O Quy Ho - Vietnam longest mountain pass
20/04/2024 - 01:54
Travelers with a heart for nature often explore the route as part of their trip to the nearby famous resort town of Sa Pa in Lao Cai Province.
Rent a motorbike downtown and head for the Bac (Silver) Waterfall, some 12 kilometers to the west of the town’s center.
O Quy Ho’s top is a few kilometers from the waterfall. Both destinations are on the 4D National Way.
Since two-thirds of the route is in Lai Chau’s Tam Duong District, and the rest in Sa Pa, you can feel changes in the climate as you travel along the pass.
In winter, for instance, the weather in Tam Duong is quite mild, but it is very foggy and chilly in Sa Pa. While at the top, capturing its heaven-like scenery, don't forget to look out for food stalls run by locals. There, you can check out famous dishes like grilled eggs and rice cooked in bamboo stems, known as com lam. It is as close to cloud nine as you can get.
The first time passing through O Quy Ho, you will be surprised by the gigantic landscape there. But is just the top of the iceberg as the legend is just beginning. Travelling there in a moonlit night to see what all should be called a legend is completely unforgettable. Indeed, those who prefer adventure usually choose a route so that they can reach O Quy Ho in the sunset. In the full-moon nights, when the moon leans down the lofty cliffs, the moonlight and the mountain look like an imposing watercolor painting. Stopping on O Quy Ho in a moonlit midnight and standing off in a corner beside steep cliffs to listen to the silent breath of the jungle night is something one must experience at least once in a lifetime.
For enthusiasts to explore and conquer the Northwestern stretch of roads, the Big Four Passes are names well known to everyone: Pha Din, Khau Pha, Khau Co and Ma Pi Leng, bringing an immense wandering feeling even when just mentioned. Unlike heavy traffic in cities, the travelers suddenly see very clearly moonlight pouring down her glistening curves like haunting soft silk. The glistening light looks like an intoxicating love in the twilight that lures travelers for any path in life. Certainly it will not be a dream for those who once have conquered the O Quy Ho Pass. These trips sometimes are as powerful painkillers remind pilgrims of a far-away land that they can get lost in. And sometimes that feeling evokes nostalgia like the hovering clouds drifting in the sky in O Quy Ho in a recent day.
