Trekking to conquer the Rhododendron flower peak - Attractive tourism product in Lai Chau

March comes, on all the majestic mountain peaks of Lai Chau , rhododendrons bloom brilliantly among the vast green forests with shimmering colors. Because of its captivating beauty, rhododendrons are called by everyone with the sweet name "Queen of the Northwest mountains and forests". Just looking at the photos is enough to see the strong vitality and freshness of this flower in a place that is cold all year round, a few thousand meters above sea level.

After a 2-day, 1-night journey to conquer Pu Ta Leng peak, a group of tourists from Phu Tho province could not stop praising the beauty of Lai Chau mountains and forests, the charm of rhododendrons in bloom: “Then the moment we set foot on Putaleng peak - one of the 3 highest peaks in Vietnam, all fatigue seemed to disappear. Before our eyes was a sea of ​​floating clouds, a clear blue sky, an incomparable feeling of victory. But it did not stop there, the road from Putaleng to Do Quyen peak still had challenges. Once again, we waded through streams, climbed cliffs, and clung to ropes to go through each dangerous section of the road. And then, when the whole group stood on Do Quyen peak, seeing the flowers known as the queen of the Northwest, we understood that all the hard work had been worth it.”

Previously, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Long - a tourist from Hanoi, who loves adventure sports, also conquered high peaks such as Khang Su Van, Pu Ta Leng, Rang Cua to see the rhododendron forest, enjoy the fresh air of Lai Chau mountains and forests and the majestic natural landscape here. He shared: The first time I set foot on Lai Chau land, I fell in love with this place because of its beautiful, peaceful scenery and friendly people. I like adventure travel and mountain climbing; when my friends introduced Lai Chau to beautiful mountain peaks, there are rhododendron flowers, a type of flower I have only seen in pictures but never seen in real life. Therefore, my friends and I made a schedule and invited each other to go mountain climbing. Indeed, the mountain climbing route is very dangerous, there are steep sections that require ropes, and sections that require going through high cliffs covered with slippery moss; but the natural scenery is wonderful with large ancient trees covered with moss, waterfalls, and cool, clear streams. When reaching the top, touching the bright red rhododendron flowers, blending with the green mountains and forests, the feeling of happiness is immense.

Lai Chau is a locality that owns and co-owns many of the highest mountain peaks in Vietnam with 7/10 peaks, including: Pu Ta Leng (3,049m high), Pu Si Lung (3,083m high), Bach Moc Luong Tu/Ky Quan San (3,046m high), Khang Su Van/Hoang Lien San (3,012m high), Ta Lien Son (2,996m high), Po Ma Lung (2,967m high), Rang Cua (2,852m) in the districts of Phong Tho, Tam Duong, Muong Te. This is the potential and advantage for our province to exploit and develop eco-tourism combined with adventure tourism, mountain climbing "trekking", creating attractive tourism products, attracting domestic and international tourists to localities in the province. And it is no coincidence that the province chose the phrase: "Return to the majestic Lai Chau peaks" as the slogan and main theme of the "Tourism and Culture Week" held annually as an invitation for tourists from all over to come to Lai Chau to explore, experience, and immerse themselves in the peaceful, romantic and poetic space of the majestic high peaks, the captivating beauty of rhododendron flowers - "Queen of the Northwest mountains and forests".

According to adventure sports and mountain climbing travel agencies, the time to trek to conquer the highest peaks in Lai Chau takes place from September of the previous year to April of the following year. But the most beautiful time is from late February to the end of April when the rhododendron forests are blooming with bright colors on the green forests; when all things are growing, trees are budding, birds are chirping.

Mr. Tran Quang Khang - Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said: At the high mountain peaks in the province, there are currently ancient tea trees, azaleas, and beautiful waterfalls; primeval forests with rich and diverse vegetation... This is what attracts tourists, backpackers, and those who love adventure sports tourism. On that basis, in recent years, we have oriented to strongly develop adventure sports tourism, trekking to conquer the high mountain peaks of Lai Chau. To promote the development of a new type of tourism "trekking" to become an attractive tourism product with the province's strengths, we have advised the Provincial People's Committee to organize Lai Chau Provincial Mountain Climbing Tournaments. This year, the 3rd Lai Chau Provincial Mountain Climbing Tournament in 2025 - Conquering Do Quyen Peak continues to be organized to communicate and promote the beauty and attractiveness of the mountain climbing journey to conquer Do Quyen Peak to a large number of athletes and domestic and international tourists; creating a ripple effect to attract organizations, individuals, and businesses to join in tourism development. Up to this point, all the organization work for the Mountain Climbing Tournament has been completed, just waiting for 300 athletes to arrive to conquer Do Quyen peak. This year, the mountain climbers, mainly athletes and tourists, come from provinces and cities across the country.

In addition, the Department coordinates with local press agencies, travel agencies, and tourism service companies to promote the 3rd Lai Chau Provincial Open Mountain Climbing Tournament in 2025 - Conquering Do Quyen Peak, the beauty of majestic high peaks, and rhododendron forests on mass media and social networking platforms to the people, tourists, and adventure sports enthusiasts, and mountaineering enthusiasts domestically and internationally. From there, invite visitors from all over the world to come to Lai Chau to "trekking" and conquer the highest peaks in Vietnam.

It is known that in 2024, there were more than 15,000 domestic and international tourists and local people "trekking" to conquer Do Quyen peak and the highest peaks of Vietnam in Lai Chau. Currently, in addition to organizing the Sports Tournament, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism is coordinating with localities, travel agencies, and tourism companies inside and outside the province to prepare human resources and equipment to best serve the trekking journey of tourist groups to conquer the flower "Queen of the Northwest mountains and forests".

* The article uses some images from Ngoc Viet Ha's Facebook page (Phu Tho Newspaper).

Source: https://baolaichau.vn/du-lich/trekking-chinh-phuc-dinh-hoa-do-quyen-san-pham-du-lich-hap-dan-o-lai-chau-972634