Son La is a mountainous province located in the Northwest region, home to Moc Chau plateau and Son La plateau. Son La tourism impresses with its majestic nature and unique culture of ethnic minorities.
General information about Son La
Son La has the administrative center of Son La ward, about 310 km from the center of Hanoi, bordering the provinces of Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Phu Tho, Dien Bien and Thanh Hoa. The province also has a 250 km long border with Huaphanh province of Laos, with three international border gates: Chieng Khuong, Long Sap and Na Cai.
Located right in the heart of the Northwest mountainous region of Vietnam, Son La is a place that perfectly blends the majestic natural landscape and the cultural beauty of the Tay, Dao, Muong, Mong ethnic groups…
What’s the best time to visit Son La?
Located at an average altitude of 600-700 m above sea level, with Moc Chau and Son La plateaus, Ma River and Da River, Son La has the characteristics of the Northern climate, with cold, dry winters and hot, humid summers. The dry season lasts from October to April of the following year, the rainy season lasts from May to September.
Son La is located in an area that is less affected by storms but is adjacent to the medium-high mountain ranges running along the Vietnam – Laos border, so in March and April, Son La is affected by the Foehn effect, so there are dry, hot Lao winds, and relatively harsh weather. The average annual temperature is about 22 degrees Celsius, the highest is about 35 degrees Celsius, the lowest is about 3 degrees Celsius.
How to get there?
From Hanoi and the northern provinces, travel to Son La by road via National Highway 6, National Highway 37 or CT05 (Noi Bai – Lao Cai Expressway) and then onto National Highway 37. Travel time is about 6 hours and 30 minutes. In addition to private cars, visitors can take sleeper or seated buses and limousines, departing from My Dinh or Yen Nghia stations, with ticket prices ranging from 150,000 VND to 350,000 VND.
Son La does not have an airport. The nearest airport is Dien Bien, nearly 170 km from Son La center. Travel time from Dien Bien airport to Son La is about 3 hours.
Accommodations in Son La
In addition to the large number of rooms in Ta Xua and Moc Chau, hotels in Son La are mainly located in the center. Visitors can refer to high-end hotels such as Muong Thanh, Hoa Ban Trang with prices ranging from 700,000 VND to 1.2 million VND per night. 2-3 star hotels include Galaxy Grand, Hoang Gia Hotel, Hoang Son, Hoa Hong with prices ranging from 300,000 VND to 500,000 VND per night. There are also motels and homestays with prices around 200,000 VND per room.
Moc Chau has many guesthouses. However, to get quality accommodation during the peak season, you should still call in advance. There are eco-lodges (with mountains, lakes, stilt houses) or homestay-style community guesthouses. Some suggested homestays are MAMA’s House, Le Chalet du Lac, Fairy House Moc Chau, House By Lake, The Nordic Village, Moc Chau Retreat… Room prices range from 300,000 to 1,000,000 VND per night.
Tourist attractions in Son La
Moc Chau Plateau
Moc Chau Plateau is around 200km from Hanoi along National Highway 6. The plateau is about 1,000m above sea level and around 80km long and 25km wide. The area of grass-field accounts for more than 14,000ha and is suitable for animal husbandry, tea planting and other agriculture. Moc Chau tea factory was set up here to produce black tea for export and for domestic consumption.
Thousands of pure-bred and crossbred cows from the Netherlands are raised on the Moc Chau state-run farm, established in 1958. The provide fresh milk to Hanoi and other provinces for producing tinned milk, yoghurt and other milk products.
Moc Chau plateau is an attractive place for visitors with its cool temperature of 20ºC. In addition, Moc Chau also has Ban Ang pine forests, Dai Yem waterfall, Chieng Khoa, Nang Tien. For tourists who like to exercise, trekking to Nguyen Thuy village, Pha Luong peak will be a suitable choice.
Son La Former Prison & Museum
Located in the centre of Son La ward, around 328km from Hanoi, Son la Museum was originally a penitentiary built by French in 1908. At first, it was only a small provincial prison. However, between 1930 and 1945, thousands of Vietnamese patriots were imprisoned there.
This prison incarcerated key individuals who later became main leaders of the Revolution for National Liberation. In 1962, it was listed by the Ministry of Culture as one of many revolutionary heritage sites in the country.
At Son La Prison, visitors can discover the subterranean cells, the slanting cells, the three-compartment camps and the old camp. The penitentiary was partially rebuilt after 1952 bombings. Visitors can visit subterraneous tiny cells with food-serving hatches and leg shackles. The museum also exhibits precious objects introducing the historical and cultural traditions of the 12 ethnic groups living in Son La Province.
Son La Prison was ranked as a special national historical site on December 31, 2014. Adults and children over 1 meter tall buy an entrance ticket of 30,000 VND.
Mong Village Hot Spring
Mong Village is one of the eco-tourism, cultural and resort destinations, about 5 km from Son La city center. The road to Mong Village winds around the hillsides, is paved widely, convenient for travel. Tourists can admire the beautiful natural landscape, fresh and airy air. In particular, the water temperature is always stable from 36 – 38 degrees Celsius, has no smell, so you can come and bathe at any time of the year. With peaceful scenery, fresh air, airy and warm water, tourists when coming to relax here will have the most pleasant and comfortable feeling.
This is also a unique feature that attracts tourists when coming to Mong village. Not only does it have the ability to change temperature according to the season, but the water source here is also made of natural minerals, which has a good effect on the body and cures some skin diseases, joint pain, etc.
The hot spring is open from 8am to 6pm every day. Tickets for bathing in leaf water and hot mineral water cost 120,000 VND per person per turn.
Son La Hydropower Reservoir
Son La Hydropower Plant was built on the Da River, inaugurated in 2012. After being formed, the hydropower plant created a large lake with a length of more than 150 km, an area of about 16,000 hectares, a destination for tourists. Taking a boat on the lake, visitors will have a feeling of relaxation, admiring the wild and mysterious beauty of the river area. On both sides of the lake are stilt houses of resettled people, visit the market scene along the Da River, admire Pa Uon Bridge, participate in the traditional boat racing festival on the 10th of January every year, enjoy river fish dishes prepared in the unique way of the Thai people.
In Muong La district near Son La Hydropower Plant, visitors can also visit Ngoc Chien commune, home to three ethnic groups Thai, Mong and La Ha with diverse and hospitable cultures.
Tham Tet Toong cave
Located 2km from the town of Son La, Tam Tet Toong cave is a wonder of nature. The cave is more than 150m long. Above the cave are mountains and vast forests.
The Tat Tong Cave Complex is a natural landscape. The landscape is still intact in form. Tat Tong Cave has a large cave mouth, tens of meters high and wide. The water in the cave flows out clear all year round.
Along the walls of the cave, there are numerous stalactites and stalagmites that sparkle in the morning sunshine. Flowing inside is stream with white waterfalls. Currently, the water level outside the cave is 4 meters and 10 meters in, creating conditions for tourists to take a boat into the cave to visit.
Specialty of Son La
Grilled fish
The grilled fish is a specialty of the Northwest region in general and Son La in particular. The main ingredient of this dish is fresh carp, which is cleaned and then cut open on the back, then stuffed with spices including ginger, lemongrass, herbs, local seeds, especially the zanthoxylum rhetsa … inside, and rubbed with a layer of galangal powder and rice bran on the outside. The grilled fish must be grilled over charcoal, when grilled, use bamboo sticks to clamp the spices to keep them absorbed and give off a fragrant aroma.
Smoked Buffalo Meat
Son La Smoked Buffalo Meat is considered a specialty of the Northwest region in general and Son La in particular. The ingredients to make this dish are mainly buffalo meat raised on the mountain slopes. When processing, local people filter it into pieces, marinate it with salt, ginger, chili, zanthoxylum rhetsa, and some other additives, then they will smoke each piece of meat over the smoke of charcoal burning from forest trees. The simplest way to eat buffalo jerky is to steam it until soft and then spin it into strings, dip it with cham cheo – a special dipping sauce of the Thai ethnic people in the Northwest mountains, with a characteristic strong and spicy flavor, or process it into salads, stir-fries, and stews.
Chieng Mai Duck
Duck in Chieng Mai commune, Mai Son area is famous for being a duck breed weighing from 1.5 to 1.7 kg. The duck has small bones, yellow skin, fragrant, sweet meat, and is soft but not mushy. Most of Chieng Mai ducks are raised in a semi-free-range manner. Popular ways to prepare Chieng Mai duck include boiled duck, steamed duck, charcoal grilled duck or cooked with bamboo shoots. In addition, many restaurants also prepare dishes suitable for children and the elderly such as sticky rice, duck porridge or duck stir-fried with lemongrass and chili, fried with galangal.
Mac Nhung porridge
Mac Nhung (bitter eggplant) is a green fruit and is related to tomatoes. Mac Nhung trees grow naturally on fields or cliffs along the edges of forests, commonly in Son La. Mac Nhung fruit has a slightly bitter and spicy taste, with a little sweet aftertaste. To cook velvet porridge, first stir-fry some minced meat, then cook with sticky rice and bone broth for several hours, add spices, seasoning powder, fish sauce, ginger, pepper and add velvet last.
Source: collected by An
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