"You come back to raise the child and the mother.
Let me go to Cao Bang
The above folk song is not known to have originated from a long time ago, but it has somehow evoked the majestic and splendid beauty of the Northeast region of the Fatherland. When talking about Cao Bang, people often think of the historical site of Pac Bo cave, Karl Marx mountain, Lenin stream where Uncle Ho lived and worked in the pre-Uprising years or Ban Gioc waterfall - one of the waterfalls honored as the most beautiful in the world, or Nguom Ngao "tiger eye" cave, famous Trung Khanh chestnut... But there is another route, peaceful and beautiful, almost untouched by tourism that recently those who love to travel, want to indulge in watching the clouds drifting, the wind blowing high mountains and wide lakes, and breathe the pure air of Heaven have gradually found. The Tra Linh route runs into Thong Nong through vast grasslands, streams with water half a wheel deep, also beautiful, generous, enchanting and full of charm.
Cao Bang, a land with much untapped potential.
The journey started from Hanoi in the early morning, we passed through Bac Ninh, Thai Nguyen, Bac Kan... after a journey of nearly 300km, we arrived at Cao Bang. The highland city on the gentle Bang River is changing every day, has become prosperous and changed a lot compared to seven years ago when I first came.
It was late Autumn turning to Winter so the weather was very nice, after a delicious lunch with a famous specialty only available in Cao Bang: young wasps stir-fried with bamboo shoots, we left the city, drove through Ma Phuc pass to Quang Hoa district. The car stopped at a vast grassland with peaceful lakes reflecting the ivory bamboo grove nearby and surrounding limestone mountains. Herds of buffaloes, cows and horses leisurely grazed and drank water, women and shepherds gathered in groups to talk and play. The scene seemed to have passed very far, from 20, 30 years ago when we were members of a group of buffalo herders in a Northern village, suddenly flooded back with memories. Everyone was curious and excited when my group of friends brought out a fly-cam rig to assemble, happily controlling it to fly in order to capture some of the beautiful and peaceful scenery "like a Bai Tho conical hat" here.
Peaceful Tra Linh grasslands
The place I most look forward to visiting is the “Tun Mountain”. The backpackers have given it a name full of beautiful and mysterious beauty: Tuyet Tinh Coc Cao Bang. When international scientists came to research to complete the Global Geopark dossier, they used a whole field of dreamy associations to name this place “Mountain Angel Eye” - Eye of the Mountain God.
Thung Mountain (in Tay language, Phja Piot) is located in Quoc Toan commune, Tra Linh district, in the Thang Hen lake complex of the amazing "Non nuoc Cao Bang" Geopark, spanning 3,000km2, covering 6 districts, and is the long-standing residence of 9 ethnic groups in this beautiful mountainous region. Among the layers of mountains, there is a very special mountain. Geologists explain: The mountain's God's Eye is actually a circular cave, more than 50m in diameter, located at an altitude of about 50m above the lake surface. The cave develops in limestone terrain at an average altitude of about 650-700m, including tower-shaped and cone-shaped mountain blocks interwoven with dozens of large and small lakes, together creating the mysterious Thang Hen lake system. The unique feature of this lake system is that the lakes are connected with surface or underground streams. Therefore, the water level of the lakes can change seasonally, sometimes very suddenly. Surprise, amazement mixed with excitement and joy when discovering a special and amazing landscape made our whole group linger, wanting to admire, take a few more pictures, film a few more clips, and hesitate to go home even though it was late afternoon.
Mat Than Mountain, a famous tourist destination in Cao Bang (Source: Unsplash)
The next morning, when the dew was still shimmering on the grass, we walked along the Bang River towards Thong Nong District. The winding mountain roads were covered with a lush green color of trees and grass. Every time we came across a beautiful scene along the road, our local friend reminded us to slow down or stop the car so that the whole group could admire and record the scene of "green mountains and blue water like a picture". The car passed a long stream, it was the rainy season so the water was high. To facilitate traffic, people laid large concrete slabs across the stream bed like building a small spillway to facilitate travel but also not affect the flow of the stream. Each member of the group rolled up their pants and waded back and forth, enjoying the beautiful scenery on both sides of the stream, watching the people here get water, wash clothes by the stream, listening to the murmuring sound of the stream, their limbs soaked in the cool water flowing from the source, it felt like all their senses were awakened.
Crossing the large stream at low tide, we continued to run through the beautiful, dreamy valleys in the thin rain of late autumn, occasionally stopping to watch the small white streams flowing from the cliffs or leaning against the trees to pick clusters of ripe, fragrant wild guavas swaying along the path.
Driving across the stream in Thong Nong.
The Tong Nong grassland appeared like a scene in the Mongolian plain that I had seen on Youtube. My friends again set up their toys to set up the controls and enjoyed the beautiful footage from the fly-cams. I wandered around the valley, watching the majestic mountain ranges vaguely reflecting on the peaceful, clear lake, the dark green wild trees growing tall and strong in the early winter. Under the dense bushes, groups of wild pigs - probably raised by the residents living nearby - were leisurely grazing and looking for food, showing off their agility, small but sturdy. Passing the water edge close to the surface of the large lake, flocks of ducks were swimming happily, some even dipping their heads straight down with their tail feathers raised to look for snails. Seeing the red umbrella fully opened and propped up close to the raft covering the on camera, my younger brother in the group gently turned around and nudged my shoulder: "Be quiet, I'm recording the sound of rain falling".
Saying goodbye to Cao Bang with eyes filled with beautiful scenery, lungs filled with pure air, legs feeling stronger after passing through the forest roads... we silently promised to soon return to the beautiful and peaceful land of Cao Bang.
Green grasslands in Thong Nong.
The author of the article is in Thong Nong.
