Ta Xua holds a prominent place in the hearts of backpackers in the northern regions, making it a familiar name among adventurous souls. This enchanting destination remains relatively untouched by human intervention, preserving its pristine and untouched natural allure. Ta Xua has gained recognition for its captivating “cloud hunting” tours, an experience like no other. If you have yet to embark on a journey to this remarkable place, allow us to guide you through our meticulously curated recommendations below. Prepare to immerse yourself in the awe-inspiring wonders of Ta Xua cloud hunting and create memories that will last a lifetime.
The ideal time for Ta Xua cloud hunting
Ta Xua is a mountain commune in Son La Province. The terrain here is more than 2000 meters high, the climate is cool all year round, and the temperature is always lower than that of the plains. When it comes to the best time to go cloud hunt, what matters is your purpose of coming here and what beautiful scenery you want to see. Every season, this place has different tourist attractions.
If spring is full of vitality, flowers are in full bloom, such as peach red, apricot yellow and plum white; in summer, the terraced fields are full of greenery. Autumn is the golden season and the season when the rice fields are ripe. Winters here are cold, but there are so many interesting things to explore.
Ta Xua is one of the famous scenic spots for hunting clouds in the north. Dating is up again, about every November to next March. At this time, the air humidity is high and the temperature difference between day and night is large, which creates favorable conditions for the condensation of clouds and fog in the plateau commune. The youngest, who is a backpacker, still has a fresh memory of this time, and invited him to hunt clouds under the tower.
Preparing for Ta Xua cloud hunting
Once you’ve decided on a time slot and planned the exact date of your trip, there are a few more things you’ll need to pack:
- Money: Ta Xua is still an undeveloped mountain commune, so you certainly won’t find any ATMs here. Keep cash with you for direct payments.
- Identity documents are indispensable luggage for everyone.
- Clothes: When talking about cloud hunting, it is actually hunting for beautiful and sparkling virtual reality images. So get ready with the best clothes for you like dresses, tops, accessories and more. As mentioned above, the weather in Ta Xua is cooler than in the plains, especially at night. Prepare clothing to help keep your body warm.
- In your carry-on luggage, you’ll need a pair of waterproof sneakers to travel to and from many different locations without using your car.
- If you ride a motorcycle, don’t forget to bring some auto repair tools if you have problems on the road over 200 kilometers.
- An umbrella to be prepared for unsettled weather.
- You can bring some snacks to enjoy without being sad because there are very few grocery stores here.
Transportation
If you use a private vehicle, you don’t have to worry about moving when traveling to Ta Xua. However, when taking public transportation, you must change vehicles after arriving in Bac Yen Town.
Transportation for coming to Ta Xua
The distance from the capital of Hanoi to Ta Xua is more than 200 kilometers, which can be said to be not far away. To get here, we’ll first move to the town of Bac Yen, which is located directly below Ta Xua. The roads are wide and are all major roads, both motorcycles and cars are fine. You can choose the right vehicle for maximum comfort and convenience:
- Motorbike: For professional backpackers who can travel long distances. The fly in the ointment is that there will inevitably be weather factors on the way, and it is tiring. People who don’t know the way have to find their way while walking. The travel route will be from Hanoi to the direction of Highway 32 towards Son Tay town. Cross Trung Ha Bridge and go to Thanh Son in Thu Cuc. When you reach Thu Cuc intersection, you go in the direction of Phu Yen, go to Bac Yen town and ask for directions to Ta Xua for 15 km.
- Car: Cars are suitable for group or family trips. The direction of motion is similar to that of a motorcycle. Or if you want to visit Mu Chau, you can choose the following direction: from Trung Hoa underpass to Thang Long Boulevard towards DCT08, do not pass Xuan Mai. Cross Yen Bai Bridge, then turn onto TL87A to Dong Quang Bridge to DT137. Go to Thanh Son forest ranger, go to National Highway 32, then take National Highway 38B to National Highway 37, the route you need to take is National Highway 43. Move to Van Yen ferry station. After crossing the ferry, we entered the territory of Son La Province. Next, move to Bac Yen, then to Ta Xua.
- Many people choose various other means of transportation for their travel. When it comes to buses, there are numerous companies offering different departure times, providing flexibility for travelers. After taking a brief rest in the car, we reached Bac Yen Town. Several well-known bus operators, such as Khanh Thinh Bus, Xuan Trang, Bac Son, Hai Nam, and more, operate on this route. These buses make stops at My Dinh bus station.
The road to the tower is quite tortuous, but most of them are on the national highway, so it is quite convenient to drive.
Transportation in Ta Xua
The most convenient means of transportation under the tower is a motorcycle. The terrain here is higher than the plain. Although it is an asphalt road, there are also several dangerous bends. In particular, there are parts that are eroded by natural factors. If you take the bus, you can rent a motorcycle taxi when you arrive at Bac Yen or rent a motorcycle to Ta Xua. But the driver must have a sturdy handlebar before he dares to pick up the wheel.
Where to stay in Ta Xua
Relative to sea level, the location here is quite high, and there is not much tourism investment here, so there are not too many motels and B&Bs. No big hotels, fancy motels. Most of these are cheap motels and homestays. Most of the accommodations at Ta Xua are designed in a minimalist style, taking advantage of nature and beautiful mountain views to create a special space for rest.
Talk about a few homestays that are very popular with tourists when they come to Taxu:
May Home Ta Xua
- Address: Located in the center of Ta Xua Commune, Bac An District, Son La Province.
- Contact number: 077.426.2626
- Room price: 400,000 – 600,000 VND/night.
- Simple space with a house on stilts located in a prime location. When you come here, you will have a feeling of being integrated into the life of the locals. Especially here, the scenery is quite beautiful, and you can see a large space under the valley. Since it’s in the center, it’s easy to move to other famous places.
Po Mu Homestay
- Address: Provincial Highway 112, Ta Xua Commune, Bac An District, Son La Province
- Contact number: 0393.000.008
- Room price: 500,000 – 1,000,000 VND/night.
- Po Mu Homestay is also built in the style of the aborigines’ stilted houses. It is located on the junction with a majestic mountain view on one side, and the balcony facing the mountain can be very peaceful watching the sun disappear behind the mountains. Sometimes visitors even feel the light beam entering the bedroom and reach out to touch it.
Ta Xua Hills Homestay
- Address: Ta Xua Commune, Bac An District, Son La Province
- Contact number: 0969.868.484
- Room price: 150,000 – 500,000 VND/night.
- Ta Xua Hills Homestay is built in the model of a bungalow. So every group of guests who come here has privacy. The space is spacious and there is a garden in the middle, creating an atmosphere close to nature. A holiday roof is built in the park for people to rest and enjoy the mountain view. The room is equipped with necessary amenities such as personal belongings, bathroom, private toilet.
Tra May Hostel
- Address: Ta Xua A Village, Ta Xua Commune, Bac An District, Son La Province.
- Contact number: 096 774 8444
- Room price: 150,000 – 250,000 VND/night.
- Tra May Hostel is cheap accommodation for all tourists who come to Ta Xua. The yellow-green wooden structure building is particularly eye-catching in the afternoon sun, as if we are lost in a small corner of Hoi An in the majestic mountain forest. You don’t have to go far, standing on Chamei, you can also enjoy the cloud-shrouded scenery under the mountainside, which looks extremely majestic. The beautiful scenery flutters, and many people come to Tra May because of it. There is a spacious communal courtyard where visitors can organize attractive outdoor parties.
Ngong Hostel
- Address: Provincial Highway 112, Ta Xua Commune, Bac An District, Son La Province
- Contact number: 0984.551.938
- Room price: VND 250,000 – 400,000/night.
- There is a rather strange name, that is “goose”. It gives visitors the impression of a simple, rustic wooden shed space. Guests can choose to stay in single rooms or dormitory rooms. There are not too many modern equipments, and there are no luxurious and comfortable bedrooms. The place is idyllic but full of warmth.
What to eat in Ta Xua
In Ta Xua, there are no eateries or restaurants serving tourists. So most of our meals are enjoyed at the residence. Not a variety of dishes, but simple wild vegetables, home-grown vegetables, chicken, farmed pork… The dishes are simple and delicious. In addition, you can also taste some local specialties, such as kitchen buffalo meat, mirin, and Nanbia. It is necessary to determine the purpose of hunting clouds and enjoying the scenery here.
Unmissable tourist attractions in Ta Xua
When they came to Ta xua, tourists thought they were just hunting clouds and watching clouds drifting, but they didn’t know that there were many attractive tourist attractions in here, which attracted a large number of tourists. Let’s explore the famous check-in places for cloud hunting!
Dinosaur Backbone
The spine of a dinosaur has become a familiar place for many tourists on their Ta Xua cloud hunting.
The back of the dinosaur is a bit special. The back of the mountain is facing the front, and it is also the dividing line between the two communes of Taxia and Hang Dong. Come to the tower, wake up in the morning, the sun just came out, and when the floating clouds appeared in front of you, romantically hugging the back of the dinosaur and the morning light. Early morning creates a fantastic picture of nature.
The road leading to the back of the dinosaurs is quite dangerous, the height from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the valley is about 200-300 meters, so most tourists choose to walk for safety, and it is easy to see dinosaurs on friendly roads. long. cloud and record images easily.
Turtle Head shaped Rock
In addition to the dinosaur spine, the turtle head cliff is also a place that attracts many tourists. If you have been to the tower once, you must not be very familiar with this cliff. The glans looks like a glans due to its rounded bevel. And this is also a very popular cliff for tourists on backpacking trips under the tower, because it brings tourists extremely spectacular photos.
The Lonely Tree
Ta Xua not only attracts tourists with its sunny, breezy, and continuous scenery, but also a lone tree standing on a high mountain and standing in the sky. The barren beauty here, between the cultural context and the vast starry sky, promises to be a beautiful landscape for you to check in and take super beautiful photos.
The image of a lone tree standing among the mountains in the northwest makes many tourists excited. From here, you can overlook the vast mountain scenery. It is also easy for visitors not to create, because there is a beautiful background of natural scenery.
Ultimate Guide for your 2 days Ta Xua cloud hunting trip
Ta Xua Day 1 Itinerary: Go to Ta Xua and visit some famous attractions
- Depart from Hanoi to Bac An town.
- Lunch at Bac Yen.
- In the afternoon, move to Ta Xua, go to Homestay, check in and store items, rest.
- In the afternoon, visit the famous scenic spots here such as Dinosaur Back, Camel Rock, Turtle Rock, Lonely Tree, and watch the sunset at Wind Peak.
- Enjoy food at the hotel in the evening.
- Go to bed early and wake up in the morning to chase the clouds.
Ta Xua’s second day’s arrangement: Cloud hunting in the morning
- Get up early, eat breakfast, and take good care of your body to hunt clouds. Because in some places, it may not be possible to hunt clouds until around 10:00 to 11:00 in the morning.
- Pack warm clothes and pack the necessary tools for an exciting early cloud-finding journey.
- There are 3 places in Ta Xua that are considered the most beautiful: the central intersection of Ta Xua, turn right to Hang Dong, turn left to Xim Vang, and it is easy to see when looking towards Mai Son. White clouds are floating; another location is the central intersection under the tower, on the way to Hangdong, the time to find clouds here is longer than other places, until 10:00 to 11:00 noon, there are still clouds; or on the way to Hangdong from the tower , 3 kilometers away from the tower.
- In addition to hunting, we can also enjoy the sight of the mountains and forests waking up from the long night to welcome the dawn and the first rays of sunlight.
- Don’t forget to save great photos for great memories of this exciting trip.
- After cloud hunting, if you still have a lot of time, you can go to places you didn’t have time to go yesterday.
- Moving to a homestay next, check out Bac Yen.
- Lunch and rest at Bac Yen.
- You can continue your journey and visit several other places in nearby Moc Chau or return to Hanoi.
To sum up, the aforementioned plan serves as an extremely thorough guidance for a two-day and one-night cloud hunting journey in Ta Xua. It doesn’t leave any stone unattended, including thorough advice on eating alternatives, must-see sights, and enthralling activities to indulge in while your vacation. This itinerary adapts to your needs, assuring a spectacular vacation that exceeds all expectations, whether you are a seasoned traveler or a novice experiencing such an adventure for the first time. Prepare to go on an unforgettable journey and immerse yourself in the fascinating realm of Ta Xua cloud hunting.