Come to Ba Vi, Eat Cake, Drink Milk & Relax French Style (Part 1)

Text: Phan Cac Truc

Photos: Le Mont Ba Vi

Visit the countryside

Only about 60km from the center of Hanoi, the climate is cool even on the hottest days of summer, the road up to Ba Vi mountain is covered with green trees, somewhere the sound of birds chirping in the plum bushes is clear. Ba Vi National Park is where you can listen to the majestic and poetic sounds of the mountains and forests, listen to the legend of Son Tinh - Thuy Tinh from the founding days of the country, touch the clouds on the top of the shrine of Saint Tan Vien - one of the four immortals of Vietnam.

On the small van heading up the mountain, the driver's eyes were fixed ahead, his hands skillfully steering the wheel through the continuous winding sections like the spiral that children used to play in the 90s. Those who come here for the first time will be surprised by the whole kingdom of plants with more than 1,000 different types of trees, including many rare species such as: green cypress, honey-colored cypress, three-pointed hazel, white-striped pine, fairy flower, tiger beard, glitter... belonging to Ba Vi National Park.

The most attractive to young people is the aster and cactus nursery with more than 1,200 varieties of cacti, located in an abandoned greenhouse. With no one taking care of them, the cacti here just survive and grow, with some trees as tall as 2-3 adults. Summer from June to September is the best time for camping by the campfire with family, or relaxing among the clouds and mountains.

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Where time settles in ancient bricks

Ba Vi is not only beautiful because of the old story about Son Tinh, about Princess Ngoc Hoa, about Van Lang culture under the reign of the 18th Hung King, this place is also a place for you to follow the traces of time. That is the 100-year-old road built during the Indochina period, the revolutionary historical relic site at cote 600m, the resort villa of high-ranking officers during the French colonial period at cote 800m, other constructions such as the ruined church, helicopter landing pad, orchid garden...

Go from Cau Giay to Xuan Khanh Town, pass Tam My market about 200m, there is a left turn onto the concrete road to Ba Vi National Park. Cross cote 400, go another 1.5 km to the intersection, go straight following the instructions "Historical relic site cote 600" to reach LeMont Ba Vi.

I especially like Cote 600. At Cote 600, you can visit the French colonel's residence, which has been almost completely removed, but the surrounding stone wall, the mound, and the floor are still there. The tiles have a very thick glaze layer, the sophisticated patterns typical of the French colonial period are still one of the inspirational gifts. Young people later even gathered to collect tiles. Tiles were originally a luxury item, only used in houses, mansions, and government offices. After laying the tiles, the workers had to pour grated coconut on the tile floor for a few days so that the crude coconut oil could penetrate the tiles, making the floor shinier. Nearly a century later, the remaining tiles are still as bright and clear as ever.

Cote 600 also has LeMont Ba Vi - the highest place in the area for you and your family to relax in the nostalgic space of the 1940s. LeMont, in old French, means "Mountain." This is the only place that still preserves and restores many ancient architectures for tourists. On a summer weekend morning, you can come here to sunbathe, swim in the rooftop pool, or simply enjoy a peaceful day in the old mansion space, walking along the reddish-brown stone wall of the Indochina years. Le Mont Ba Vi is where travelers go back in time, exploring what used to be a resort, a high-class summer camp for children of French officers, nobles and mandarins in the middle of a natural forest with oaks, chestnuts, and wild orchids.