Ha Noi offers a great destination for cloud hunting

Update: Sep 26, 2023

(TITC) - Not only remote places like Lao Cai or Ha Giang, right near Ha Noi centre, there is also a place where you can hunt extremely satisfying clouds.

Nowadays, most tourists when coming to mountain and forest destinations, besides sightseeing, enjoying the air and nature, cloud hunting is also a must-try experience.

Cloud hunting is when people "race" against time, going to mountain tops and hill tops early in the morning, when the sun has not yet risen, to see the vast sea of clouds, like a fairyland. It is considered a must experience because this moment only lasts for a tiny period of time, and especially on beautiful, clear days, visitors can hunt clouds.

Cloud hunting is an experience loved by many tourists when visiting hill and mountain destinations (Photo: VOV)

When it comes to cloud hunting, most tourists will immediately think of names like Ta Xua (Son La Province), Sa Pa (Lao Cai), or Ha Giang. These locations are quite far from the centres of major cities, taking a long time to travel. However, right near the capital Ha Noi, there is a suitable place to hunt clouds with beauty that is second to none.

The location being mentioned is Ba Vi National Park, in the west of Ha Noi. Ba Vi National Park is a name that is not unfamiliar to tourists, but not everyone knows the experience of hunting clouds here. Located about 60 km from the centre of Ha Noi capital, the travel distance is convenient and easy, visitors can choose vehicles from cars, motorbikes to buses. Total travel time is just over an hour.

Ba Vi National Park, a cloud hunting location near Ha Noi (Photo: Nuibavi.com)

Experience hunting clouds at Ba Vi National Park

The area of Ba Vi National Park is nearly 9,702.41 hectares, belonging to the administrative boundaries of 15 communes belonging to 5 districts, including: Ba Vi, Thach That, Quoc Oai of Ha Noi, and Luong Son, Hoa Binh City of Hoa Binh Province.

The park possesses a diverse and rich flora and fauna system with 2,181 species of ancient plants, 503 species of medicinal plants, 65 species of mammals, 194 species of birds, 64 species of reptiles, 27 species of amphibians and 522 species of insects. There are many rare species listed in the red book. In addition, the park scene is also blessed by nature with many beautiful scenes such as mountain peaks, gardens, and unique flowers.

Tuan Viet, a tourist from Ha Noi shared his “cloud hunting” experience in Ba Vi National Park in 2019 with the site toquoc.vn that he drove on a motorbike from Ha Noi, starting at 8:00 am, going leisurely, he arrived at the destination at 9:00 am.

After visiting a number of areas to take photos, camp or eat, the place often visited by tourists to hunt clouds in Ba Vi National Park is the area near Uncle Ho's temple, located on the top of Ba Vi mountain.

Ba Vi Mountain consists of 3 peaks, which are Vua (King) peak, Tan Vien peak and Ngoc Hoa peak. Uncle Ho's temple was built on the highest of the three peaks, King peak at an altitude of 1296m.

Uncle Ho's temple is located on the highest peak of Ba Vi mountain, also an ideal place to hunt clouds (Photo: Ba Vi National Park)

To get to Uncle Ho's temple, visitors will need to move the road divided into 2 stages. Stage 1 is driving through a steep winding road, a distance of more than 12 km to reach the Thuong (Upper) Temple area. Then from Thuong Temple, you continue climbing more than 1,320 stone steps on the cliff side to reach the top.

This climb will make you a bit tired, but the scenery along the road or when you get there will not disappoint you, said Tuan Viet. The scenery here is adorned with primaeval forests, towering ancient trees, green moss banks, tangled vines or a hazy mist covering the path.

The higher you go, the cooler and more pleasant the weather becomes. Unlike other cloud hunting experiences, tourist Tuan Viet shared that he did not go in the early morning but reached the top at 4 pm. However, they were still able to hunt clouds successfully. Whether or not you can hunt the clouds is a matter of luck however, it is highly recommended to go on sunny days to see the clouds clear, it looks gorgeous, otherwise it will just be foggy.

After admiring the vast sea of clouds, visitors should not forget to visit Uncle Ho's temple. This is a project built to commemorate the great leader of the nation, completed at the end of August 1999.

Besides the traditional architecture with marble, four-sided curved roof, and a statue of Uncle Ho cast in bronze, inside the temple there are also many images and artefacts about Uncle Ho.

Other places to visit in Ba Vi National Park

Ba Vi National Park owns a large area, including many works as well as unique natural landscapes. Besides the experience of hunting clouds, visitors can refer to many other activities. These include visiting the cactus garden, checking in with wild sunflowers in bloom, visiting Ba Vi ancient church, visiting Thuong temple or camping at Thien Son - Suoi Nga.