SON LA – Sa Mu is an unspoiled mountain peak in Ta Xua that has just been planted in December 2022, with diverse primeval forests and easy-to-hunt clouds.
Ta Xua (Bac Yen district) is known as a cloud paradise with many famous cloud-hunting places such as dinosaur spines, wind peaks, and camel cliffs. There is also a mountain peak that can not only hunt clouds but also experience the primeval forest covered with moss like in a fairy tale.
According to the portal of Bac Yen district, Sa Mu – U Bo peak (commonly known as Sa Mu peak) has an altitude of 2,890 m above sea level. This peak is located more than 100 km from Son La city, on the border between Son La and Yen Bai provinces, belonging to the Ta Xua special-use forest – an extension of the Hoang Lien range to the south.
As a tour guide who has taken visitors to the top of this mountain many times, Do Van Tuyen (30 years old, Hai Phong), said that to reach Sa Mu peak, from Bac Yen town, you must continue to go about 40 km deep. to the climbing point in Xim Vang commune. After about two hours of traveling, you will arrive at the meeting point at the foot of the mountain for trekking to the top. The distance from the foot of the mountain to the top is about 13 km, with a shack located 1 km from the top.
The trekking route to Sa Mu peak will go through a primeval forest with the characteristics of a tropical rainforest, with a variety of plants such as moss, rhododendron, maple leaves, bamboo forest and many streams and waterfalls. The vegetation in the forest varies with altitude and ridge direction. From about September to November, the maple leaves change color to yellow and red, creating a poetic scene. March and April is azalea season. In the forest, there are many big old trees, strange shapes, moss covered all year round and green bamboo forest in four seasons.
Visitors can combine trekking and cloud hunting on the top of Sa Mu. From December to February is the easiest time to hunt clouds on the top. On clear days, standing on top of Sa Mu can also see two famous peaks of Yen Bai province, Ta Xua and Ta Chi Nhu .
According to the share of Ms. Moc, a tourist in Ta Xua, Sa Mu peak has only been known for about a year. On tourism forums, there are not many sharing experiences of conquering this mountain.
Coming to Ta Xua for the first time in 2013 when it was still deserted and seeing the crowds in recent years, Mr. Do Van Tuyen sought out deeper communes of Bac Yen district such as Xim Vang. After a camping trip with a few friends at the end of June 2022, Tuyen realized that this is a mountain with a lot of tourism potential with a long way through primeval forests, unique landscapes and sea. beautiful clouds. To attract more attention from travel enthusiasts, Mr. Tuyen came up with the idea of setting up a peak on Sa Mu peak and creating a resting place for guests to stop.
Before starting to implement the project, Mr. Tuyen asked the authorities of Xim Vang commune (Bac Yen district, Son La). Mr. Mua A Thai – Deputy Secretary of Xim Vang commune (Bac Yen, Son La) said that in the past, there were also a few odd visitors to the top of Sa Mu, but not many. Tuyen was the first person to lead the group to climb this mountain.
According to Mr. Tuyen, Sa Mu peak has a difficulty rating of 6/10 with many steep slopes, but long. Visitors should start climbing early in the morning, stay overnight in a shack, and then continue the journey the next morning. The distance from the shack to the top is about 1 km, the terrain is steep, so it takes about an hour to reach the destination. If you start at about 4-5 o’clock, when you reach the top, you can see the sea of clouds and catch the sunrise.
In winter, the weather in the high mountains is quite harsh, the night temperature can drop to -2 degrees Celsius. Before coming here, tourists need to prepare thermal clothing and necessary personal items such as medicine, food, drinks. An indispensable item when trekking is specialized climbing shoes or plastic boots.
Spending a month in Ta Xua to explore and experience, Pham Huu Khiem (Nghe An) did not miss the opportunity to conquer Sa Mu peak in two days 22 and 23/12/2022.
“The beautiful scenery in Sa Mu is the reward for his efforts and efforts – the person who climbed a mountain for the first time. Going at a time of fog, the scene becomes fanciful, like being lost in the forest. In fairy tales, Sa Mu is as beautiful as a pure virgin girl that no boy in the village has known,” Khiem said.
With the desire that tourism here will be developed in a sustainable way, tourism exploitation must go hand in hand with the protection of the forest environment, so now Mr. Tuyen and the local guides have agreed to limit the number of daily climbers. weeks to be able to control the situation, avoid going into the rut of new tourist attractions.
In June, the Steering Committee for Tourism Development of Bac Yen District and Xim Vang Commune’s government will hold a workshop “Awakening the potential of tourism in socio-economic development”. In particular, the construction and development of the road tour Xim Vang – Sa Mu peak will be promoted by connecting tours and tourist routes of the commune with domestic and foreign tourism and travel associations and businesses. water.
Photo: Internet (Vinlove.net)