Coming to Cao Bang, you cannot forget Ban Gioc waterfall or Pac Bo cave, but to fully experience the beauty of Cao Bang's mountains and rivers, you need to have more new discoveries in this beautiful border land.
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| Peaceful scene in the ancient stone village of Khuoi Ky. (Photo: Ha Anh) |
Coming to Cao Bang during the tourist season of Ban Gioc Waterfall, we chose to stay in Khuoi Ky stone village, which has been recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a "Typical traditional cultural village of ethnic minorities" since 2008.
The peaceful, pretty village of the Tay ethnic group is located in an area of only about 1 hectare, leaning against a rocky mountain, facing a small stream, opening a journey with many interesting discoveries...
Special ancient village
Khuoi Ky stone village has 14 houses with solid stone walls, designed with two roofs, covered with yin-yang tiles, clearly showing the uniqueness of the ethnic people here. Stone is also used in other structures such as fences, stairs, mills, stoves, etc., making each house as solid as a fortress.
Not only attracted by the unique stone stilt house architecture, anyone visiting this over 400-year-old village can also feel the cultural identity of the Tay people in Eastern Cao Bang with their indigenous customs and costumes.
Besides maintaining their daily life with rice and corn farming, Khuoi Ky people are investing in developing community tourism, especially homestay accommodation services and Tay cultural experience models.
Tourism services attract a significant number of visitors, both domestic and international, bringing stable income and improving the quality of life for people.
Like the Tay Homestay where we stayed, each house here has air conditioning, hot and cold water, a cooking area with a gas stove, refrigerator and some necessary utensils so that guests can cook for themselves.
If staying for a long time, visitors can follow the locals to participate in activities to experience the production and labor of the Tay people such as picking bamboo shoots, digging roots, working in the fields, catching fish or preparing typical dishes such as smoked pork, smoked sausage and clean vegetables grown on the edge of the forest.
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| Explore Nguom Ngao Cave. (Photo: Ha Anh) |
Conquering "Tiger Cave"
Staying in Khuoi Ky village is also a convenient condition for us to visit Nguom Ngao - a cave of amazing beauty, hidden in a majestic mountain in Dam Thuy commune, Trung Khanh district.
According to the Tay language, “nguom” means cave, “ngao” means tiger, so Nguom Ngao means “Tiger Cave”. Word of mouth such as there are many tigers living in the cave, or hearing the sound of water flowing in the cave blending together like the sound of a tiger roaring... combined with the wild beauty created by nature, further attracted our curiosity.
Previously, Nguom Ngao was only exploited in a sightseeing route within a radius of about 1km, but now the Management Board has expanded to new sightseeing routes to help visitors fully explore this mysterious cave.
Under the enthusiastic guidance of a local Tay girl, we chose a new tour route with a length of 3km. The deeper we went into the cave, the more overwhelmed we were by the vast space with many corridors and stalactite systems of various shapes and sizes created by the magical hands of nature.
Ngom Ngao is divided into many areas such as the "four pillars of heaven" area with stone pillars that look like pillars supporting the sky, the central area with majestic stalactites, the treasure area with stalactites sparkling with gold and silver...
Traveling in the cave, visitors encounter many interesting images such as dodder, mother's milk, eagle, coral tree, golden waterfall, silver waterfall, upside-down lotus...
Perhaps the most special thing when entering this magical maze is that each person can develop their own rich imagination. It is not necessary to follow the tour guide's introduction, anyone can freely and enjoy their own associations.
In Nguom Ngao after a rainstorm, we encountered a fast-flowing stream in the cave and large pools where stalactites could be reflected on the water surface. After many climbing and wading paths, we experienced rafting in the cave, admiring the crater, the cave entrance like Hang En in Son Doong… very worthy for those who love to explore and experience.
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| Cao Bang landscape. (Photo: Ha Anh) |
Autumn colors in the border region
Coming to Cao Bang in October, we did not miss the opportunity to admire the special autumn scenery of this charming mountainous region.
That is Mat Than mountain - the name given to a mountain located in Ban Danh valley, Quoc Toan commune, Tra Linh district, which is a popular check-in spot.
This mountain is also known by another name, "Thoung Mountain" (in Tay language, "Phja Piót") because at the top there is a circular hole like the "eye" of the mountain with a diameter of more than 50m.
Mat Than Mountain is nestled in the valley between Thang Hen Lake complex of Cao Bang Non Nuoc Geopark. Even though you only visit this place for a short while, you can still take in the majestic scenery of the mountain and a poetic grassland next to the clear blue lake.
In addition to Mat Than mountain, the beautiful scenery of Phong Nam - a place in Trung Khanh district is also one of the photo hunting spots for photographers every autumn.
Welcoming us before sunset, Phong Nam valley was covered in a bright yellow coat, standing out against the rolling hills and the Quay Son river winding like a silk strip across the fields, bamboo groves and houses of the people.
During the harvest season, this place presents a peaceful, prosperous countryside scene with bundles of fragrant sticky rice hanging in front of the porch, and straw neatly arranged in newly harvested fields...
Despite being a famous place, Phong Nam has not developed tourism services. The Vice Chairman of the commune said that the whole commune has only one homestay, mainly serving foreign tourists. The main income of the people here is still rice fields, corn fields and fishing.
However, when visitors want to experience the production process, Phong Nam people are very friendly and enthusiastic in guiding them. They reveal the secret of harvesting sticky rice: they have to pick each flower, then dry it indoors so that the sticky rice retains its flavor and does not break like when threshing rice by machine.
Another interesting experience on the trip was that we went to the garden to harvest chestnuts with the locals.
In the vast chestnut gardens of Chongqing, people often use bamboo poles to hook the branches and shake the ripe fruit to make it fall, or wait until the seeds are ripe enough to fall to the ground, then just collect them.
Ripe chestnuts have cracks in the outer shell, with one to three seeds inside. Because the outer shell has thorns, people bring the tree into the garden to pick the fruit and separate the seeds on the spot. When the outer thorny shell is removed, the chestnuts are dark brown, the fluff is light white, the kernel is yellow, and when eaten raw, they have a delicious and fatty taste.
Harvesting and enjoying chestnuts with the locals, we were also introduced to many other local specialties, including dishes made from chestnuts such as chestnut cakes, sticky rice, chestnut green rice, chestnut wine...
Having left Cao Bang, those warm flavors make me miss them even more on this chilly autumn day.
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