Ta Phin Village – Red Dao brocade and herbal baths

Overview

The village lies in a broad valley ringed by limestone hills and rice terraces. Red Dao women are easy to recognise by their red headscarves and intricately hand-embroidered clothing; Hmong families live in the area too.

Many households still embroider on the porch and sell their own work.

History & culture

The herbal bath began as a remedy for women after childbirth. According to Lao Cai Newspaper (April 2023), each recipe uses between 10 and 120 kinds of leaves, stems and medicinal plants, boiled and poured into a tub made of po mu wood; around 40 households in the village offer baths to visitors, and villagers have set up a community tourism cooperative.

The old Ta Phin monastery stands right on the road into the village. The stone building was put up in 1942 for 12 nuns; in 1945 they left for Hanoi and it has been abandoned ever since (per Dan Viet, February 2018). What remains are moss-covered stone walls and arched openings, with no roof. Sources disagree on the name of the order, so we leave it out.

Getting there

Ta Phin is about 13 km from Sun Plaza. Leave town on the road towards Lao Cai, then turn onto the side road to the village; the last stretch is narrow and rough in places. It takes roughly half an hour by vehicle.

• Motorbike: stop for photos whenever you like; take the side road slowly.
• Taxi / hired car: ask the driver to wait, since it is hard to find a ride back from the village.
• On foot in the village: from the monastery to the village centre and around the terraces is an easy stroll on narrow concrete lanes.

Photo spots & things to do

• The old monastery: stone walls and rows of arches, at their most atmospheric in mist.
• Watch the embroidery: see how it is done by hand and buy directly from the maker.
• Red Dao herbal bath: a soak in a po mu wood tub; ask the price first at the place you choose.
• Ta Phin cave: a limestone cave at the foot of the hills behind the village, with stalactites inside; it is dark and slippery, so go with a guide and a torch.
• Rice terraces: swirling round paddies on the valley floor, best seen from the higher stretch of road.

Best time to visit

• May–June: water-pouring season.
• July–August: green rice and maize drying on the lanes; frequent rain.
• September: golden rice.
• October–December: sunny, dry and clear.
• December–March: cold and misty – when a herbal bath feels best and the monastery photographs best.

Tips & safety

• You will be approached by sellers; if you do not want to buy, decline politely and firmly from the start.
• Ask before taking portraits.
• Carry small cash – many places do not take bank transfers. We have no verified prices for village entry or the baths, so ask first.
• A herbal bath can leave you drowsy and light-headed; do not soak for too long, drink water and rest a while before riding.
• At the monastery, do not climb on the old stone walls.

Combine it in a day

Ta Phin is on its own to the north, so it pairs best with stops in town: Ham Rong Mountain or a walk around Sun Plaza and the stone church in the morning, then Ta Phin and a herbal bath in the afternoon. The western stops such as Silver Waterfall and O Quy Ho Pass follow road QL4D in another direction – keep them for a different day.

Add a paragliding flight

Ta Phin is to the north, while the take-off at Hang Da village is about 6 km from Sun Plaza towards Muong Hoa Valley – different directions, so they do not sit on one route. The easy way: fly in the morning when the air is usually calmer (about 90 minutes for the whole package, with pick-up and drop-off at Sun Plaza or your hotel), then head to Ta Phin in the afternoon for a herbal bath to unwind.