The northern province of Lao Cai will offer a tour of Mother Goddessworshipping sites along the Red River from August 10, hoping to drawmore visitors to the border locality.

Director of the provincialDepartment of Culture, Sports and Tourism Tran Huu Son on July 10 saidthe tour will go through six temples in Phu Tho, Yen Bai and Lao Caiprovinces, four of the destinations are located in Lao Cai.

Moresections of the Noi Bai – Lao Cai Highway will be open to traffic inthis August, shortening the travel time between capital Hanoi and theprovince, Son said, adding that he hopes more than 10,000 visitors willtake this tour.

The worship of Mother Goddess is a folk beliefthat addresses the concerns believers have in their daily and a way toexpress their desires for good fortune.

Apart from thespiritual tour, Lao Cai also plans to organise lantern and streetfestivals in its resort city of Sapa in October.

An internationalmarathon tournament will be held in Sapa on September 20 – 21 with theparticipation of some 450 athletes from 43 countries and territories.

Inearly September, the province will launch eight new tours and offerpromotion packages such as discounts in ticket and service prices, theofficial announced.

Lao Cai is one of the tourism hot spots in Vietnam’s northwestern region, and its Sapa is a must-see place of interest.

In2012, Sapa was among the five most favourite destinations of Vietnam.Its terraced rice fields were also selected as one of the seven terracewonders of Southeast Asia.-VNA