Cloud Season on Ma Pi Leng Pass
A magical moment as fan-shaped rays of sunlight break through the clouds, casting their glow over the Nho Que River from the summit of Ma Pi Leng Pass. Photo: Nguyen Thang/VNPFor the Hmong and Nung communities living around Ma Pi Leng Peak in Dong Van, Ha Giang Province, cloud season from just after Lunar New Year until May is a time of anticipation.
During this season, the clouds bring precious moisture, marking the start of the slash-and-burn season, when corn and cassava seeds are sown in the rocky karst soil. It is also the season when travelers flock to witness the breathtaking beauty of one of Vietnam’s most majestic mountain passes.
After several times visiting the stone plateau, we were finally lucky enough to see this magical sight. Setting off from Lo Lo Chai Village before dawn, we reached the peak just as the clouds streamed through the Tu San Gorge, flowing along the Nho Que River like a white silk ribbon wrapped around the pass. As the sun rose, rays of light pierced through the mist like a fan, illuminating the valley in a scene both grand and dreamlike.
Back in 2011, Lieutenant Cong from Dong Van Police had twice taken us up the pass, but each time the summit was shrouded in thick fog. He said nowhere else in the northwest has mist as dense as Ma Pi Leng - so thick, he joked, you could slice it like the Hmong slice men men (steamed cornmeal) at Dong Van Market.
In 2014 and 2015, we followed Thao Mi Giang, known locally as the “water king”, up the pass in search of hidden springs. He had a unique gift. By watching where the mist gathered in the valleys, he could guide villagers to pockets of water clinging to the rocks.
Ma Pi Leng Pass, whose name in Hmong means “horse’s nose ridge,” is revered as the “king of mountain passes” in Vietnam’s northwest. Spanning roughly 20km, this dramatic route cuts through steep, rugged terrain at elevations between 1,200m and 1,400m.
From its summit, travelers are rewarded with sweeping views of the Dong Van Karst Plateau, a starkly beautiful landscape of jagged limestone peaks and plunging valleys. One side of the pass clings to vertical cliffs; the other drops sharply into the jade-green waters of the Nho Que River - a breathtaking scene that captures the wild grandeur of Tuyen Quang’s highlands.
His remarkable story later inspired the documentary film named “Song on the Peak of Ta Lung” which won several national and international film awards. In 2017, we worked on a photography project for Hmong children, giving 30 students in Pa Vi Commune a simple automatic camera and asking them to take pictures of their daily lives. One child, Thao My Sung, amazed us with a photo of clouds drifting over Ma Pi Leng. When asked why she took it, she said, “My hometown is beautiful. I have seen the clouds many times, but I never had a camera to photograph them”.
The next morning, we returned to the pass at 5am, hoping to catch a moment like Sung’s. But once again, the thick fog swallowed everything, leaving only the faint scent of burning corn stalks in the air, the beginning of another planting season.
Story: Thong Thien Photos: Nguyen Thang, Hoang Ha & Tran Hieu/VNP
Translated by Nguyen Tuoi