Beautiful Vietnam
Vietnam’s Hoang Lien Son mountain range listed among best trips for 2019
  • | Nhan Dan | December 19, 2018 03:28 PM

Vietnam’s Hoang Lien Son mountain range has been listed among the world’s most exciting destinations for the year ahead, according to the acclaimed US-based National Geographic Magazine.



Farmers in Hoang Lien Son use motorbikes to transport animal feed (Photo: nationalgeographic.com)

Ranked seventh out of 28 in the list, Hoang Lien Son is praised by the magazine as much of this northwest mountain region (beyond the busy gateway town Sa Pa) remains rugged, rural, and a world away from hectic Hanoi, which is about 313 kilometres to the southeast.


Thanks to a new cable car connection, tourist traffic is on the rise at 10,312-foot high Fansipan, Vietnam’s highest peak, it said.

It suggested visitors go hiking routes in and around Hoang Lien Son National Park and the adjacent Muong Hoa Valley, then resting up at homestays among the Hmong, Red Dao, Tay, Giay, and other ethnic minority groups.

It also recommended Sapa Sisters, a sustainable tourism venture owned by local Hmong women, which offers custom trekking adventures; and Topas Ecolodge, a National Geographic Unique Lodge of the World tucked on a hilltop inside Hoang Lien Son National Park, where guests can discover the cultures, languages, and traditions of Sa Pa’s diverse tribes.

The 28 best trips for 2019 were voted by travel editors and explorers of National Geographic. Mexico City (Mexico) topped the list, followed by Peruvian Amazon, Fanjingshan (China) and Dakar (Senegal).

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