Intrepid journey to Ho Village leads to fairytale experience

Published: 24/03/2011 05:00

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A
group from the US ex-pressed their excite-ment when they related their trip to
Ho Village, 20km northwest of Sa Pa.




Northern trekking
: Foreign
travellers visit Ho Village.
(Photos: VNS)

It was a fairytale
region, said group leader Duong Quang Thieu.


The group of seven
people had been transported to an inn in the village where they hired local
guide Vang A Duong, a Tay ethnic man whose household was among the first to
co-operate with tour agencies.


“Duong led us to tour
Hoang Lien National Park, where fauna and flora are abundant, to see the Da Nhay
(Jumping Stones) Waterfall, and we took advantage of the 18-25oC temperature to
soak in a fresh clean stream,” Thieu said. “It was one of my best memories.”


After lunch at Duong’s
house, they were led to a Dao ethnic hamlet further up the mountain to have a
bath with 18 traditional medicinal herbs.


“Although you must
trek 3km up to the hamlet, you should not miss this rare opportunity because the
Dao people have to go deep in to the jungle to collect the herbs,” Duong said.
“They are then dried and buried under the earth for a month before use.




Relaxing destination
: Jumping
Stone Waterfall in Ho Village.

“Soaking in the wooden
tub with hot herbs leaves you comfortable and certainly more cheerful,” he said.


Ho village deputy
chief Nguyen Van Minh said the traditional herbs had been handed down through
generations of the Dao group.


“They are already
approved by the Traditional Medical Institute,” Minh said.


In the area, the Lave
and Muong Hoa streams weaved through boulders, hills, mountains and terraced
paddy fields of Mong, Dao and Tay ethic groups in the breathtaking Valley of
Muong Hoa.


Minh said Ho Village
encouraged tour guiding.


“We’ve trained 50 guides and given
them English lessons so they can introduce the traditional culture and unique
habit and customs of each ethnic group to travellers.”


In addition,
volunteers from Sa Pa had opened a cooking class and tour guide courses for
other young people in the village, Minh said.


Duong said Ho Village
was worth the somewhat difficult journey to get their because of its views and
the opportunity to discover the daily activities of the Tay people.




Panoramic view
: An overview of Ho
Village.

On the way to the
Jumping Rocks Waterfall, which was named by locals after seeing fish jumping out
of the water in the old days, Duong’s group passed water running along bamboo
pipes which locals had laid down to channel water to their terraced paddy
fields.


The channels also fed
the wooden houses perched on the sides of rolling hills and ensured the wild
flowers flourished, Duong said.


In the dry season, the
boulders in Lave Stream resembled works of art; in the wet season from May till
September the water formed colourful sprays as it hit the boulders.


Ho Village is divided
into three hamlets: Ta Trung Ho, Xeo Trung Ho and Hoang Lien. Nearly 50
households in the village had signed tourism contracts with travel agents and
welcomes 500,000 visitors a year.


In the evening Thieu’s
group walked around the village and watched brocade weaving, bought brocade
souvenirs for VND25,000 each, or joined locals performing folk songs and dances
at a traditional house.


“We joined locals
performing the bamboo pole dance which was not so difficult,” said group member
Frank Robert, adding that he could thoroughly recommend a visit to the village
and the region.


The trails and roads
from Ho Village also led to the peaceful Red Dao Village of Nam Toong and other
ethnic communities, where trekkers enjoyed even more beautiful scenery.


Transport to Ho
Village is mainly by motorbike (VND30,000 each way) or jeep (VND300,000 return).


VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News

Provide by Vietnam Travel

Intrepid journey to Ho Village leads to fairytale experience - Travel - News |  vietnam travel company

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