Trekking attracts tourists during the Covid-19 season

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Covid-19 is one reason why trekking to the mountains and forests has become so popular, attracting many people who have never participated.

Trekking is a picnic activity in which participants have hiking trips, climbing mountains, crossing roads of all kinds of terrain, mostly hills, interact with the natural world. Different from the usual types of tourism, trekking has only one means of transportation, which is the legs, and requires certain health.

“Believe it or not, but I have officially conquered the first mountain in my life, combined with hunting clouds, hunting rain, not forgetting the main task is photographing”, is the confided of Ms. Ha Chi. , an office worker in Hanoi, when conquering the top of Lao Than (Lao Cai) in mid-November.

As a travel enthusiast, after a long time of separation, Ms. Chi needs activities with little contact and harmony with nature. This is her first time participating in mountain climbing and for her, this experience is a very effective form of relaxation after stressful working days.

Trekking is becoming a trend to attract outsiders
Ms. Ha Chi is on the way to conquering Lao Than peak in November. Photo: NVCC

Similarly, Hoang Trung, 24 years old, also in Hanoi, said that in November he had his first trekking trip, reaching the highest peak of Phia Po (also known as Cha mountain) in Lang Son. He traveled a total of 16 km in 8 hours.

This is Trung’s first time climbing the mountain, partly because he sees this trend as popular, partly because he wants to go to a place near nature to relax after a long time at home. He shared that this subject is difficult, after returning, his body is tired, his limbs are tired, but when he recovers, he feels very healthy and “addicted” to walking. He plans to climb some more peaks or take some trekking in the North such as Ba Vi (Hanoi), Lao Than (Lao Cai)… to practice more.

Not only the above cases, this autumn and winter in the North this year, but outdoor travel activities have also become a trend, especially attracting those who have never participated before. Currently, many travel companies invest in building trekking experiences, attracting many people’s interest and registration to participate. Some reputable names in the North can be mentioned such as Viet Trekking, Umove Adventure… Participants can be in two forms: package rental (transportation, porter (carrier), food). .. or self-sufficient means of transportation to the gathering point, then hire a porter or guide to the mountain…

Mr. Tran Trung Kien, CEO of Umove Adventure, said that outdoor activities such as camping, SUP rowing, mountain trekking… are the current trend. Every week, the company organizes two climbing tours with a number of about 60 people. Compared to previous years, the number is not too large, but the number of people going for the first time accounts for a high percentage. Destinations of interest are Ta Chi Nhu (Tram Tau, Yen Bai), Ta Xua (Bac Yen, Son La), Lao Than (Bat Xat, Lao Cai)… In addition, national forest tours are also available. Gentle trekking routes in the forest in Cat Ba National Park (Hai Phong), Cuc Phuong (Ninh Binh) are also very attractive.

Lao Than, the roof of Y Ty's house is in the most beautiful cloud hunting season of the year, attracting more than 2,000 tourists since October. Photo: Mr. Chiem
Lao Than, the roof of Y Ty’s house is in the most beautiful cloud hunting season of the year, attracting more than 2,000 tourists since October. Photo: Mr. Chiem

According to Mr. Kien, the interest in these tours is due to the Covid-19 epidemic, tourists are afraid of going far and crowded, instead they choose to go to places close to nature. In addition, the northern mountainous localities are entering the cloud hunting season with beautiful weather, many impressive check-in photos on social networks, making guests somewhat psychologically affected.

This group of photography lovers from the Academy of Light Photography this autumn and winter organizes picnic tours every week to find new materials for photography at places such as Ta Xua, Ngu Chi Son, Lao Than… Mr. Lekima Hung, Director of the Academy, shared: “Covid-19 has made everyone crazy, sports tournaments were postponed, so people chose to go trekking. And it is true that there is a trend of picnic tourism. have a natural experience”. His participants are business people, people who love sports such as running, cycling, gym… want new experiences and of course photography lovers. Of those, nearly a third are first-timers.

Young tourists are allowed by their parents to join a weekend trekking tour of Cuc Phuong National Park.  Photo: Tran Trung Kien
Young tourists are allowed by their parents to join a weekend trekking tour of Cuc Phuong National Park. Photo: Tran Trung Kien

These types of outdoor tours usually do not depend on 3rd parties such as restaurants and hotels, so they always stabilize the price, rarely canceled. However, Mr. Kien also encourages guests to go on weekdays, to avoid crowds, leading to inadequate facilities on the mountain tops such as accommodation, bathrooms, and toilets.

According to statistics from the Department of Culture and Information of Bat Xat district (Lao Cai), this year’s rattan hunting season, on average, each week Lao Than welcomes about 300 guests, Ky Quan San 150 guests. This number increased compared to the same time of hunting rattan last year. Visitors mainly come from Hanoi and the northern provinces. This year, due to the influence of Covid-19, the Central and Southern guests have not returned.

A representative of the Culture Department said that this type of tourism is being popular with all tourists, from young to middle-aged people. Especially, the Lao Than road is considered to be easy to go, easy to hunt clouds, so it is the most chosen by many people.

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