Quang Tri: Discovering a hundred-year-old apricot forest in the middle of the Dakrong forest

(Inspector) - Located in the middle of a deep valley, on a steep cliff, is a forest of apricot blossoms that is becoming a mystery in this Dakrong wilderness. Because, no one knows when the ancient apricot trees were born, only knowing that in the memory of the people here, the apricot forest has survived many rainy and sunny seasons, through storms in the wilderness, through the constant changes of nature.

Báo Quảng Trị•06/04/2025

Quang Tri: Discovering a hundred-year-old apricot forest in the middle of the Dakrong forest Mr. Truong Quang Trung, Director of the Quang Tri Province Special-Use Forest Management Board, next to an ancient apricot tree in full bloom on the mountain top. Photo: Minh Tan

Through the "monk's paths"

After many missed appointments, I received a call from Mr. Truong Quang Trung, Director of the Quang Tri Province Special-Use Forest Management Board: "This year the cold weather is prolonged, and my brothers reported that the apricot forest bloomed late. If the rain stops these few days, we can go. Tomorrow, let's go together!"

After preparing our belongings and food, we put on our backpacks and headed towards the core of the old forest in Dakrong district, Quang Tri province. This is where it is rumored that there is an ancient apricot forest, hidden for centuries in the heart of the forest. No one knows exactly when these apricot trees were born, but we only know that, according to the stories of the Van Kieu village elders, the apricot forest still stands there, silent before time.

Quang Tri: Discovering a hundred-year-old apricot forest in the middle of the Dakrong forest

The survey team of the ancient mai forest crossed many streams. Photo: Minh Tan

Passing the simple forest guard hut of the forest management and protection staff of the Special Use Forest Management Board in Trieu Nguyen Commune, Dakrong District, we continued to be guided by the staff here to the apricot forest. Through the small babbling streams, following the trails with the patrol footprints of the forest protection staff, we came across the main road along the mountainside.

“This section is very easy to travel, the locals here still call it “monk’s road”. My father told me that in the past, this road was carved by the locals, digging soil and rocks by hand to serve our army in bringing tanks and vehicles in and out of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the Western branch”, said forest ranger Nguyen Van Hieu as he walked.

The ancient mai forest is located on a mountain 300m above sea level. Photo: Minh Tan

We followed the historic road and eagerly continued to the big stream. Turning here, the increasingly humid air of the old forest mixed with each breath. The wind blew through the leaves, carrying the musty smell of green moss, of damp soil, of ancient trees that had stood here for hundreds of years.

The deeper we went into the forest, the more sparse the traces of human beings were. We followed each steep mountain slope, occasionally a few "running stones" fell off during the movement and fell down into the deep valley, startling the whole group. There were times when we had to slide down each steep mountain slope, slippery and full of sharp thorns. But then, when the journey seemed to last forever, we suddenly encountered a scene that made everyone speechless.

In the deep forest, apricot blossoms bloom yellow

Before our eyes, the ancient apricot trees stood tall amidst the vast green forest. They did not grow densely but were scattered, some stood alone on steep cliffs, some spread their canopies wide like a giant umbrella protecting an entire area.

The apricot trees are rough, their old bark covered with moss. Some trees have a curvy shape, some are straight, imprinted by the whirling winds on the mountain tops but still stand firm against many stormy seasons. And in the deep green space, the yellow color of the apricot flowers is as bright as sunlight through the mist. The five-petaled flowers are fragile, bright yellow, swaying gently in the early morning wind.

Branches of an ancient apricot tree stretch out in the middle of the old forest. Photo: Minh Tan

The faint, gentle scent of wild apricot blossoms captivated people. Looking down at the ground, a thin layer of yellow carpet covered the rocks, as if spring had arrived here a long time ago. Truong Quang Trung stood there watching silently: “So beautiful, brother! After so many years of being attached to the forest, I have just seen this scene!”

I touched a low apricot branch, feeling the roughness of the old bark. There were still some flower buds still waiting to bloom, like small flames silently waiting for the moment to shine. No one knows how many rainy and sunny seasons these apricot trees have lived through, through storms in the great forest, through the constant changes of nature. They are silent witnesses of time, of the history of this land.

The yellow apricot petals of ancient apricot trees bloom in the mountains and forests. Photo: Minh Tan

Next to an ancient apricot tree that was so big that he couldn’t even hug it, Hieu said that since he was a child, every time he followed his father’s footsteps to the “root” (forest), he saw the apricot forest there. According to Hieu’s father, the ancient apricot forest has existed for many years and the locals only come to this area to pick medicinal leaves, no one dares to cut down the trees. The locals believe that the apricot tree is a sacred tree, the soul of the forest, because it is not by chance that the ancient 5-petal yellow apricot forest grows exclusively in this land.

Ecological values and conservation challenges

Director of the Quang Tri Province Special Use Forest Management Board Truong Quang Trung shared: This apricot forest was discovered by the brothers a few years ago and has been quietly protected. Because before that, when a small piece of information leaked about this ancient apricot forest, someone in Dakrong district sent people to the forest with the intention of digging up the apricot trees. Thanks to the good protection work, the brothers promptly prevented and chased them out of the forest area.

Ancient apricot trees grow strongly. Photo: Minh Tan

Initial counting shows about 200 - 300 ancient apricot trees with diameters ranging from 20 - 60cm and hundreds of years old, the ancient apricot trees grow scattered in an area of several hectares. Not to mention the young apricot trees (diameter under 10cm) growing well under the forest canopy at an altitude of about 300m above sea level. However, there has been no research into why the ancient apricot forest has been attached to this area for hundreds of years.

“However, not all beauty can last forever without protection. This ancient mai forest is still facing great risks, so we are trying our best to protect it,” Trung added.

The ancient mai forest that has existed for hundreds of years in the Dakrong forest is a mystery that needs to be researched and preserved. Photo: Minh Tan

Providing information about the ancient mai forest also makes Mr. Trung worried because it will put a lot of pressure on the staff and forest protection managers here. However, providing information about the ancient mai forest is necessary to have measures to research and preserve this ancient mai species, to avoid losing a valuable natural heritage in the Dakrong forest.

We left the forest when the sun was leaning towards the West. The apricot blossoms were still shimmering in the afternoon sunlight, shining a bright yellow in a corner of the sky. I believe that the old apricot trees standing firmly, the bright yellow branches in the wind symbolize the endurance and the pristine beauty like the whisper of time, of the springs that have passed and the springs that are coming.