Nam Kang Ho Tao, the most dangerous but attractive

mountain in the northwest

April, 21/2023 - 08:55
Nam Kang Ho Tao is an unusual name in Việt Nam, but it is a mountain located
between the border of two provinces, Lào Cai and Lai Châu, belonging to the Hoàng
Liên National Park.
 

Mt Nam Kang Ho Tao is considered the most arduous trekking route in the
Northwest. — Photo phuotvivu.com

Lâm Giang
Nam Kang Ho Tao is considered the most arduous trekking route in the northwest due
to its complicated and dangerous terrain, but it is also one of the most rewarding
routes in Việt Nam.

Nam Kang Ho Tao is an unusual name in Việt Nam, but it is a mountain located
between the border of two provinces of Lào Cai and Lai Châu, belonging to the
Hoàng Liên National Park.

Nam Kang Ho Tao has an altitude of 2,880m above sea level. It is the 12th-highest
mountain in Việt Nam. Its peak belongs to sub-zone 303 A, Hoàng Tha Thầu
Mountain in Tả Trung Hồ Village, Bản Hồ Commune, Sa Pa District.

This is a dream destination of adventurous backpackers because of the difficulty and

wild beauty of the mountains. It is surrounded by majestic natural scenery mixed with
poetic features with waterfalls and vast green forests.

Mt Nam Kang Ho Tao trekking route is arduous and difficult to conquer. — Photo
sgtiepthi.vn

Since 2017, Nam Kang Ho Tao has been known to backpackers and Pu Si Lung
Mountain has become the most difficult mountain to conquer in the northwest because
of its long distance, many steep cliffs and fierce streams.

People who conquer Nam Kang Ho Tao usually follow the direction through Thào A
village, Tân Uyên District, Lai Châu and then return to the old route or go in the
direction of Lai Châu and return to Tả Van road.

Although we know that conquering Nam Kang Ho Tao is a big challenge, we are still
determined to conquer to be once standing from the top of Nam Kang Ho Tao,
overlooking the distant horizon, bathing in the sea of clouds and most importantly, the
feeling of conquering your own limits.

 
A tourist enjoying the moment during the journey to conquer Mt Nam Kang Ho Tao.
— Photo laichau.gov.vn

We arrived at Bản Hồ Commune at 9am to start our journey with the route going from
Bản Hồ to Đá Stream. It is quite long and has about 4km with a gentle slope through
many inhabited areas and thin forests.

After a few hours of climbing and resting, we came to Đá Stream - the largest in the
Northwest. The stream is wide, and the water current is fast. The porters guided our
team to cross the stream by wearing quick-drying shoes, not barefoot, because it is
easy to fall on slippery rocks.

After that, we reached Shack 1, built next to the stream and took a break for lunch.

 
An old tree in the forest during the journey to conquer Mt Nam Kang Ho Tao. —
Photo sgtiepthi.vn

After the lunch break, we went through two big waterfalls, including Bay Waterfalls,
to reach the longest and steepest slope of the route. The slope is so long that everyone
has to crawl and cling with two hands to climb. Fortunately, the weather that day was
quite cool, and we trekked under the canopy of the primary forest, so it only took
about two hours to cross the slope.
At around 5.30pm, we arrived at Shack 2 to rest and have dinner to prepare for the
next day to conquer Mt Nam Kang Ho Tang.

While the porters prepared dinner, we took advantage of the spring bath after a hard
day of trekking. Cold spring water helped our bodies recover quickly.

After dinner, everyone went to bed to save energy for the next day.

At 6.30am, we started the second day's journey. We passed through the primaeval
forest, old forest, and green vegetation and enjoyed a pleasant feeling in the fresh,
pure air and welcomed the sunrise on the mountain.

In this stretch, we could see azaleas, wildflowers and mosses basking in the morning
sun.

We trekked slowly, walking while looking around on both sides of the route to be able
to see all the beauty of this trekking route. At that time, we realized that our path
turned out to be strangely poetic.

 
Tourists celebrate conquering Mt Nam Kang Ho Tao. — Photo laichau.gov.vn

After taking a break for lunch, we reached Yên Ngựa Pass - the fork to divide the way
to Lào Cai and Lai Châu and Mt Nam Kang Ho Tao. Experiencing the steep slopes,
we also got our hands on the stainless steel summit marker of the mountain.
Reaching the top, we hugged each other and felt extremely happy because this was the
place for us to challenge ourselves, in addition to admiring the wonderful nature.

We went back to Shack 2 to pack up, then moved down to Shack 1 immediately
because we were afraid it would rain, and we might get stuck because of the rising
spring water. We had dinner and overnight here to go down the mountain the next
morning.

Mt Nam Kang Ho Tao is a beautiful mountain trekking route with great exploitation
potential, and high biodiversity, suitable for building a new eco-climbing route and
tourist destination towards sustainable green tourism. VNS

VOCABULARY

1. Unusual : bất thường

2. The border of : ranh giới của
3. Arduous trekking route : cung đường phượt gian khổ
4. Terrain : địa hình
5. Rewarding : khen thưởng
6. Altitude of : độ cao của
7. Above : bên trên
8. Peak : đỉnh cao
9. Commune : xã
10. Destination : điểm đến
11. Adventurous : phiêu lưu
12. Backpackers : Tây ba lô
13. Majestic : hùng vĩ
14. Poetic features : nét thơ
15. Waterfalls : thác nước
16. Vast green forests : rừng xanh bạt ngàn
17. Conquer : chinh phục
18. Distance : khoảng cách
19. Steep cliffs : vách đá dựng đứng
20. Fierce streams : những luồng dữ dội
21. Direction : hướng
22. Determined : quyết tâm
23. Distant horizon : chân trời xa xăm
24. Bathing : tắm
25. Slope : độ dốc
26. Inhabited : dân cư
27. Stream : suối
28. Current : hiện tại
29. Porters guided : người khuân vác hướng dẫn
30. Quick-drying shoes : giày khô nhanh
31. Barefoot : đi chân trần
32. Slippery : trơn trượt
33. Took a break : nghỉ giải lao
34. Crawl : thu thập thông tin
35. Cling : bám
36. Trekked : đã đi bộ
37. Canopy : tán
38. Cross : thánh giá
39. Recover : phục hồi
40. Primaeval : nguyên thủy
41. Pleasant : dễ chịu
42. Pure air : không khí trong lành
43. In this stretch : trong đoạn này
44. Azaleas : hoa đỗ quyên
45. Mosses basking : rêu phơi nắng
46. Path : con đường
47. Turned out : hóa ra
48. Strangely : kì lạ thay
49. Fork : cái nĩa
50. Divide : chia ra
51. Got our hands : có bàn tay của chúng tôi
52. Stainless : không rỉ
53. Steel : thép
54. Summit market : chợ thượng đỉnh
55. Hugged : được ôm
 56. Pack up : đóng gói
57. Get stuck : gặp khó khăn
58. Go down : đi xuống
59. Exploitation : khai thác
60. Eco-climbing : leo núi sinh thái

SUMMARY