You may not know: 5 new destinations for summer

Duong Coc Lake - the jade of Thanh land

Suitable for: groups of friends, people who love nature and quiet

About 100 km from Thanh Hoa city, Duong Coc lake used to be a field in the valley of Den and Ne villages of Dien Ha commune, Ba Thuoc district, built into an irrigation lake to serve irrigation for Cam Thuy and Ba Thuoc districts of Thanh Hoa province. With a water surface area of ​​nearly 60 hectares, Duong Coc lake is immense and peaceful, located between the green mountains, an ideal place to relax on weekends.

Coming to Duong Coc Lake, you cannot help but rent a boat to cruise on the lake. When the boat glides close to the bushes on the islands or at the foot of the mountain, flocks of birds will fly up in droves. The chirping of wild birds echoes clearly on the windy lake, easily making travelers stunned by the purity of nature. In the afternoon, a thin white smoke rises from the cornfields in a corner of the lake, blending with the afternoon mist that begins to cover the mountain slopes, creating a peaceful, elegant scene like a watercolor painting.

In the middle of the lake, there are a few small islands, along with a “lonely” tree lying alone on the green grass. In the summer, when the water is low, tourists often come to camp at the base of this tree.

If you stay overnight, you can contact Mr. Dien’s family, a Muong, to order a Muong dinner for the evening by the lake. Mr. Dien will treat guests to a meal with all the food being products of Duong Coc Lake: free-range chicken, various types of shrimp and fish caught from the lake, sticky rice of the Muong people of Ba Thuoc land…

Meals were served in huts built by Mr. Dien's family on the water near the shore. In the windy hut on the shore of Duong Coc Lake, everyone raised their glasses of apple wine, enjoyed delicious food, and listened to Mr. Dien passionately tell the stories of Den and Ne villages.

“At the foot of the mountain there is a village, legend has it that long ago in the village there was a husband who went to war, the wife stayed behind and hung a lamp on the mountain, with the husband's instructions to take good care of the lamp, when the lamp went out it meant her husband had won the war far away. However, the enemy sent bad guys to spread the news that her husband had won the battle and was returning, making the wife believe it was true and turned off the lamp. In the end, the husband was defeated on the battlefield and did not return. From then on, the village was named Lamp Village.”

“The village next to Den village, long ago, had many tigers in the mountains and forests. They came to the village to catch people and often brought them to a place to eat, called Cong Rum, where human bones had piled up for a long time. People were afraid and told each other to avoid that area, and over time it became called Ne village.”

Chay Lap - a typical rural area of ​​Quang Binh

Suitable for: family groups, friends, those who like rustic experiences and adventure

Located right at the gateway to Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park, Chay Lap is a rustic village surrounded by limestone mountains and lush green trees. From Chay Lap, you can conveniently explore many attractive places of Quang Binh such as Chay River - Dark Cave, Mooc Stream, Thien Duong Cave, Tam Co Cave... In particular, an experience not to be missed when stopping in Chay Lap is staying at Chay Lap Farmstay.

The predecessor is Rustic Chay Lap - Chay Lap Countryside, the first homestay in Quang Binh established in 2009 under the operation of Chay Lap Village Community Tourism Cooperative. In 2016, Oxalis joined hands to operate the homestay, creating the brand Chay Lap Farmstay (CLF) - a community tourism area, combining a modern hotel system with gardening areas.

In addition to the cluster of lovely houses with mountain and garden views, the resort also has a swimming pool, a water sports area, an outdoor lawn for movie screenings or a playground for children... You will also be delighted by the Farm house located next to CLF's ecological vegetable garden - with the ability to float thanks to a system of barrels and directional poles to ensure safety during the rainy season, a unique climate adaptation solution of the local people.

In the CLF fruit garden are two traditional houses, one named Suoi Nhap - the name of the stream winding around the resort, flowing from the mountain gorge to the Chay River; the other named Ha No - a flower that grows along the Nhap Stream, blooming white and fragrant in the spring. These two houses are used as spas, with unique services such as foot baths with betel leaves, green tea steam baths, etc., operated by the village girls in Chay and Me villages.

The most attractive point of CLF is that it organizes many experiential activities related to the farm life of local people. Both adults and children can participate in seasonal activities such as sowing beans, sowing corn, harvesting rice or planting, caring for and harvesting green vegetable beds; early morning or late afternoon, sipping coffee on the banks of the clear, blue Chay River or amidst the natural scenery of the surrounding mountains and forests.

If you like to be active, you can kayak, SUP or cruise on the Chay River; or if you want a gentle activity, cycle around Chay Lap to fully explore the rusticity here.

Hon Vuon - a place to see Hue from above

Suitable for: groups of friends, people who like to explore and exercise

Hon Vuon is located in Dong Cham village (Huong Ho commune, Huong Tra district, Thua Thien-Hue province), about 20 km from Hue city center. For more than a year now, Hon Vuon has become an attractive destination for tourists who love to explore.

To get to Hon Vuon, visitors travel along the northern bank of the Perfume River to Huyen Khong Son Thuong Pagoda, park their vehicles at the pagoda and gently move to the back of the pagoda to begin the journey to conquer the top of Hon Vuon. Or there is another way - more winding and dangerous, is to go around Tho Son Lake and then follow the trail to the top of Hon Vuon. If you go by bicycle, you can carry your bicycle down to Huyen Khong Son Thuong Pagoda, if you go by motorbike, you must go down the way you came up.

For tourists who love to explore, Hon Vuon will be an interesting place. The walking path to Hon Vuon passes through the Melaleuca forest with a relatively steep slope and is quite slippery. Therefore, the dry summer is the ideal time for tourists to visit this place.

The peak of Hon Vuon used to be a US military base during the war years - with the remains of an airport, fortifications, trenches, and shelters scattered around the mountain top, along with some wild animals. Today, this is a place to watch beautiful sunrises and sunsets. From above, you can see the whole city of Hue, Tam Giang lagoon, Tho Son lake, Khe Ngang lake and the surrounding landscape is very spectacular.

To have a memorable trip to conquer the peak of Hon Vuon, it is necessary to bring enough drinking water and some cakes or picnic food. Bring a flashlight to ensure safety when leaving early/returning late. Maintaining hygiene and landscape is necessary to keep Hon Vuon a green - clean and attractive destination for tourists.

Experience Central Highlands culture by Lak Lake

Suitable for: families, groups of friends, people who like to experience culture

When talking about Dak Lak, tourists will often immediately think of the Coffee Museum in Buon Me Thuot or the elephants in Ban Don; not many people know that Lak Lake is also a small "treasure" of the Central Highlands mountains and forests.

Lak Lake is located in Lien Son town, Lak district, next to the traffic route between Buon Ma Thuot and Da Lat, about 50 km from Buon Ma Thuot city. This is the largest natural freshwater lake in Dak Lak province and the second largest in Vietnam (after Ba Be lake); and although there have been many tourist activities in Lak, this place still retains its poetic, gentle and wild beauty.

If you come to Lak, you should definitely choose to stay at motels/hotels located next to Lak Lake, so you can admire the lake scenery at different times of the day. Early in the morning, rent a dugout canoe to be taken around the lake by the locals, you may encounter a herd of elephants moving slowly on the water close to the shore, or flocks of birds chirping and flying, or simply to watch the sunrise with the red rays of sunlight "floating" on the water surface.

In the afternoon, from Lak Lake, you can walk to King Bao Dai's villa located on a hilltop not far from the lake. On the gentle slope, you will hear the birds chirping in the old bushes, join the local people exercising on the mountain top, and catch the sunset hidden behind the frangipani branches that King Bao Dai himself brought here to plant. Looking down from King Bao Dai's villa, the scene of Lak Lake appears peaceful, even more poetic under the sunset.

By Lak Lake, there are Jun village, M'Lieng village (the oldest and still wildest village), Le village - typical villages of the M'Nong ethnic group. If you want to learn about the ethnic life, you can contact Van Long Eco-tourism Area.

There are many activities for groups of guests such as fire dancing, gong performances, canoeing, cycling to explore villages, staying in M'Nong longhouses, etc., and there is also a restaurant serving typical dishes of Central Highlands cuisine. Or, if you want a more youthful, private and relaxing experience, you can refer to the new glamping service of Lak Tented Camp resort.

If you have a vehicle available, you can also drive to nearby attractions such as the Dray Nur - Dray Sap waterfall cluster, only about 30 km from Lak Lake.

Diep Son - the peaceful green place of Khanh Hoa

Suitable for: couples, groups of friends, people who like quiet

Diep Son is a series of three small islands - Hon Bip, Hon Giua, Hon Duoc - in Van Phong Bay, Van Gia town, Khanh Hoa province. Because of its wildness, little known, and possessing a nearly 700 m long road in the middle of the sea, Diep Son will be an ideal destination for those who love the blue sea and tranquility.

The sea water in Diep Son is crystal clear and clean, you can see all the way to the bottom. The most distinctive feature of this place is the white sand road in the middle of the blue sea, going through three islands. If you want to experience walking on this floating road, you need to pay attention to the right time when the water recedes and the road appears: from the 1st to the 15th of the lunar month, the water recedes in the afternoon; from the 15th to the end of the lunar month, the water recedes in the morning.

There are not many shops on the island, nor is there any accommodation service, so tourists usually only come and go by boat during the day. If you are not afraid of boredom, you can prepare your belongings to camp overnight right on the beach. In the morning, wake up early to watch the sunrise, experience the scene of the Diep Son island market, or follow the fishermen to learn about their daily life. On the island, there are also some kayak rental services for tourists - both an interesting activity and a way to explore the island.

In addition, you can also rent a boat to continue exploring the small islands around Diep Son - pristine beaches, clear blue sea, fine white sand and fields of swaying reed grass...

Currently, Diep Son is still a new destination in Khanh Hoa, but this place has begun to welcome the first resort real estate projects, so this will be the ideal time for you to explore the island - when the pristine beauty is still intact here.

Nam Hoa, Shi Jang, Lam Oanh