Sa Pa’s terraced fields among world’s most beautiful destinations

Environmental news website Mother Nature Network has selected 30 of the most beautiful destinations on Earth, and terraced paddy fields in Viet Nam’s northern mountainous Sa Pa district is one of such wonderful places.

The website says Sa Pa people have been doing the seemingly impossible for millennia: growing rice – which requires a flat surface and a lot of water – in mountainous areas.

Terraced paddy fields not only yield substantial crops of the widely consumed staple, but are also a gorgeous sight to behold.

It further says equally mesmerizing scenes can be found throughout Southeast Asia.

In 2013, the Viet Nam Records Organisation (Vietkings) recognised a 121-step terraced field in Vu Lung Sung village, Sa Pa’s Trung Chai commune, as having the largest number of steps of a terraced field in Viet Nam.

This field is considered one of the most beautiful and oldest terraced fields in Sa Pa (over 100 years old).

Sa Pa is also home to another Viet Nam record – O Quy Ho mountain pass, the longest pass in the country. The 50km pass, located on National Highway 4D, cuts cross the Hoang Lien Son Mountain Range and connects Lao Cai and Lai Chau provinces.