The ripe rice season in the North of Vietnam normally lasts for 2 months, September and October. While the harvest season in other popular places for rice terraces such as Mu Cang Chai in Yen Bai Province and Y Ty in Lao Cai Province begins in early and mid-September, the one in Phung Village ripens later than elsewhere. Sometimes, it also depends on the cultivation schedule of the local each year, but normally, the rice field in Phung Village brightens in late September and will be harvested in mid-October. We came right in time when the whole scene was shining up like gold.
Phung & Luoc villages have long been considered as top tourist attractions in Autumn and also deemed natural heritage of Ha Giang. In the previous post, our journey to the homestay in Luoc Village was troublesome, but in the end, we were all satisfied with the landscape in front of the homestay. For us, the trip was already fulfilled at the point when such picturesque view of ripe rice fields opened up in our sight. However, as we still had one day of excursion ahead, we planned to visit Phung Village which is recognized as the highest rice terraces.
Located 40 km away from Luoc Village, Phung Village is home to La Chi ethnic people and other minority tribes such as Tay, Nung, etc. It took us more than 2 hours to get there from our homestay. I must say that Ha Giang never ceases to amaze us with its magnificent landscape. The curving terraces blended in very well with the background of green jungle and cloud-covered peaks, as if it was carved and painted on those rocky mountains.
This marvelous beauty is not natural, of course, it is created by generations of La Chi ethnic people who have been living here for centuries. For locals, it is their way of cultivation in unfavorable geographical conditions of mountainous area, but for tourists, it is indeed a man-made artwork, a masterpiece of indigenous people.
In Phung Village, there is an observation point that you can have a panoramic view, a bird-eye view of the whole breathtaking scene of vast ripe rice fields below. The photo we took doesn’t do any justice to the scenery but the video from our drone does. Check out the video to see a spectacular landscape captured from our drone. Below are some photos of Phung Village taken by me. Enjoy!
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