Pa Vi Ha, the community culture and tourism village of the Mong ethnic group, is located close to the poetic Nho Que river in the northernmost province of Ha Giang. The village is likened to a brilliant flower blooming at the foot of the majestic Ma Pi Leng pass, in the Dong Van Karst Plateau Global Geopark.
Pa Vi Ha, the community culture and tourism village of the Mong in Ha Giang province (Photo: Vinh Phong)
Pa Vi Ha is home to 26 Mong households, whose houses and landscape create a poetic scenery as a blooming peach blossom. At a distance of 4 km from Meo Vac town and 160 km from Ha Giang city, Pa Vi Ha village converges the pristine beauty of nature and cultural imprints of the Mong indigenous people.
The village’s stilt houses are built simulating peach blossoms, a typical flower of the stone plateau. Covering an area of about 46,000 sq.m, the village has a cultural house, an exhibition house of the Mong culture, and a hexagonal playground for community events, such as performances and ceremonies.
Tho Mi Po, head of Pa Vi Ha hamlet, said: “Households began offering homestay services in 2018. There are 28 households. The community tourism model has been improved a lot since then. The life of the locals has become better-off.”
All homestays are designed in the traditional architectural style of the Mong. The earthen-wall and wood-frame house has two stories, three main rooms, two-wing rooms, and yin-yang tiled roof. The house and the yard cover an area of about 300 sq.m and are surrounded by stone fences.
Coming to Pa Vi Havillage, tourists will indulge in the cultural space of the Mong to experience their daily life, try on their colorful traditional costumes, do some craft work, and cook local dishes.
Pa Vi Ha village is located between two superb mountains. (Photo: Vinh Phong)
Hoang Thi Hien, the owner of Pa Vi Homestay, said: “Pa Vi Ha tourism village is less crowded in the summer. In the winter we receive a lot of tourists. We serve tourists smoked pork, sausage, corn liquor, and dishes made from buckwheat. We have just resumed operation for two years after the COVID-19 pandemic. In previous years, the facilities were quite plain. We have renovated to satisfy visitors.”
On festivals, such as the Gau Tao festival and Forest God worship ceremony, visitors can experience the Mong culture through folk singing and cheerful flute performances of Mong boys and girls.
Pa Vi Ha village offers visitors peaceful, comfortable moments staying in earthen houses, sipping a cup of coffee in unique-decor cafes, eating local dishes in rustic dining rooms, and buying some hand-made souvenirs such as brocade fabrics and daily necessities of the Mong.
In the early winter, buckwheat flowers are in full bloom on vast fields, spreading to the foot of high mountains with the summits hidden in the misty fog. Some tourists share their feelings.
"I came to Pa Vi in the early winter because I was told that this is the best time. It’s truly impressive. The tourism village is located between two superb mountains. It’s thrilling. My family stayed here one night. My children enjoy the life, the local food, and playing by a fire.”
"Coming here I saw beautiful buckwheat flowers. The wildness of the mountains and forests really overwhelm me. I will come back many more times.”
Pa Vi Ha village has become a fantastic venue for Vietnamese and foreign tourists, especially those who want to have an authentic experience of rustic life in Dong Van Karst Plateau.
Vinh Phong