Tà Xùa, a high mountain range locating in
the natural border between northern provinces of Sơn La and Yên Bái, has
been known as "Paradise in the Clouds", which hosts forests of ancient
Shan Tuyết tea trees, some several hundred years old.
The range
consists of three peaks - according to the map by the People’s Army,
the highest peak is 2,879m, the second is 2800, the lowest named
Dinosaur Backbone is 2,582m.
Photographers and backpackers who’ve been to Tà Xùa always talk about hunting moving clouds on the dangerous routes.
The mountains covered with clouds create a mysterious beauty, which is
more alluring when viewed from Sống Khủng Long (Dinosaur’s Backbone),
which located in Bắc Yên District of Sơn La Province.
The Dinosaur’s Backbone, seems to lie in the middle of the sky.
The path to its peak is dangerous. In some places, there is only one small path with deep abysses on both sides.
When stepping on that path, strong winds can shake travelers’ bodies, forcing them to double over or be blown off.
A sign erected on the top of the peak says: “Tà Xùa Paradise of Clouds” - an official acknowledgement of the nickname.
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People talk a lot about the beauty of the clouds. If lucky, tourists
will see a sea of clouds nestled below them in the centre of the huge
mountain range. They often come in all shapes and colours. It’s a fairy
land.
Yet getting to this heaven is not simple. We reached Tà Xùa on a rainy
day. The zig-zag roads were steep, muddy and covered with humid grey
clouds.
Phạm Vũ Khánh, a low-land man, who has settled down in the locality for dozens of years, received us.
He said many people climbed up to Tà Xùa, but few were lucky enough to see the legendary "cloud land" appear.
He wished us good luck. That night, Khánh invited us to have Tuyết
Shan tea, Hang Chú rice wine and some dishes made from a local species
of black pig.
We enjoyed the local delicacies, which kept us warm, but worried a lot because it was raining cats and dogs.
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Most of us went to sleep wondering if we would be able to see the magic clouds in the morning.
Before dawn next day, we were awakened. Khánh urged us to get in a car to the Dinosaur Backbone peak without delay.
Because he has lived there for a long time, he senses when and where
beautiful clouds will appear. It seems to depend on the seasons and time
of day.
It was still raining, but much less than before. Khánh was correct.
White clouds were flying up from the valleys. We had to reach Dinosaur
Backbone as soon as possible to catch the beautiful images.
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Lake
of clouds: Standing on top of Dinosaur Backbone Peak, one can see
terraced fields and a valley filled with clouds. VNS Photo Trần Mai
Hưởng
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Three kilometres from the peak, our car could go no further as there
was a landslide. We all continued by catching motorbike taxis servicing
the remote area. My driver was fairly agile. He was only 16.
The last trek was only 2km, but extremely hard. From a distance, the
path curving along the side of the mountain looked fairly romantic, but
we slipped and fell when we took our first steps.
We had to overcome high slippery slopes in the rain. We pushed
forward, pressing down with our toes on the path as there was nothing to
hold on. We were lucky to reach Dinosaur Backbone peak together with
many other young people hunting for clouds.
Then the sun started to shine. From the furthest edge of Dinosaur Backbone, we could see clouds hanging here and there.
The feeling of travelling on top of clouds, above the clouds, flying between land and sky was so special.
We took great photos of clouds of unforgettable scenes before it rained again.
Everything was then submerged in a huge grey blanket of fog. We returned to the small path with abysses on both sides.
The wind blew strong as if it would lift us off. What an experience!
