Tea plantations are a photographer’s dream, offering a stunning texture that highlights the subject in every shot. The plants are carefully grown in neat lines, allowing photographers to play with the lines and create captivating compositions. The deep green color of the tea leaves adds to the beauty of the images.
Vietnam’s tea plantations are especially unique, thanks to the traditional hats worn by local farmers. These hats, known as “Non,” have broad rims that provide excellent shelter from the sun. Non is so Vietnamese that it is included as a photography subject in any Vietnam photo tours. They are also lightweight and easy to move around, making them perfect for picking tea leaves. In fact, there are many workers wearing Non hats throughout the plantations, providing endless opportunities to incorporate them into your photographs. The contrast of colors and lines with the Non hats creates even more interesting compositions.
What’s more, tea plantations in Vietnam are often situated in hilly areas, making it easy to capture breathtaking shots with mountains or hills as the backdrop. This adds depth and richness to the images, making them even more appealing to photographers.
So where to photograph tea plantations in Vietnam on your Vietnam photo tours with Momentlives?
Moc Chau (Son La province)
Moc Chau is some 200 km or 4.5 hrs drive to the West of Hanoi. The place was an economic hub from the time of centrally planned economy in Vietnam (with its peak being the 70s – 80s). Moc Chau’s main sectors of economy are tea plantation and raising milk cattle.
At some 300 above sea level, Moc Chau offers cooler climate, provide a shelter in the summer from city’s hassle. Therefore, the locals seek Moc Chau as a R&R center, along with the photography purpose. Lots of wedding photographers and their clients come here for the wedding album.
In Moc Chau, there are various options when it comes to accommodation, one of them is the newly built Thao Nguyen resort. Its price starts from 30 US$/night.
Yen Son (Tuyen Quang province)
Located 150 km from Hanoi and close to the Lake of Thac Ba, Yen Binh is another tea hub that can be easily reached. From Hanoi, you’ll get there after 03 hours of easy ride.
Here, as you ride along the Yen Binh roads, there are tea plantations on both sides of the road. They stretch out further to the far rolling hills. Here, you can see the farmers picking up leaves by hand. Then at the end of the day, The workers would transport tea lives to nearby factories for processing and get their daily income.
After your photography time, consider staying in a homestay of the Dzao ethnic people. Among our Vietnam photography tours, one takes you to the area of Thac Ba lake.
Tan Uyen (Lai Chau province)
The district of Tan Uyen has some of the largest tea plantations in the whole region of north Vietnam. And the scenery is among the most stunning of all. However this is also the furthest from Hanoi, with over 6.5 hrs of driving. So perhaps you should think of combining with visits to the nearby Sapa or Muong Hum and Y Ty. But it is truly worthwhile.
The tea plantations here are vast and really vast. You can photograph here at most times of the year. The great thing about tea plantations here is that they are usually sits on hilltops, and surrounded by mountains. These mountains make perfect backdrop to highlight your subject, which are usually the tea leaves pickers.
