The name “Cao Bang mountains and rivers” comes from the terrain which is very different from other mountainous provinces when it possesses waterfalls, river systems, streams, valleys, plains interspersed with towering limestone mountains stretching as far as the eye can see, creating a majestic and peaceful landscape. In autumn, the fields are covered with a gentle, warm yellow color, making the fields especially shimmering at dawn and dusk.
The golden season in Cao Bang starts from September and lasts until around November.
The golden season in Cao Bang appears in many places with different shades and landscapes. Besides famous places, some places possess poetic scenery and simple lifestyles imbued with identity, becoming "hidden gems" of Cao Bang's mountains and rivers.
Ban Gioc and Phong Nam valley
The first stop of the golden season in Cao Bang is definitely Ban Gioc waterfall, located in Dam Thuy commune, Trung Khanh district, about 80 km from the city center. Ban Gioc waterfall is the pride of Cao Bang mountains and rivers when it is considered the largest natural waterfall in Southeast Asia, the fourth largest in the world compared to waterfalls located on national borders and is on the list of 10 most magnificent waterfalls in the world. The waterfall is more than 60m high with the highest part stretching about 30m, divided into many consecutive limestone layers and extending to hundreds of meters. This is considered a heritage site located in the UNESCO Global Geopark area.
Next to the majestic Ban Gioc waterfall is a golden rice field nestled between towering hills and mountains. The steam from the waterfall rises like mist in the distance, making the scene even more magical. Although autumn is not the time when Ban Gioc waterfall is most beautiful and has the most water, when the rice is ripe, this place becomes a majestic scene of Viet Bac with the beauty of the harmony between mountains, forests and rice fields, between people and nature.
Aerial view of Ban Gioc waterfall and rice fields
About 25 km from the waterfall, Phong Nam commune is home to the Tay and Nung ethnic groups. The rice fields, corn fields, and peaceful houses in the valley are embraced by the gentle Quay Son River and the green limestone mountains like a solid wall. The rice in Phong Nam usually starts to turn yellow from the beginning of September and only lasts for about a month.
The best time to take photos is when the sun has just risen, the mist covers the mountainside, the first rays of the day pour down, making the whole valley light up. In the afternoon, the mountain shadows are long, the rice fields glow a deep yellow, evoking a feeling of calm and tranquility. Even when the rice fields are still green, the scenery here is poetic and lyrical like a painting with gentle strokes.
Quay Son River embraces the rice fields in Phong Nam
Hidden villages and Xuan Truong terraced fields
If you love the rustic and want to find a traditional space, visitors can visit Dia Tren hamlet (Phuc Sen commune, Quang Hoa district). Surrounding the hamlet are golden rice fields interspersed with corn fields located in a valley, although small, it evokes the peaceful feeling of a mountainous countryside.
This is a residential area of a small community of Nung ethnic people, whose economic activities mainly rely on agricultural production. In addition, since ancient times, people here have used the bark of the May Sla tree to create handmade paper, becoming a cultural beauty that the Management Board of Non Nuoc Cao Bang Geopark focuses on preserving and promoting. With its strong ethnic identity and peaceful space, Dia Tren hamlet is one of the "hidden gems" of Cao Bang's golden season.
The peaceful scene in Dia Tren village, where there is a traditional craft of making paper.
Not only does Cao Bang have golden rice valleys, it also has terraced fields - a characteristic of mountainous agricultural production. Coming to Xuan Truong commune, Bao Lac district, visitors can experience the mountain pass connecting villages and hamlets, leading through terraced fields from the foot to the mountainside in the middle of the valley.
Xuan Truong is also one of the “hidden gems” of the golden season in Cao Bang when not many people know about it. Without any specific coordinates or viewpoints, visitors can leisurely stroll on the pass and admire the terraced fields from above or go deep into the villages and hamlets to find beautiful scenes hidden in nature.
Terraced fields stretch across the mountainsides in Xuan Truong commune
Hoai Khao, Lung Muoi and Phia Thap village
Cao Bang also has terraced fields “hanging” on the mountainside in Hoai Khao and Lung Muoi (Nguyen Binh). When the rice is ripe, the entire mountainside turns into golden waves, Dao Tien stilt houses appear and disappear in the blue smoke, children play, people laugh and talk loudly in the fields. The scene is both lively and poetic, especially beautiful in the afternoon when the sunlight dyes the fields and the whole village in a deep yellow color.
Phia Thap village (Quang Hoa district) is a place that preserves the traditional incense making profession. In the ripe rice season, the image of bundles of incense drying neatly under the golden sunlight and the brilliant rice fields in the distance creates a special cultural picture. This is a suitable place to combine the golden season experience with learning about traditional crafts, chatting with artisans, and preserving photos imbued with local characteristics.
Blue smoke in the afternoon, houses lying next to golden rice fields in Hoai Khao
Bac Son - yellow color interspersed between mountains
In addition to Cao Bang, Bac Son valley (Lang Son) is also one of the most beautiful places to see ripe rice in the North. Bac Son is characterized by people sowing rice at different times, creating colorful fields: ripe yellow, green rice, brown soil interwoven like a giant carpet. The most ideal time to visit Bac Son is from late September to mid-October, when most of the rice fields have turned yellow.
To fully enjoy the valley, climbing Na Lay mountain is the top choice. From the top of the mountain, the whole valley appears with long fields, winding rivers, and villages nestled at the foot of the mountain. Dawn is the most precious moment: the early morning mist gradually disappears, the first sunlight of the day pours down, making the yellow color glow, creating a vivid and unforgettable picture.
The rice harvest season in Cao Bang lasts until around November. After the rice turns yellow, people start harvesting. This is also a special time when the whole valley is filled with the scent of new straw, smoke from burning fields drifts in the air, and the afternoon light dyes the whole space a warm orange-yellow. It is not only a season of beautiful scenery, but also a season of sounds and flavors: the sound of reaping sickles, laughter, the smell of drying straw, all blending into a symphony of autumn in the mountains.
The journey to discover the golden season offers the opportunity to experience the most poetic moments of the year in Cao Bang.
A trip to Cao Bang during the golden season is therefore not only a journey to hunt for scenery but also an opportunity to touch the rhythm of life of the local people, to feel the peace, simplicity and preserve the brilliant moments before the yellow color is replaced by the brown color of the newly harvested fields.
