Ly Lake of Yen Lap

Hồ Ly is a lake in the mountains of Yên Lập. Its name does not come from the legend of the hồ ly fox. It comes from one small stream.

According to the Phú Thọ tourism website, two streams formed the lake. They are the Ly and the Chanh. People took the name of the Ly stream and gave it to the lake. It is as simple as that. In the official list of irrigation works, the lake is called Thượng Long Lake, after Thượng Long commune. The commune lies in Yên Lập, in Phú Thọ province.

This lake is not the Tuyên Quang hydropower reservoir. The two names may look related at a glance, but the places are entirely different. The Tuyên Quang reservoir is a body of water of more than 8,000 hectares in Tuyên Quang province. Hồ Ly is an irrigation reservoir in Yên Lập, with a water surface of about 40 hectares.

The People's Committee of Phú Thọ province issued Decision 154 on January 19, 2026. That decision lists the lake's capacity as 3,174,000 cubic meters of water. Its dam is 28.4 meters high and 100 meters long. This is a working irrigation project for the daily life and livelihoods of the people of Yên Lập, and not only a view for visitors.

The most striking viewpoint is the suspension bridge across the lake, more than 100 meters long. From the middle of the bridge, the eye drops to shimmering green water, with the forested mountains of Yên Lập all around. Wind rises off the lake and the bridge sways a little. The feeling is unlike any other bridge you have crossed.

Seen from a motorboat on the water, dark green strips of forest run straight down to the edge. Low cloud rests on the mountain peaks, and the air carries the cool smell of damp forest earth.

Beyond the lake itself, Yên Lập is home to the Mường and Dao peoples. The tourism website describes villages beside the lake where visitors can learn the craft of brocade weaving. Hand-woven brocade with Mường and Dao patterns is not something found in any city.

Hồ Ly is a quiet mountain lake that has not yet been polished for crowds. Here the landscape and the people of Yên Lập are still whole, and the water still holds the blue sky, with no noise pushing in.