The picturesque terraced fields of the mountainous Sa Pa in Viet Nam have been mentioned by the travel website Rough Guides. Viet Nam has been voted by Rough Guides' online followers as the 20th most beautiful country in the world. — Photo roughguides.com

HA NOI (VNS) — Online readers of the well-known travel website Rough Guides have named Viet Nam as one of the 20 most beautiful countries in the world.

The vote was launched last week by the site on Twitter and Facebook.

"It's no surprise that Viet Nam made it to the top 20. From the impressive rock formations of the Ha Long Bay to the terraced fields of the mountainous Sa Pa, Viet Nam has a huge wealth of easily accessible natural beauty," the site wrote.

Viet Nam ranks 20th in the list, while Scotland, Canada, New Zealand, Italy and South Africa are the top five most beautiful countries.

The other Asian countries in the top 20 list include Indonesia and India.

Earlier, in a vote for the countries which have "The Best Cuisine in the World", Viet Nam was ranked fifth in the list of 15 countries, which also feature Japan, India, Thailand and Italy.

Rough Guides has also mentioned Viet Nam in the list of the top 10 best-value destinations.

"Despite its increasing popularity, Viet Nam can still claim to be one of Southeast Asia's bargain destinations in 2014. Street food, in particular, is famously good and famously cheap: dishes like banh cuon for £1 are common, and even a meal in a simple restaurant is unlikely to be more than £3. If you can get the local rate, bus travel and motorbike hire are also great value," according to Rough Guides. — VNS