5 cold but beautiful Northern tourist destinations that will make you forget your way home

Escape the hustle and bustle of city life, pack your bags, and embark on a journey to discover experiences unique to the cold season.

A view of Sa Pa.

Discover winter in Sapa atop the clouds.

In the cold season, Sa Pa ( Lao Cai ) always amazes visitors with its ethereal beauty of sea of clouds and terraced rice fields shrouded in early morning mist. The journey to conquer Fansipan by cable car, trekking through Cat Cat, Lao Chai, Ta Van… or visiting ethnic minority villages all leave unforgettable impressions on tourists.

On bitterly cold days, you can seek out the herbal bath services of the Red Dao people or herbal steam treatments to experience a winter steeped in the unique charm of the high mountains.

From Hanoi , visitors can travel to Sapa by train or sleeper bus. There are many accommodation options available, from valley-view resorts with cozy rooms and wooden bathtubs to homestays with a distinct local feel.

As night falls, take some time to stroll through the night market, savor the fragrant food or sip a warm glass of corn wine in the characteristic cool air of this land in the clouds.

Moc Chau - The White Plateau

Mustard flowers in Moc Chau.

As the cold months arrive, Moc Chau (Son La) begins to attract tourists. The scenery here is picturesque, with misty mornings covering the tea hills, and mustard flowers and apricot blossoms blooming white across the villages...

Pha Luong Peak is always an ideal destination for cloud-hunting enthusiasts, while Ban Ang pine forest offers a tranquil space for cycling, boating, or strolling beneath rows of straight pine trees.

Visitors can also stop by farms to pick strawberries in greenhouses, enjoy tea, or take photos capturing the unique beauty of winter in the highlands.

From Hanoi, it only takes a few hours by car along National Highway 6 to reach Moc Chau. The route is familiar, but seems even more beautiful during the colder months.

In Bản Áng, Pa Phách, or Nông Trường town, tourists can choose from resorts that have added heating systems to their glass-fronted rooms overlooking the tea hills.

The winter cuisine here is a harmonious blend of the sweetness of braised veal, the delicate flavor of grilled stream fish, and the rich, creamy taste of milk-based hot pot...

The vast expanse of Ba Be Lake

The surface of Lake Ba Be is as calm and still as a mirror.

Ba Be Lake (Thai Nguyen) is always beautiful, but the cold season seems to make it even more special. The emerald green water is calm and still like a mirror, sometimes covered with a thin layer of mist, and the limestone mountains reflected in the lake create a vast and poetic landscape.

At destinations like Puong Cave, Dau Dang Waterfall, and An Ma Temple, tourism activities continue regularly, while kayak tours on the tranquil lakes during winter offer a novel and poetic experience.

To get to Ba Be Lake, visitors can take a bus from Hanoi to Cho Ra and then continue along a short route to the lake. This route is easy to navigate and quite convenient for a weekend getaway.

Staying in a Tay ethnic stilt house in Pac Ngoi or Coc Toc village will give you a deeper feel for the local way of life. Warm meals with grilled fish, colorful sticky rice, wild vegetables…; evenings gathered around the campfire, sipping rice wine under the sound of the mountain wind heralding the seasons – all will leave a lasting impression on visitors.

Binh Lieu - the land of wind and clouds

Binh Lieu (Quang Ninh) is also a popular destination in winter, when fog blankets the hillsides and winds sweep in from the border mountains. The trail to the "dinosaur's spine" at marker 1305 is always attractive to trekking enthusiasts, especially when clouds swirl over the rocky steps, creating a vivid, cinematic scene.

The villages of Dao Thanh Phan and Ta Pan this season possess a tranquil beauty. Wooden houses nestled amidst the clouds and mountains, within their cozy spaces, are gentle people who welcome visitors with a cup of hot tea, a specialty of the border region.

From Hanoi, tourists can take a bus to Quang Ninh and then connect to Binh Lieu. Currently, the roads to the border markers are well-maintained, making them suitable for your winter trip.

Staying at homestays in stilt houses in Ngan Meo, Dong Thanh, or Khe Tien villages, tourists can experience bathing in red Dao herbal baths, saunas, bonfires in the yard, and enjoy rustic dishes such as vermicelli noodles and free-range chicken with the local people.

Trang An remains beautiful even in the cold season.

Tourists visiting Trang An.

Trang An (Ninh Binh) in the cold season possesses a serene beauty; the water is a deep blue in the mist, the limestone mountain ranges seem shrouded in a hazy smoke, and the ancient temple roofs appear faintly through the steam.

Taking a boat ride through the caves, visiting Vu Lam Royal Palace or Tran Temple on chilly days, tourists feel as if they have wandered into a peaceful fairytale land.

Just a two-hour drive from Hanoi via the highway, visitors can reach Trang An. Many accommodations here offer peaceful surroundings, hot stone spa services, and herbal teas to help you relax and unwind.

When visiting Trang An, you can't miss the local specialties of the ancient capital such as steamed goat, grilled goat, crispy rice crust, or a bowl of hot bamboo shoot soup – dishes that will warm you up on cold days…

baovanhoa.vn

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/5-diem-du-lich-mien-bac-lanh-gia-nhung-dep-quen-loi-ve-post886943.html