Watch paragliders spread wings above sun-kissed rice terraces in Vietnam

A paragliding festival in the mountainous district of Mu Cang Chai in the northern Yen Bai Province saw 70 local and foreign pilots taking to the sky last week. The event was held by Yen Bai's tourism department and VietWings Hanoi Paragliding Club.

Sunlight touches down on Mu Cang Chai's terrace rice fields, one of most magnificient attractions in Vietnam. Mu Cang Chai was named one of the 19 most picturesque peaks on Earth last year by U.S. travel site Insider, which called it “a hidden gem” where the “terraced rice fields are a shade of green so deep you’ll feel like you’ve stepped into a painting.”

Participants gather before the flight.

Counting down.

Taking off.

Looking down.

Landing.

A full view of Mu Cang Chai. People from the H’Mong ethnic group started carving rice terraces into the mountain range centuries ago, and are still harvesting them today.

Mu Cang Chai is said to be at its most beautiful from late September to early October when the fields are dyed yellow during the harvest season. But a few months before during May and June when farmers flood the fields to prepare for a new crop, a spectacular sight emerges, with natural mirrors reflecting everything above them.