Son La in apple season

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Autumn is also the time when the ripe apples are laden with branches in Ngoc Chien commune, Muong La district, attracting tourists.

Tran Thuong (Hanoi) works in the field of information technology with a passion for photography and travel. He said that autumn is the most beautiful season and also the harvest season of the crops of the year. Autumn comes to the highlands in Nam Nghiep village (Ngoc Chien, Muong La, Son La), you will be delighted when the apples (also known as medlar) are ripe.

Apple cat has long been known as a typical flavor of the Northwest mountains and has been planted for a long time by local people. In spring, flowers bloom in white mountains and harvest fruits from August to the end of October. Tran Thuong’s route from Hanoi – Son La is more than 310 km, to Ngoc Chien center, another 10 km to Nam village. Karma. He said, to Nam Nghiep village, you can only travel by pickup truck or two-wheeler. Otherwise, visitors have to rent motorbike taxis from locals.

Ngoc Chien is the commune with the largest apple-growing area of ​​Muong La district with nearly 2,300 hectares, of which Nam Nghiep village grows nearly 1,300 hectares, bringing a significant source of income for people from this crop.

“The road from Ngoc Chien to Nam Nghiep village has many bad sections, I went to meet a rainy day so the experience was more difficult, but the scene of apple season after the rain has its own beauty,” he said.

Apple trees are planted all over the hillsides and home gardens of the H’Mong people in Son La, mainly concentrated in the highland communes of Muong La, Thuan Chau and Bac Yen districts.

When the apples are ripe, people usually pick them themselves and gather them at the top of the village, with traders coming to buy them.

The rhythm of life is full of joy in the ripe apple season. Apples are not ripe and small like apples, usually the apple will be pinkish, the surface of the fruit that is exposed to the sun will be red, the rest is still green. Apples are bought at the village 4,000-5,000 VND/kg, traders transport to Hanoi to sell 20,000-25,000 VND/kg.

The children sat eating apples under the tree, innocently a little shy when facing the camera.

Currently, in Nam Nghiep village, there is a homestay, including a stilt house where people live together and 3 bungalows with private rooms, which is a convenient place for tourists to stay overnight and experience daily life with the people. He said that because drinking fresh apples soaked in wine was so delicious, he bought 20 kg of apples to bring home. After enjoying the ripe fruit season, visitors who want to relax in hot mineral springs can return to the center of Ngoc Chien commune.

Khang A Nha, an indigenous tour guide of the H’Mong people, said that the apple has a sour, acrid and sweet taste, so it is mainly harvested for soaking. “Fresh tamarind soaked in wine is many times better than dried apples,” added Mr. A Nha.

In addition to being the main economic tree, in the ripe fruit season in Nam Nghiep is also a favorite destination for tourists to experience and visit. This is also the time when many tourists come to Ngoc Chien to take photos of the special apple season.

Photo: Tran Thuong

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