Lo Lo Chai - Peaceful village in the North Pole

Having been to many beautiful places in the country, during our recent exploration of the Northernmost part of Vietnam, we immediately went to Lo Lo Chai village, a peaceful village in Ha Giang with a wild beauty like a fairy tale.

Lo Lo Chai village is located right at the foot of Lung Cu flagpole. (Source: ivivu)

To get to Lo Lo Chai, we had to overcome a long and challenging journey. From the center of Ha Giang city, we continued on 150km of mountain pass to reach Dong Van stone plateau, but to get to Lo Lo Chai, we had to travel another long and challenging mountain pass between a steep mountain range on one side and a cliff leading down to a deep valley on the other.

Approaching Lung Cu flagpole, instead of going straight, we turned left and walked along a winding dirt road for about 1.5 km to reach Lo Lo Chai village, home to more than 100 Mong and Lo Lo families in the beautiful Dong Van stone plateau for decades.

Fairyland

Nestled in the middle of the windy plateau, Lo Lo Chai village is like a fairyland, strangely peaceful, completely different from the hustle and bustle of Lung Cu flagpole. Right from the beginning of the village, you can see the typical rammed earth houses of the Ha Giang stone plateau.

The tiled roofs are located close together, creating a peaceful and idyllic scene. The cracked and old walls have become a unique feature of the ancient villages on the rocky plateau. Along the village road, the locals grow a lot of rapeseed and peach blossoms, so the village is always full of colorful flowers.

As a village located at the northernmost point of the country, Lo Lo Chai is increasingly developing and becoming a community tourism village on the Ha Giang stone plateau. From any location in Lo Lo Chai, you can see the Lung Cu flagpole on the top of Long Son mountain in the distance, hidden in the clouds.

Lo Lo Chai is home to more than 100 households, mostly Lo Lo people, along with Mong and Dao people. In the past, people mainly worked on slash-and-burn farming, but the harsh soil conditions of the rocky plateau meant they could only make ends meet. From its prime location at the northernmost point, the people here have developed a community tourism model and their lives have become more prosperous.

On average, this small village welcomes about 1,000 tourists to stay and visit each month. Especially at the end of the year, coinciding with the buckwheat flower season, homestays are always fully booked, proving the attractiveness and tourism potential of Lo Lo Chai.

With the advantages of rammed earth houses (warm in winter, cool in summer), Lo Lo Chai people have designed and renovated the houses to become beautiful and convenient homestays for tourists to visit, explore and experience the community culture of the Lo Lo people. Currently, Lo Lo Chai still has about 37 rammed earth houses and most of them have been transformed into homestays that are very popular with visitors.

We had a wonderful day and night experience at Binh Yen homestay of 9X couple Quay Sinh Di and Lo Bich Poi.

At night, everyone gathered in the yard to light a campfire, roast corn and sweet potatoes, and sing under the flickering firelight, looking up at the Lung Cu flagpole. Although very young, this couple still preserves their ethnic identity. The owner, Poi, always wears the beautiful and graceful Lo Lo costume.

Outside their rammed earth house is a lovely coffee table decorated in the style of the Lo Lo people for visitors to enjoy and sip a cup of coffee or tea early in the morning when they wake up. This young couple also regularly connects to the Internet, creating a personal Facebook page to introduce their homestay. Therefore, many domestic and foreign tourists know about their homestay and the rooms here are always full of guests.

On average, Lo Lo Chai welcomes about 1,000 tourists to stay and visit each month. Especially at the end of the year, coinciding with the buckwheat flower season, homestays are always fully booked, proving the attractiveness and tourism potential of this small village in the far North of the country. Now, on your journey to conquer the far North of the country, if you skip Lo Lo Chai village, you will miss out on unique experiences.

Signpost to the North Pole Café. (Photo: Vi Yen)

Specialty Coffee Shop

A virtual living place you should not miss when coming here is the Northern Pole cafe. What could be more wonderful than enjoying coffee at the headland of the Fatherland or simply taking a photo with the shop's name, even though the English name is wrong (Northern People's cafe, but it should be Northern Pole's cafe).

Located in the middle of the village, the Cuc Bac coffee shop is located in a rammed earth house with simple wooden tables and chairs, soft music, people can come and go freely, can stay to drink coffee, soft drinks or just visit. The owner always smiles at customers. Honestly, the coffee here is not really excellent, but this special space and geographical location make us feel that the coffee has a very special flavor.

Right from the beginning of the village, you can see the typical rammed earth houses of the Ha Giang stone plateau. The tiled roofs are located close together, creating a peaceful and idyllic scene.

It is known that this shop was built by a Japanese tourist named Yasushi Ogura. During his days in Vietnam and especially in Lung Cu, he “fell in love” with the nature and people here, so he devoted himself to developing a coffee model right in this village in the northernmost part of the country. All facilities such as tables, chairs, furniture, and how to make drinks and communicate with customers were enthusiastically instructed by him to the people of Lo Lo Chai.

Bright yellow canola flowers in Lo Lo Chai village. (Photo: LA)

For those who want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, especially those who follow the current “healing” trend, Lo Lo Chai is an ideal destination. In addition to the peaceful scenery and unhurried life, you are always welcomed by the people of Lo Lo Chai as a long-lost relative. Walking in this village at the end of the country, you always have a wonderful feeling of relaxation. Almost all tourists here are friendly, including foreign tourists. The northernmost point of the country has given us memorable experiences and we look forward to returning.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/lo-lo-chai-lang-binh-yen-noi-cuc-bac-282667.html