Wandering in the woods

Kham Duc is one of the "mountain towns" that offers many experiences on the Ho Chi Minh trail through the western part of Quang Nam. Photo: KY Y

From Kham Duc to Prao

From Kham Duc (Phuoc Son) - a colorful mountain town, through peaceful Thanh My (Nam Giang), to P'rao (Dong Giang) to go upstream of the A Vuong River in the season of endless green rice fields. Each stage of the journey is a vivid picture, awakening in you the desire to leave the stuffy city to return to the green mountains and forests.

Try once following the paths winding through the mountainside, imagine yourself as the wind wandering wildly through the vast forest. It is not just a trip, but a journey for the heart and eyes to wander freely among the wonders of the earth and sky.

The Ho Chi Minh Trail through Quang Nam, where legendary footprints still remain in the majestic mountains and forests, will open the way for travelers to find the wind, the clouds, and the small villages nestled on the hillsides.

Drum and gong parade of the Bhnoong people through Kham Duc town on the occasion of the local traditional festival in 2024. Photo: THANH CONG

Kham Duc town, once known as the “gangster town” of the gold rush about twenty years ago, is now bustling with urban colors. Kham Duc is bustling with many accommodation establishments and bustling shops selling and buying.

The mountain town still has its own identity. The town has expanded with development, but there are still open spaces with Autumn Lake and the deep green of Xuan Mai Mountain, with the scent of the forest that can be inhaled deeply just a few kilometers from the center...

The Bhnoong children in the villages along the city, although their faces are sometimes stained with dirt, their eyes are bright and their smiles are always crisp when they see cars passing by...

From Kham Duc, driving towards Thanh My, travelers have the opportunity to visit Ro village, with its pretty little roofs shimmering in the afternoon smoke. Thanh My is also an ideal stop to enjoy highland cuisine, along with specialties of the Co Tu and Gie Trieng indigenous people. If the occasion is right, you can also participate in the gong festival held regularly every year, indulging in the joyful dance of heaven and earth through the rhythmic footsteps of young girls...

Young girls from the Nam Giang highlands shine in traditional costumes at the Gong Festival. Photo: PHUONG GIANG

The Ho Chi Minh Trail opens up a new horizon on the journey from Thanh My to P'rao, a land whose name evokes some mystery.

P'rao appears with endless white reed hills. Interspersed among the reeds are small villages of the Co Tu people, with a couple of stilt houses looming. I had the opportunity to stop my car by the roadside and watch an old woman sitting at a brocade weaving loom, her hands moving quickly as if telling the story of the mountains and forests through each thread of fabric. The children in the village ran around the big tree, their laughter echoing, blending with the sound of the cool stream flowing from the source at the beginning of the village...

Upstream A Vuong

Going up to A Vuong, I felt like I was lost in another world, where the lush green rice fields stretched endlessly, embracing the small villages that were precariously located. A Vuong in the new rice season was as beautiful as a watercolor painting. Amidst the endless green of the rice fields, occasionally appeared a roof covered with silver-gray palm leaves.

I came across Co Tu women carrying baskets by the stream, their gentle smiles shining in their eyes. The village in A Vuong is not only beautiful because of its scenery, but also because life still retains its original peacefulness. The sound of gongs from a Bhalêê house, like an invitation for travelers to stop and rest, enjoy a fragrant bamboo rice meal by the fire, sip a sip of spicy rice wine in the cold of the highlands.

Bhnoong girls go to the fields. Photo: PHUONG GIANG

Wandering along the Ho Chi Minh trail is also an unforgettable experience on the journey up the mountain. The winding curves are full of challenges, then suddenly open up a vast expanse of land and sky before your eyes.

I drove down a slope that was several kilometers long, listening to the wind and the scent of the forest following my steering wheel. Through each turn, I was lucky to see a sea of ​​white clouds floating, like a ladder leading to the gate of heaven. Standing on the top of the pass, I wondered how long it had been since I had realized where was high and where was far; how long it had been since I had escaped the suffocation of the city...

The journey through the villages along the Ho Chi Minh trail is not just a journey, but a return journey. Returning to the great forest, to the red sunsets in the west, when the sound of deer echoes against the mountain walls, when the Abel lute resonates in the village elder's folk song.

The Ho Chi Minh trail through Quang Nam is not only a journey of discovery, but also an invitation from the far green land. The West is always full of strange things, will continue to beckon, urging adventurous steps, satisfying the desire to conquer. Go, see, listen and listen to the land and sky, to the people of the highlands who are always warm-hearted, hospitable, sincere...

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/lang-thang-mien-rung-3151754.html