YEN BAI – Lung Cung is a popular mountain climbing arc due to its beautiful scenery, short climb, moderate difficulty, and easy cloud hunting.

Lung Cung peak is 2,913 m high, in Mu Cang Chai district, one of the top 15 highest peaks in Vietnam. In recent years, Lung Cung has attracted a large number of people who love climbing, and trekking (trekkers) due to the topography. Beautiful mountain forest, a short climbing route with moderate difficulty. This is also an ideal place to hunt for clouds, and especially you can watch both sunset and sunrise amidst the sea of ​​clouds due to the unobstructed 360-degree view.

The group of Mr. Nguyen Duc Hung, Hanoi has just conquered Lung Cung peak in early December. To conquer this peak, if you start from Hanoi, you will have to overcome nearly 300 km to Mu Cang Chai or Tu Le town to reach the peak. rest before climbing the next day. Taking a sleeper bus from My Dinh bus station the night before is an option often chosen by trekkers.

Compass Travel Vietnam, Explore Vietnam at Vietnamese.Quest.net

It is possible to come from three different directions, namely Lung Cung village, Tu San village and Thao Chua Chai village to reach the top. Trekkers often choose Tu San village and go back through Ta Cua Y valley and Thao Chua Chai village to go through waterfalls as well as enjoy the most beautiful mountain scenery of the mountain.

“We left Hanoi at 8pm and arrived in Tu Le town at 2am the next day. After resting for a few hours at a homestay, we got up at 6am to have breakfast, prepare our food and then take a motorbike taxi 17km away. Go to Tu San village to start climbing at 10am. To the climbing point, you can only go by motorbike, the road is very bad, there are many potholes, elephant holes and slippery. It takes nearly an hour to cross this road,” Hung said. good.

Starting from Tu San village, Hung climbs through chestnut forest, oak forest with tall old trees to reach the two-tiered waterfall known locally as Hau Chua La waterfall. Next to the sea of ​​clouds on the top of Lung Cung, the waterfall is an ideal check-in point.

With a climbing speed equivalent to a brisk walk, in about 14 hours you will reach the shack area, about an hour’s walk from the top. This area has two main shacks that can accommodate about 80 people. The shack was built by 6 local people at the end of 2018. The water for the shack is taken from a nearby stream. Mr. A Tau, one of the shack owners, said: “There are peak weekends more than 100 tourists come to stay in the shack, leading to overcrowding, some are forced to set up tents outside to sleep.”

Through the shack, area is an old forest and then a small bamboo forest. Near the top, the picture of nature changes unexpectedly. The old forest gave way to green grass and white flowers and strong winds.

“There are many options for sleeping overnight. Many groups choose to set up tents right in the open area located about 20 minutes from Lung Cung peak to hunt clouds to watch the sunset and sunrise. However, this area is bare land, so it’s very difficult. The wind and at night is very cold, only about 5 degrees Celsius. Only experienced and well-equipped trekkers should choose the option of staying overnight here,” Hung said.

After arriving at the shack to rest, the Hung group left their belongings and went to the top to watch the sunset. The next day, he went up early again to watch the sunrise. “It’s really emotional because of the beautiful scenery, the beautiful sea of ​​clouds that other peaks don’t have because there is a special grass here and the top of the mountain can be seen from all sides,” added Mr. Hung.

After dawn, the group went down the mountain in the direction of Thao Chua Chai village, passing through Ta Cua Y valley, which is about 5 km longer than the way up and will have to pass 5 large and small streams. Ta Cua Y valley, surrounded by mountains in Mu Cang Chai, still retains its wild beauty. According to A Chau, the guide, Ta in the local language is flat land, and Cua Y is a precious herbal plant. In March, this valley blooms brilliantly, it is sunny and the weather is warmer.

The total length of the Lung Cung climbing arc from Tu San and back through Ta Cua Y valley is about 20 km long. A climb is not long and not difficult, with many beautiful scenes, so it is increasingly chosen by trekkers, especially those who have conquered all other high mountains in Lai Chau and Lao Cai.

Manh Chien, the administrator of the climbing passion forum with more than 77,000 members, said that Lung Cung has its own beauty in different seasons. November-December is the season when the maple leaves change color and the wild sunflowers bloom brilliantly on the mountain slopes. January-March is the season of peach blossom and apple blossom. The sea of ​​clouds is always present in every season of the year.

Photo: Internet (Vietnamese.Quest.net)