The route through the forest is about 6 - 7 km, not to mention there are many insects such as mosquitoes, leeches... but Western tourists enjoy the experience of picking "miracle" leaves in Sa Pa to make bath water.
Sa Pa (Lao Cai) is one of the most attractive destinations in the North, attracting a large number of foreign tourists to explore and experience every year, thanks to its green landscape, many unique cultural activities, and blending in with nature.
In addition to participating in rice planting, wading in the fields, riding buffaloes... many Western visitors to Sa Pa recently also enjoyed the experience of going to the forest to pick "miracle" leaves, to make the famous bath water of the Red Dao people in Ta Phin village, located about 15km from Sa Pa town.
Ta Phin village is home to the Red Dao ethnic community and still retains many traditional customs, including the secret herbal bath recipe. They combine medicinal leaves picked from the forest and bring them home to boil into bath water.
This type of water is said to be good for postpartum women or to reduce feelings of fatigue, pain...
Ms. May Kim (a Red Dao ethnic group currently living in Team 4, Ta Phin Commune, Sa Pa Town, Lao Cai) said that going to the forest to pick leaves for bathing is one of the experiences that many foreign tourists love and choose when visiting this place.
At Ms. May Kim's family's accommodation service business, each leaf picking and bathing tour costs about 35 USD (nearly 900,000 VND) for 1 - 2 guests.
On the tour, foreign tourists will be guided into the forest by a local guide to pick leaves and learn about the different types of leaves for bathing. “Tourists can directly pick fresh leaves or learn more about wild vegetables,” she said.
This woman also said that the number of visitors coming here to experience picking leaves to bathe in the forest mainly come from countries such as the US, UK, France and Switzerland.
They were surprised because Sa Pa still preserves natural herbs that are good for health - which are rare or little known in the West.
According to Ms. May Kim, to participate in the leaf picking, tourists will have to travel 6-7km to the forest. Sometimes, they have to travel to many more distant hills and mountains to pick many rare types of leaf picking.
“Many Western tourists who went into the forest to pick leaves to bathe were bitten by leeches and cried loudly. However, they still liked to go and learn about the types of leaves that are good for their health,” said Ms. May Kim.
She revealed that tourists can experience picking bathing leaves in Ta Phin all year round. The types of leaves that visitors pick mainly help treat bone and joint pain, in addition to some types that are effective in treating coughs and reducing fatigue and stress.
After going into the forest to pick leaves, they will be instructed on how to boil the leaves to make bath water and use it directly.
Ms. May Kim added that the traditional herbal bath water of the Red Dao people often uses more than 10 types of medicinal leaves, sometimes even more than 30 different types.
The boiled bath water is poured into a wooden barrel. Visitors will soak in it for about 15 - 20 minutes.
According to her, this type of bath water has a fragrant herbal scent and visitors can feel the obvious effect right after the first experience. However, many visitors who are not used to it for the first time may get drunk on the herbal bath water.
“No matter how strong a person is, they can only soak in the herbal bath for about 15-30 minutes and then have to get out immediately, because if they stay in the bath for too long, they can easily get drunk,” she said.
Coming to Ta Phin, in addition to the experience of picking leaves to bathe in the forest, visitors can also learn to embroider and cook like the locals.
Kayla, a tourist from England, said she was very impressed with the herbal bath water of the Red Dao people in Ta Phin village. She tried bathing in this water twice and was surprised because “her body was restored in an amazing way”.
“After riding a motorbike for a long distance to Ta Phin village and soaking in the herbal bath water, I felt really refreshed, my body felt less sore and painful.
The bath water also smells very nice. I also bought dried leaves to bring back as gifts for friends and relatives,” the female tourist shared.
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