Located at an altitude of 1,541 m above sea level, Phia Po is the highest peak in the Mau Son complex, so it is also known as the roof of Lang Son or "Everest of Lang". Folklore says that those who reach the top of Phia Po mountain will have a lot of luck in life and work.
After moving 30km from Lang Son city to Loc Binh district, we stopped at Na Mo school, Mau Son commune at the foot of the mountain to warm up. The weather in late autumn and early winter is cool, chilly with light sunshine, creating favorable conditions for the feet to start the journey of conquest. The 14km arduous journey ahead takes us through different types of terrain.
Beautiful meadows like the corner of Europe
After the first 4 hours of crossing a road with green pine rows and dense forest trees, we seemed to lift the curtain to open a completely different space, with a high sky above our heads, grass at our feet. The vast grassland reminded us of a peaceful countryside in Europe or Japan. The grass leaned in the wind across the hillside, embracing every step of the pedestrians. The grass here changes color with the seasons. In summer, the hills are covered with a lush green; gradually wearing a burning yellow color in autumn and fading in winter.
Standing on high and looking down, I was fascinated by the contrasting and harmonious colors intertwined with each other. Nature's creative hand is indeed magical. This is also an ideal camping and cloud hunting location for nomads.
Going to the new meadow is halfway to the top. We sat and rested, the wind blew coolly to dispel the sweat drops on our foreheads. The sky is high, the clouds are layered in layers, each mountain range in the distance, all paint a majestic picture that catches the eye.
Going through journeys like this, you can see how precious it is to have a few minutes to stop or take a few sips of water. We recharged with a simple lunch of sticky rice and an apple, then relaxed, looking at the villages, tiny roofs that had been left behind.
Even though I have gone through many spectacular roads, every time I stand in front of spaces like this, I still feel overwhelmed. Seeing how small people are in front of the vast nature, and the endless new things in this world urge me to set out to explore.
Dinosaur Spine
At the end of the lawn before entering the trail into the forest, more rocks appear. This is where people graze goats and herd cows. We came across a trail, where each large and small stone slab overlaps each other along with 2 gentle cliffs on 2 sides to create a special shape, so it is called the dinosaur spine.
The higher you go, the faster the weather changes. In the blink of an eye, the sky suddenly turned blind. The thick layers of mist covered the surroundings, making the surroundings dim, and the blue of the mountains suddenly appeared. At this time, we have to be really careful not to slip and fall.
Ghost fairy forest
Leaving the meadow, we entered another world. The forest is my favorite destination because nature is always a therapy to heal the stress and fatigue of daily life.
Entering the forest, the more afternoon it gets, the denser the fog. Another light rain appeared, making it more difficult to conquer rocky slopes and trails. Wet with dew and rainwater, the mud clings to the 2 feet that are inching every centimeter in the middle of a mysterious primeval forest with many trees up to thousands of years old, the trunk is covered with moss, mushrooms and lichens. The dew fell like pearls woven on the green carpet.
The highlight of this leg is probably the forest of hundreds of rhododendron trees like a dim garden of Eden in the mist. The dry stumps stretched out their arms full of ghosts. Local porters said that Mau Son rhododendrons bloom later than the Northwest because winters here are extremely cold. Around April – May, if you go trekking in Phia Po, you will admire the brilliant blooming rhododendrons in many colors from white to yellow and pink.
I thought that the section of primeval forest was the most difficult, but the more I got to the top, the steeper the slope became. Just let your guard down, the bamboo trunks are ready to whip straight into the face and leave scratches. There was even a cliff we had to swing a rope to overcome. In the last 30 minutes to reach the landmark, thatched grass covers the way. Both sides are chasms, so each step requires high concentration.
Finally, after about 8 hours from the foot of the mountain, I saw the 1,541 m Phia Po landmark. The feeling of reaching the top is always bursting; not because of the destination, but perhaps because of the many challenges that have been overcome. Temporarily forgetting the feeling of victory, we knew the journey was not over yet and hurriedly turned back because it was too late.
It is difficult to go up, but it is difficult to go down. That's when darkness begins to fall. The temperature dropped. Dense fog. The wind hissed every time. Legs sag. Hungry stomach. All of this is like putting a dumbbell on your legs. Perhaps because the journey was only wrapped up in 1 day, we did not have the opportunity to camp overnight, our bodies did not have time to regain energy after the long journey, but had to go down the mountain immediately.
The darker it gets, the more people can no longer walk on foot and have to sit down and slide on the grass. I saw a guy peel off both soles of his shoes, and I also heard some of my sisters exclaim, "Come on, don't go down anymore!" and lie down on the grass panting. I saw images of myself on my first climbs.
In the faint light of the phone flashlight, we could only encourage each other, using the last bit of strength to help each other step out of the mountain.
I always thought that believing or not believing would be more pleasant than ambiguity and doubt. Between believing and not believing, most of the situations I choose to believe and let reality verify. This trip is also a "reluctant" test of whether I can overcome this unexpected challenge. At one point in the dark night in the grassy hills, I thought I couldn't get out of the mountains that night. But one minute was chosen, I chose to believe and move on.
With the help of porter, we finally got out of the forest at 9 pm, closing an experience and bringing back experiences that we will never forget.
With an altitude of just over 1500m, Phia Po makes many people misunderstand the difficulty. Local porters assessed that the road to Phia Po peak was as difficult as some peaks in the top 15 highest peaks in the Northwest. Healthy people who have climbed mountains can completely conquer the 14km journey from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain in 1 day. However, for those who are not physically fit or are climbing for the first time, this is indeed a big challenge.
Therefore, the ideal journey for the conquest of the roof of Lang Son should last for 2 days and 1 night. Such a period of time is enough for you to have a break to rejuvenate in the middle of the journey, as well as feel the beauty of nature.
In addition, you need to know some general notes before and while trekking Phia Po:
+ Trekking is an adventure tourism that overcomes difficult terrain over long distances. Therefore, the prerequisite is that you need to be healthy enough. Ideally, you need to be in the real group 1 month before you go.
+ You should prepare drinking water, bring candy and energy supplements along the way.
+ You need comfortable clothing, a windbreaker and trekking shoes suitable for the mountainous terrain, and carry the lightest luggage possible.
+ Squeezing and insects appear a lot along the way, so you need to pay attention to wearing high-necked socks and applying anti-squeezing drugs.
+ The road is very dangerous and easy to get lost, you should not go alone but need to contact the porter or an experienced person to guide to avoid unfortunate incidents.
Writer/Photo/Video: Le Phuong