About 240km from Hanoi, Sa Mu - U Bo peak (commonly known as Sa Mu peak, in Ta Xua commune, Bac Yen district, Son La province) is a trekking coordinate (hiking) that has attracted travel enthusiasts for the past 2 years.

According to the electronic information portal of Bac Yen district, Sa Mu peak is located on the border between Son La and Yen Bai provinces, belonging to Ta Xua special-use forest - an extension of Hoang Lien Son range to the South.

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Sa Mu Peak is one of the most popular trekking coordinates in the North, especially in winter.

This mountain peak is located at an altitude of 2,756m above sea level and is also a famous cloud hunting spot in Ta Xua.

Although it was only summited in December 2022 and is still a new name on the Northern trekking map, Sa Mu peak has welcomed a large number of tourists to explore thanks to its beautiful, wild landscape with primeval forest.

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Ba Dinh (far right) and his group of friends trekking Sa Mu peak

Setting foot on Sa Mu peak with a group of friends in early December, Hoang Ba Dinh (born 1999, in Hanoi) could not help but be impressed by the beautiful natural scenery here.

Ba Dinh said he had trekked more than 10 high mountain peaks in Vietnam such as Nam Kang Ho Tao, Bach Moc Luong Tu... and successfully conquered Annapurna base camp in Nepal.

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The ideal schedule to complete the climb to Sa Mu peak is 2 days 1 night.

The Hanoi boy rated the Sa Mu peak climbing route as not too difficult, about 6/10 with many long but not steep slopes.

“This is a trekking route with diverse ecosystems. The landscape is impressive with pristine forests. Especially the moss forest is so beautiful.

Sa Mu peak is not too steep so it is suitable for first-time mountain climbers," Ba Dinh shared.

The Sa Mu peak trekking route will go through a primeval forest with typical tropical rainforest features with diverse vegetation such as moss, rhododendron, maple leaves, bamboo forests and many streams and waterfalls.

The vegetation in the forest changes with the altitude and direction of the mountain slope. From about September to November, the maple leaves change color to yellow and red, creating a poetic scene. March and April are the season of rhododendron flowers.

In the forest there are also many large, strangely shaped ancient trees covered with moss all year round and bamboo forests that are green all year round.

To reach the top of Sa Mu, from Bac Yen town, Ba Dinh and his group of friends traveled about 40km to the climbing point in Xim Vang commune. After 2 hours of traveling, the group arrived at the gathering point at the foot of the mountain and continued to the top.

The distance from the foot of the mountain to the top is about 10-12km, with a rest stop about 1km from the top. However, the route from the stop to the top is steep, so it takes about 1 hour to reach the destination.

If you leave around 4 - 5am, when you reach the top you can see the sea of ​​clouds and welcome the sunrise.

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There are 2 main trekking routes to reach Sa Mu peak, from Xim Vang direction and Hang Dong direction.

“Our group departed from Hanoi at 8pm and arrived in Ta Xua at 2am. After that, everyone rested and at 7am, we started moving to Xim Vang for trekking.

At 4:00 p.m., the group arrived at the hut, took the opportunity to watch the sunset, then ate and stayed overnight here. At 4:30 a.m. the next day, they continued climbing to the top of the mountain to watch the sunrise, then went back down towards Hang Dong, turning into Lang Cheu.

The total climbing distance is about 26km (10km up and 16km down),” Ba Dinh said.

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Because it is located at a high altitude, in winter, the weather on top of Sa Mu is quite harsh, the night temperature can drop to -2 degrees Celsius.

Visitors coming here on this occasion need to prepare warm clothes, specialized climbing shoes or plastic boots and necessary personal items such as medicine, food and drinks.

Tourists can combine trekking and hunting clouds and galaxies on Sa Mu peak with the ideal time from December to February.

In addition, when climbing mountains, tourists should be careful not to litter in the forest, not to break branches or pick flowers to preserve the natural landscape, contributing to the sustainable development of local tourism.

“During the climbing process, your body generates heat so you will feel hot. Therefore, you should prepare a thin T-shirt and a windbreaker to make your trekking trip more convenient.

Besides, it will be colder in the late afternoon or early morning when climbing to the top, so you should bring a thermal shirt, scarf, light life jacket... and prepare a raincoat and gloves in case it rains in the forest," 9X suggested.

Photo: Hoang Ba Dinh

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