Pha Din Pass is situated on the way from Hanoi to Dien Bien and the boundary between Son La and Dien Bien provinces. The pass is 32 km long with abrupt and tottery terrain. Pha Din in dialects means Heaven and Earth. According to local legend, this was the border of Heaven and Earth.
Once upon a time, the inhabitants held a horse racing in order to handle the boundary dispute of Son La and Lai Chau (old) provinces. The horse of two provinces would start at the same time from both sides of the pass and ran towards each other. The boundary was the meeting place. Finally, Lai Chau’s horse finished the race first and Lai Chau (Dien Bien’s province today) thereby had the longer pass.
With the height of over 1,000 m, the road is very tough to drive with uphill and downhill parts and zigzagging, tottery road. One side is vertical cliffs and other side is abyssal chasms. Moreover, the road has a lot of dangerous turnings. If you love nature and adventuring, Pha Din Pass will be definitely a good challenge for you.