Buzz
When visiting Lao Cai, don't just remember the familiar Sapa trekking routes but also try experiencing a newer path called the ancient stone road known as Pavi, connecting Lai Chau and Lao Cai. Currently, this road is being surveyed, illuminated, and repaired to prepare for the establishment of a tourist tour in the near future.
Walking amidst the ancient forest.
1. History
The ancient stone road Pavi was constructed during the French colonial period in 1927, entirely handmade with cobblestones and large rocks. It spans approximately 80 km, connecting the provinces of Lai Chau and Lao Cai for transporting agricultural products, minerals, and other goods. The road traverses through pristine forests, fruit orchards, and towering mountain ranges in the Northwest region, featuring gentle slopes that are navigable even by pack animals. The French also built an airstrip on a vast plateau near Nhiu Co San village for cargo consolidation and transportation.
Currently, the ancient Pavi road is being surveyed to be illuminated, making it more accessible for trekking enthusiasts.
As of now, the road has gradually fallen into neglect due to time and nature. Only about 14 km of the road remains relatively intact, connecting Sàng Ma Pho village in Phong Thổ district, Lai Chau province, and Nhiu Cồ San village in Bát Xát district, Lao Cai province.
2. Transportation
If you're organizing your trip from Hanoi, you can break down the journey into the following segments:
3. Itinerary
To save time, the Hanoi – Lai Chau and Sapa – Hanoi routes should be traveled by sleeper bus at night. Depending on the members' fitness levels, you can opt for either a 2-day, 3-night or a 3-day, 4-night itinerary:
2-day, 3-night Itinerary
Day 0: Take the sleeper bus from Hanoi at 9-10 PM, arriving in Lai Chau around 5-6 AM.
Day 1: Hire a 16-seater van to KDL Sin Suoi Ho, start trekking, have lunch along the way. Set up camp and have dinner near the second stream (about 5 km from Ban Sang Ma Pho).
Day 2: Continue trekking, have lunch along the way, and around 4 PM reach Nhiu Co San Junction. Hire a 16-seater van back to Sapa, enjoy leisure activities until around 10 PM, then catch the sleeper bus back to Hanoi.
3-day, 4-night Itinerary
Day 0: Take a sleeper bus from Hanoi around 9-10 PM, arriving in Lai Chau around 5-6 AM.
Day 1: Rent a 16-seater van to KDL Sin Suoi Ho, start trekking, have lunch along the way. Have dinner and stay overnight at Ban Sang Ma Pho.
Day 2: Embark on the trekking route along the ancient stone path (approximately 15 km), have lunch along the way. Have dinner and camp overnight at the old French airport.
Day 3: Witness the sunrise on the plateau, continue trekking to Ban Nhiu Co San and Nhiu Co San Junction – Muong Hum (total 12 km), catch a ride back to Sapa, enjoy festivities, then board the sleeper bus back to Hanoi.
Preparation
Detailed itinerary (2 days 3 nights)
Seeing the stunning views along the Pavi route on the survey team's camera screen, I silently vowed to set foot there someday. This route is relatively unknown (before us, only a few teams had ventured there), so information is scarce. Luckily, we managed to contact those who had just surveyed this route to gather information and also got in touch with a local guide. The rest was assembling the team, preparing physically, gathering gear, and hitting the road.
Our team in action.
Gentle off-road trail.
The road was just beginning, so it was quite easy, spacious.
Everyone was walking with enthusiasm.
11:30 AM we reached the lunch spot, a large bridge crossing the first stream on the route. We took a break under the shade of trees by the stream, eating rice cakes with canned meat, sticky rice.
12:30 PM the whole group started again, the path became much more difficult with continuous steep slopes, just up and up, the sun was scorching and there was hardly any shade on the road, only bare hills. Even professional porters felt exhausted, taking heavy steps. Imagine how tired everyone else was. The sun still shone fiercely and the backpacks seemed to get heavier by the minute…
Starting the tough road section.
The challenging road section.
Around 3:00 PM we reached Sàng Ma Pho village. As we rested by a small stream, we took off our shoes and soaked our feet in the cool water. It felt so good that we didn't want to lift our feet anymore. The original plan was to stay at Sàng Ma Pho, but it was still early so the whole group decided to walk another 4 km to shorten tomorrow's itinerary.
After a brief rest to regain strength, we set off again. The next stretch of road was still steep with very little shade. While encouraging and helping each other, it took us 2 hours to cover this 4 km stretch. We chose a camping spot by a small stream, convenient for cooking, bathing, and hygiene.
Arriving at around 5:00 PM, everyone pitched in: some set up tents, some gathered firewood, some washed vegetables. In no time, everything was set up. While waiting to cook rice and roast chicken, we went to the stream for a bath, and the water was very cold at this time. The weather here was strange, just in the daytime it was scorching hot, but in the evening it was freezing cold. After bathing, everyone had to put on thin coats, huddling around the fire to keep warm.
Each person has a task so that the whole group can quickly set up camp.
Our tent spot.
That evening's dinner included grilled chicken, roasted pork, braised chicken, boiled vegetables, and especially a delicious wild vegetable dish with meat. We enjoyed a glass of wine by the stream, in the old forest, under the bright full moon. It was the full moon night of the 7th lunar month. Probably only our group dared to camp in the forest on this full moon night of the Ghost Month. The next morning, when asking the name of the stream, the guide bluntly said it was called Westerner's Stream, because a Westerner died here before. Luckily, he told us late, otherwise, some of us would have 'gone' in our pants the night before.
The full moon of the 7th month shining brightly.
In the morning, the guide found a bunch of wild vegetables, a fragrant type that smelled like green mango, stir-fried with meat, it was amazingly delicious. When asked what it's called, he said in the Hmong language it's called “pig vegetable” but in Vietnamese, he didn't know. After breakfast, we packed up the camp and hit the road, making sure to clean up the trash and collect it for burning. Now we had a chance to admire closely the beautiful spot where we set up our tent. It was right under an ancient tree covered in moss by the stream, surrounded by mossy mountain ranges, nestled beside the stream.
This place is quite romantic.
8 AM
The road is covered with moss.
Our group walks amidst the ancient forest.
The wild fruits are not ripe yet this season, they are as bright red as clusters of grapes, tasting bitter.
After reaching the border between Lai Chau and Lao Cai provinces, the road starts to ease down, and we begin to descend. At this point, it's not so physically demanding but it will strain the muscles, and the moss-covered stone path is very slippery, prone to falls. Each of us is given a stick by the guide to make walking easier and to reduce foot pain. Thanks to the extra 4 kilometers we walked the day before, we can now stroll leisurely, enjoying the scenery, savoring the moment, and taking photos.
The downhill section is quite slippery and challenging to walk on.
Moss covers the rocks, making them slippery.
But the scenery is breathtakingly beautiful.
12:00 PM
By the stream.
After lunch, we hit the road again. After crossing another dry stream, we arrived at the old French airport. It's a vast plain with lush green grass dotted with vibrant purple wildflowers. In the distance are majestic mountains, and in the valley flows a gentle stream and stunning terraced rice fields. The stone road runs through the plain, with many stone walls built by the local ethnic people on either side of the road to divide the land and prevent cattle from damaging the crops - these walls remind me of the Dong Van Karst Plateau.
The stream flows gently along the trekking trail.
The stunning terraced rice fields.
The stream drifts lazily under the sky.
The stone walls prevent livestock from damaging the flowers.
After passing the airport, it's 2 km to Nhiu Co San village, by now we've completed 40 km on the legendary Pavi ancient stone trail. From here, the road widens and is motorbike accessible, you can choose to continue walking for 7 km to Nhiu Co San junction towards Muong Hum or pay 140,000 VND for a motorbike taxi for this stretch, depending on your health condition. The last person in the group arrived at the junction around 4:20 PM. We waited for the Transit van to pick up the entire group and return to Sapa, checked into the Stone Church, and treated ourselves to a sumptuous fish hotpot before catching the sleeper bus back to Hanoi at 10:30 PM.
6. Other Destinations
You can combine this Pavi ancient stone trail with other fantastic destinations in the surrounding area such as:
Author: Hoang Thuan
*Article participated in Mytour Golocal program
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