The road linking Cho Ra to Phia Den passes through some magnificent scenery, quickly leaving the large Tay villages for the more scattered and remote houses of the Hmong and Dao. The latter dominate the region as far as the village of Pha Den, at an altitude of over 1 000m. Their low houses are built near the steep slopes which they cultivate using slash-and-burn methods. Although the Red Dao women no longer wear their traditional dress (as in Cho Ra), the Dao Tien have retained their costumes.