Muong Hoa Valley
The Black Hmong's terraced paddies, on twelve kilometres of paths between villages.
Duration
4 hrs – 8 hrs
Difficulty
●●●○○
Best time
Morning, in September
Open
Every day
Entry price
Free
The valley runs south-east from Sapa for a dozen kilometres, between slopes entirely cut into terraces. They are the work of the Black Hmong and Red Dao, and some are centuries old: this is farmed land, not a park.
You cross it on foot from village to village — Lao Chai, Ta Van, Giang Ta Chai — on earth paths following the irrigation channels. The paddies change colour completely with the month: sheets of water in May and June, dense green in July, gold in September before the harvest.
Getting there
Set off on foot from Sapa along the Muong Hoa road, or take a motorbike taxi to Lao Chai and walk only the downhill half.
Rules on site
The paths turn to slick mud after rain, and it rains often: shoes with grip, not city trainers. The young Hmong women who walk alongside for free expect a purchase at the end — that is the custom, better to know it before setting off.
