
The same as the Ha Giang climate, there are two main seasons in Hoang Su Phi : dry & rainy ones.
Dry season – ideal weather for outdoor fun & local festivals.
The dry season is ranging from Novenber to early April, the climate is normally cooler down, sometimes chilly with little rains.It is the time of new year celebration & spring time so if travelling to Hoang Su Phi at this time, you can expect to take part in local ethnics’s festivals and contemplate beautiful scenery of blooming flowers in the region. Thanks to its dry weather, trekking is a good outdoor activity in Hoang Su Phi, but remember to bring warm clothes along your journey.
Rainy season – the one of local’s rice-terraced plantation
The rainy season is from late April to late October- the time for a new rice crop in a year.Local people have long lived in this land and formed their unique rice terraces on mountain slopes down to the valley to earn their living for ages.They make use of the rain water from mountain down to irrigate their stepped rice fields. Thanks to its beautiful rice terraces,Hoang Su Phi rice fields were recognized as the national heritage in 2012 and are the top factor that have attracted domestic & international travellers in recent years.Those are 6 different communes of breathtaking rice terraces that you should hang around while travelling to Hoang Su Phi : Ban Luoc , San Sa Ho, Ban Phung , Ho Thau , Nam Ty and Thong Nguyen- great treks to capture beautiful photos and witness the daily life of La Chi, Dzao, Nung, Hmong ethnics…who have created those heritages in Hoang Su Phi- Ha Giang.
The ideal time to admire the beauty of the rice terraces:
1.Late May to early June when the fields are ploughed for the new crops ( falling-water time ).The stepped rice fields are flooded with raining water from the top layers to the bottom ones – the scene is like different mirrors reflecting the blue sky. At the same time, locals are doing their farm works ( ploughing with buffaloes, cultivating the rice, fetilize their fields) in the big group happily .In all, the scene creates a vivid picture -so nice for photo hunters.
2.Then the rice grow slowly – creating the immense layers of green color to the horizon ( from June to September)- so peaceful and pristine beauty that you may exclaim.
3. Golden rice fields of breathtaking – that you can expect to admire when the rice changes its green color to its golden one on its fullest beauty (between late September & early October) – the best time for great photos of Hoang Su Phi rice terraces. This is also the time that the fields become full of life as locals in their colorful dresses cut their rices, put the grains into bags and shoulder them home through the valleys & mountains. Also you see children hanging around supporting their parents with the farm work happily. IN a nutshell, it is great fun to see this harvesting activity & fullest beauty of rice terraces
Notes :Take a notice that it is beautiful to see the rice terraces but check the weather when you plan the trip to mountainous areas in general and to Hoang Su Phi region in particular in rainy season ( especially from August to October – the typhoon time in Vietnam). It is quite constant with a downpour which may sometimes result in landslides – blocking the roads or hidden dangers on your Hoang Su Phi journey