Mu Cang Chai Rice Terraces

About this place

The Mu Cang Chai rice terraces cover about 2,200 hectares of steep mountainside in northwest Vietnam, about 199 km northwest of Hanoi and 65 km southeast of Sa Pa in a straight line. The area was part of Yen Bai province until 2025, when it was merged into Lao Cai province. The terraces were built and are still farmed by the Hmong, who make up about 90 per cent of the population. In 2007, 330 hectares of them were listed as a national monument, and in 2019 they were raised to a special national monument. The name Mu Cang Chai is said to mean «village of dry trees» in the local language. Curved terraces stack up the slopes like contour lines on a map, hundreds of them on a single hill. In May and June the flooded fields mirror the sky; in September and October the ripening rice turns the whole valley gold. Stilt houses and wooden huts sit between the steps. The road in from the east crosses Khau Pha Pass, one of the most dramatic mountain roads in the northwest and a well-known paragliding spot. La Pan Tan and Che Cu Nha are the best-known viewing areas. The harvest season in late September draws the most visitors.