Destination Guides

May is water-pouring season in Mu Cang Chai. The flooded terraces reflect the sky, and farmers plant rice seedlings by hand.

June in Mu Cang Chai is the end of water-pouring season. Green seedlings spread across the flooded terraces, and the waterfalls run full.

In July the Mu Cang Chai terraces are fully green. It is rainy season, but the storms pass quickly and the viewpoints are quiet.

August is the last green month in Mu Cang Chai. The rice stands tall and thick on the terraces, the rain is frequent and the crowds have not arrived.

September is harvest month and the busiest time of year in Mu Cang Chai, with golden terraces, clear skies and paragliding over Khau Phạ Pass.

Early October catches the last golden fields at higher altitude in Mu Cang Chai. Later in the month the dry season brings blue skies and seas of cloud at dawn.

November is dry, clear and cold in Mu Cang Chai, with buckwheat flowers on the harvested terraces and the best cloud-hunting of the year at Khau Phạ Pass.

December is cold, dry and quiet in Mu Cang Chai. Fog drifts between the ridges at dawn and the brown winter terraces make for a slower, more local trip.

January is dry and cold in Mu Cang Chai. The terraces are bare after harvest, fog fills the valleys at dawn, and very few visitors come.

February in Mu Cang Chai is usually Tet month: dry, cool days, peach and plum blossom in H’mong villages, and pao throwing and top spinning after the new year.