Visitors do not have to exert much effort to view the natural wonder; they can see a picturesque range of terraced fields along National Road 32 after going through Khau Pha Pass, which winds more than 20 kilometers when coming from Hanoi.

That is the option for those who do not have enough time to wander up and down hills and mountains of the terraced fields. Of course, when one is further from the road, the more beautiful terraced rice fields are visible.

Bui Thi Ha of Suoi Mo Guesthouse in Mu Cang Chai told the Daily that many travelers visited Mu Cang Chai from late September to early October to see waves of terraced rice fields, as this is when the fields turn brilliant yellow and shine in their fullest beauty.

This is also the time when the fields become full of life as Mong ethnic minority farmers in their traditional attire harvest the ripe rice grains, and shoulder bags of the fruit home through mountains and hills as well as over swinging suspension bridges.

It is normal to see ethnic minority mothers use cloth as a cradle to carry their infants on their back when they are harvesting paddy in the fields in the northwest of Vietnam. Children of the farmers run here and there in the fields, chatting with their parents and giggling in tune with the joy of their parents during the harvest season.

It is in late harvest season that visitors can distinguish the atmosphere of terraced fields in the rice harvest season and off the season. The real charm of yellow fields and the fields without paddy, and above all the type of soil and the attempts of the farmers to produce paddy, are most obvious at this time.

Believe me! My experience shows that it is in Mu Cang Chai that you can see more beautiful terraced rice fields than Hoang Su Phi in the mountainous province of Ha Giang and other sites that have become famous for terraced rice fields and captured the great interest of travelers near and far.

There in Mu Cang Chai, terraced rice fields rise and fall around hillsides and mountainsides as well as streams and rivers, making them look like giant yellow staircases for people to step from earth to heaven.

Terraced rice fields have been not only a source of food and income for the Mong people; they are an intrinsic part of their culture and Mu Cang Chai, which is itself a quiet town on the bank of the Nam River.

Fashioned over many centuries, the yellow terraced fields are now a symbol of the mountainous district and make it one of the top destinations for those who seek to look into the life of ethnic minority groups in the countryside and the natural surroundings.

Mu Cang Chai is about 300 kilometers from Hanoi, and can be accessible only by road.

(Source: SGT)