When traveling to Sapa, backpackers often can’t help but visit O Quy Ho pass to conquer the treacherous passes with the crooked sleeves between the abyss and the steep cliffs on either side. Experience the thrill of conquering nature, then reach the top of the pass and capture the majestic natural scenery with Fansipan peak engulfed in clouds or Silver waterfall with white foam. For women with banh beo, O Quy Ho pass is attractive with Heaven’s Gate, a beautiful place to hunt clouds and take virtual photos. Today, Cuong will review in detail for you about O Quy Ho pass – one of the four great passes in the Northwest!
1. Where is O Quy Ho Pass?
O Quy Ho Pass (Lai Chau) is about 17 km from Sa Pa (Lao Cai). The pass is located on the 4D National Highway crossing the Hoang Lien Son range. O Quy Ho pass connects the two provinces of Lao Cai and Lai Chau with the top of the pass also being the boundary between the two provinces.
O Quy Ho Pass, also known as O Quy Ho Pass or Hoang Lien Son Pass, is one of the longest, most dangerous and majestic passes in the northern mountainous region of Vietnam. To explain the name of this O Quy Ho, we will learn a legend that has been handed down locally for a long time. Legend has it that in this mountainous area, there was a bird with a high-pitched chirping sound, associated with the legend of the failed love story of a couple. The pass is the meeting place of a heavenly fairy and a woodcutter named O Quy Ho. Legend has it that due to not being able to get married and because she missed her lover, the fairy turned into a yellow-feathered bird that flew around the top of the mountain, crying 3 times O Quy Ho’s skin. Therefore, this pass is called O Quy Ho pass.
In addition, O Quy Ho pass is also known with the very poetic name of May Pass, because the pass is located at an altitude of nearly 2,000 m above sea level, covered with clouds all year round. That’s why above, Cuong said that O Quy Ho pass is an extremely famous and popular place for hunting clouds. In the afternoons, when you complete the journey to conquer O Quy Ho pass and on the way back to Sapa Town, you will see white clouds coming to cover the Muong Hoa valley.
O Quy Ho Pass together with Ma Pi Leng Pass, Pha Din Pass and Khau Pha Pass are the four great passes in the Northwest. In addition to the above title, O Quy Ho pass is also known as the longest and highest pass in Vietnam, with an altitude of nearly 2,000 m. The Vietnam Record Organization in 2013 awarded O Quy Ho Pass the title of the longest pass in Vietnam, with a length of nearly 50 km.
2. Directions to O Quy Ho Pass
Usually, Cuong sees many friends traveling to Sapa or taking advantage of going to O Quy Ho pass, so Cuong will introduce you to the way to O Quy Ho pass from Sapa town.
From the center of Sa Pa town, you will have to travel a distance of about 12 km through Silver Waterfall, go through the gate of Hoang Lien Son National Park, then go to Ton station ranger point, and just go a few more steps. Another km is to the top of O Quy Ho pass. If the starting point is in Sapa Town and the stop is at the top of the pass, the distance is about 15km. It sounds like a long distance, but if you go by car from Sapa, it only takes about 15 minutes. If you go by taxi, the cost of this distance is about 200k.
The ideal journey is that you start from Town (bus station), drive down Dien Bien Phu street, pass Silver waterfall 12km, continue straight to the top of the pass. On the way, you will pass through many beautiful tourist attractions of Sapa such as Silver waterfall, Love waterfall… If you have time, stop to rest before continuing to conquer the pass and take advantage of taking some photos. Photo live virtual beside the waterfalls tossing white foam, cool to numb this person in Sapa. In addition, on the way from Sapa town to heaven’s gate, you will pass by a number of virtual living places, with beautiful shimmering pictures such as H’mong Flower Garden, Homestay Coi Xay… Don’t forget to visit and explore those interesting checkin places.
The second way to get to the top of O Quy Ho pass is from Lao Cai city: From Lao Cai you can catch a bus, coach, or rent a motorbike to Sapa town, then move in the same way with the route above. . The road from Lao Cai city to Sapa town is only about 30km, but all are passes with many dangerous bends. So if you intend to travel this part by motorbike, you must be very careful and the handlebars must be very hard! Girls who have bears should let their lover pass, because the pass has many bends and steep sections, so girls often have tremors.
3. How to go to O Quy Ho pass?
Currently, there are many ways for you to conquer one of the four great passes of the Northwest such as renting a coach, taking a bus, or taking a taxi. However, for backpackers, you must definitely conquer O Quy Ho pass by motorbike, right? Even so, with one side a deep abyss and the other side a steep cliff, O Quy Ho pass is still a challenge for the drivers, with danger warning signs erected on both sides of the road. .
However, don’t worry about it, is it dangerous to go to O Quy Ho pass because now this route has been upgraded, helping to reduce accidents and becoming a “must conquer once” road of the city. adventurers. Especially on rainy or frosty days, the visibility ahead is only a few meters. The car only dares to “crawl” slowly, sticking to the cliff to cross the pass. Or like venturing over the pass at night, it’s easy to make people “ghosts” because of the cold feeling in the misty darkness, accompanied by the sound of the wind whistling through the ravine. Not to mention, when winter comes, many areas around the top of O Quy Ho pass can be covered with snow and ice, very slippery and difficult to walk…
However, the more difficult it is to conquer, the more precious it is, isn’t it, overcoming all the dangerous roads to the top of the pass and then bursting out in front of the breathtaking natural scenery, you will feel the Your efforts have not been wasted at all, the difficulties you have gone through are worth it. Consider O Quy Ho pass as a challenge to overcome to discover the hidden possibilities in your person!
The road to O Quy Ho pass is very dangerous, especially the road from Ton station to the pass includes many sections of abyss, so it is very difficult to go. Therefore, according to Cuong, you should start your journey around noon, to be able to see the road more clearly, easier for moving. It’s an arduous journey of discovery, but you will certainly not regret coming here.
In addition, now there is a safer and more convenient way to quickly conquer the top of O Quy Ho pass, which is taking the cable car. You can easily order cable car tickets at the station (buy tickets to visit Fansipan peak). From Fansipan peak, you move to Thac Bac area, then go to Tram Ton then move about 4-5 km along Highway 4D to the top of O Quy Ho pass.
4. What season of the year should you go to O Quy Ho Pass?
The answer is that you want to go hunting for clouds on the top of O Quy Ho pass in any season of the year. In winter, there is ice and snow, O Quy Ho pass has a lonely beauty, heaven and earth are covered in white snow. In the summer, O Quy Ho pass is often covered with floating clouds, creating an attraction for domestic and foreign tourists, an ideal place to hunt clouds for young people who love virtual life. Or like traveling to Sapa in the fall and gliding through O Quy Ho pass, you will see the green terraced fields that have now turned to the yellow color of ripe rice, watching the whole valley put on a bright yellow color like a sea. so gold. Spring comes, the vast green mountains and forests are dotted with the brilliant pink of peach blossoms, the pure white of apricot, plum, and pear flowers. Indeed, going to O Quy Ho pass is beautiful in any season, isn’t it, in every season you will have beautiful and melancholy checkin photos.
The same pass, but the weather on the O Quy Ho pass on the Lao Cai side and the Lai Chau side is very different. The Lao Cai side is foggy, the Lai Chau side is sunny, so you can take pictures of the pass in the mist or under the bright sunlight.
Minh Trang, a backpacker from Hanoi, shared with Cuong that: “I have crossed O Quy Ho twice by motorbike, once during the day and once at night with the full moon. Each time is a very different experience and brings different feelings. On full moon nights, the sky is clear, the light shining down on the steep cliffs or through the foliage on the side of the road is very beautiful and fanciful. Stopping the car on the top of the pass, be quiet for a bit to listen to the sounds of the forest, the insects, the wind creeping over the cliffs… to feel the peace and the passion for discovery of the backpackers.
See more:
Extremely Detailed Review of 20 Sapa Tourist Places For Those Who Have Never Been To Sapa
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5. Stops for sightseeing, taking virtual photos on O Quy Ho pass
If you wonder why in the road guide, Cuong just shows you how to get to the top of O Quy Ho, now Cuong would like to answer. The reason is easy to understand, because the top of O Quy Ho pass is the place for the highest, most beautiful view, panoramic view of Sapa valley and is also an ideal place for you to hunt clouds and take virtual photos.
From the top of the pass on a beautiful day, you will have the opportunity to enjoy the panoramic view of the road that passes through the majestic mountains to Binh Lu or to Sapa. On a sunny day, you can also admire the majestic beauty of Fansipan mountain – the roof of Indochina from Lai Chau direction.
In the cold winter, there are days below 0°C, the scenery of O Quy Ho pass is strangely beautiful, few places have it because of the white snow in the forest. For those of you who live in the plains and have never seen snow, the scenery everywhere is white, the branches and leaves are covered with snow, it’s a pure and unforgettable scene! That’s why so many of you travel to Sapa and visit O Quy Ho pass in the winter to see the snow. Although it is cold or cold, people keep huddled in warm clothes, but the feeling of being lost in the snowy scenery as if you are abroad is really nice, isn’t it, especially in the scenery of Sapa with its architectural features? Europe is like an ancient stone church, it must be said, just like getting lost in a snow-white castle in a fairy tale!
5.1 O Quy Ho Heaven Gate
The reason O Quy Ho pass is often compared to Heaven’s Gate because of its beautiful scenery and splendid beauty like a gate to heaven. O Quy Ho heaven gate is the top of the pass with a stop with a wooden railing on the edge of the cliff, hanging more decorative forest orchids. Standing here, you can have a panoramic view of a large area, spectacular scenery with a sea of ​​white clouds floating on undulating mountains, covered with green carpets of primeval forests; below are green valleys, looming rustic villages; and the O Quy Ho pass appears as soft as a white silk strip winding through the majestic cliffs… Moreover, if you stay in the late afternoon, you can also admire the sunset that darkens the space with the beautiful scenery. magical colors.
Well, coming here, Cuong would like to remind you that many people often mistake the heaven gate located on Ham Rong mountain with the O Quy Ho heaven gate when coming to Sapa. In fact, in Sapa, there are two heaven gates, one is on Ham Rong mountain located near Sapa town, the other is the top of O Quy Ho birthplace that we are talking about.
At the foot of the pass towards Sa Pa is Silver Waterfall, one of the 10 most beautiful waterfalls in Lao Cai, always sought by young people to discover. The beauty of O Quy Ho pass has long attracted many international tourists to admire and this place is also the source of creative emotions of many famous Vietnamese writers and artists such as Nguyen Tuan, Xuan Dieu and Xuan. Quynh, Nguyen Thanh Long, Vo An Ninh, Vinh Cat, Ma Van Khang, Lo Ngan Sun.
In the past, at O ​​Quy Ho pass, there were many cafes, roadside dining, and a place for you to stop to rest, sip a cup of coffee, take advantage of the scenery and take virtual photos. This is also the ideal place to hunt clouds for young people, enjoying coffee while watching white clouds floating.
But since July 31, this complex of cafes and restaurants has been dismantled. About 2-3 years ago, on the pass, there were only about 3-4 huts made entirely of wood, looking very Northwest. However, in the past 2 years, tourists to Sapa have become more and more crowded, so people, families, no one told anyone, race to build steel piles, wooden floors, build a series of new huts. Counting briefly on the pass, there are about 30 shops with all kinds of different beautiful and ugly styles. Since then, there have arisen many problems that the government cannot ignore, especially traffic safety and safety for tourists to enjoy the scenery because these shops are built precariously on the slopes of the pass. Although the information about the coffee shop complex at O ​​Quy Ho pass was removed, it caused a lot of regret in the hearts of young people, because from now on, an address for hunting clouds on the O Quy Ho pass has been lost,
5.2 O Quy Ho Glass Bridge
According to Cuong, a very large glass bridge is being built in the O Quy Ho pass area. This glass bridge area belongs to Rong May eco-tourism resort, at an altitude of over 1,000 m right near the top of O Quy Ho pass. It is expected that, when completed, it is likely that O Quy Ho glass bridge will become the tallest and longest glass bridge in Southeast Asia, with a capacity of more than 3,000 people at a time. It is expected that this glass bridge will reach out over the cliff with a length of 60m and a height of 500m, made entirely of transparent glass. Along with that, visitors also have the opportunity to visit and experience the 300m high outdoor rattan ladder system. Located in Rong May tourist area, there are many other games such as bungee jumping, zipline, paragliding…
6. What to eat up O Quy Ho pass?
An indispensable part when you travel to Sa Pa in general or conquer O Quy Ho Pass in particular is that you do not forget to discover the unique cuisine here. Not only famous for its breathtaking scenery, but the dishes here also captivate diners from all over the world.
On the way to this pass, visitors can stop and rest at restaurants to enjoy a lot of rustic dishes but are specialties of the Northwest region such as: buffalo meat guarding the kitchen (in a little bit, this dish is a bit expensive). It’s a bit expensive, but it’s delicious), armpit pork, hill chicken, grilled corn, baked potato, etc. What’s more, armpit pork with hill chicken are famous specialties of Sapa. As for baked potatoes, Cuong must tell you that in his journey to discover Vietnam, EBS Korea’s World Theme Travel program also visited the Northwest mountainous region, more specifically, Lao Cai and Lao Cai. Lai Chau. Korean EBS reporter went to O Quy Ho pass to eat cheap baked potatoes. Holding a hot baked potato, the reporter couldn’t wait to taste the sweet and nutty taste of the baked potato.
In addition, in Sa Pa, there are also some special vegetables such as chayote, mustard greens, etc. When you go down O Quy Ho pass, you can also see in the valley, many ethnic households grow thousands of su That’s it, the green rubber trusses that cover the whole sky. These vegetables are grown and cared for by ethnic people, absolutely no pesticides, so they are very cool, delicious and clean.
In particular, the dish that you must try is Lam Lam rice served with grilled meat on skewers, besides that you eat it with grilled eggs.
While enjoying the food while admiring the beautiful scenery of this place, looking out into the distance, you will see the majestic Fansipan mountain, the poetic Silver Waterfall, the beautiful terraced fields… The feeling of sniffing because of the cold in the pass If you’re tall and then you can sit by the warm fire, sip a hot cup of tea or eat a potato, gnaw on hot corn, what’s better than you!
Besides, the stalls of ethnic people along O Quy Ho pass also sell a lot of local products such as towels, skirts, bracelets, anklets, young silverware, farm tools, agricultural products (mushrooms). , tobacco,…) for tourists to buy as gifts.
On the day of Cuong with his family, he went to see O Quy Ho pass, it was drizzling, and very cold. Clouds cover all four sides, visibility is less than 1km, let alone watching O Quy Ho Pass. At the top of the pass there are a few small stalls selling clothes, dry products and baked goods. The feeling of the whole family rushing in, surrounding a warm small barbecue, drinking sweet tea while chatting, eating grilled corn, grilled skewers or buffalo meat in the kitchen… is really great. Cuong’s brother said that he had been up here 4 or 5 times, only one time in which the weather was beautiful, there were few clouds and he could see O Quy Ho Pass from afar. The rest, most of them come to enjoy the feeling of being next to the warm fire in the cold weather. On the way, Cuong also met a group of bicycles, who seemed very happy. Maybe the next time you come to Sapa, you should also try to rent a bicycle!
7. Things to note when going on a trip to O Quy Ho Pass
1. Due to the location of the O Quy Ho Pass Heaven Gate located on the National Highway, vehicles still move back and forth, especially container trucks, passenger cars, motorbikes, etc., in addition to the topography of the pass road on one side is the area. deep, one side is a steep cliff, so you need to be very careful when parking and taking photos here. You need to park your car neatly, observe carefully and do not play, running to the edge of the road will be very dangerous.
2. You should go slowly, stay away from the right hand side of the road because tourist cars or buses will sometimes go around sharp turns.
3. Because the pass is at an altitude of more than 2,000 meters above sea level, the weather is very cold and windy, you should prepare warm clothes, remember to bring gloves, hats and scarves.
Source: Collected internet.