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About a village of rocks and sea
The village of Gò Cỏ is nestled in the coastal valley of Sa Huỳnh, a estuary in the south of Quảng Ngãi province, where the Nước Mặn lagoon flows into the East Sea. This is the core of the Sa Huỳnh culture, once inhabited by the Champa people from the 7th to the 15th centuries, and is now a highlight on Vietnam's community tourism map. The only way to reach the village is a narrow path winding through rocky hills, at the end of which lies the beach, the livelihood of the entire village.
Gò Cỏ is home to only 83 households living amidst 105 hectares of rocky coastal hills, with terraced rice fields overlooking golden sand beaches, ancient stone wells, and village roads paved with metamorphic rocks dating back hundreds of millions of years. These relics are not in museums but are right in the midst of daily life, where people still carry water, untangle nets, and go to the market every morning.
The road leading to the beach is at the end of the village.
These cobblestone streets are millions of years old.
The simple, ancient scenery in Go Co village.
For three days (June 14-16) at Ms. Di's and Mr. Binh's Pineapple Forest homestay, Nhat lived like a villager. He stayed in a genuine thatched-roof, mud-walled house, with no air conditioning or television, sleeping on a bamboo bed and a woven mat. He woke up at dawn, went swimming in the sea, enjoyed the breeze, and in the afternoon went to meet Mr. Binh at the beach. Some days, Mr. Binh would go out to sea from 6 pm to 10 pm, and if he hadn't caught enough fish, he would go out again at 3 am. Every aspect of life in the house revolved around the sea.
"The house is made of thatched roof and mud walls, but it's cooler and more airy than I imagined," he recounted. "I fell asleep in the hammock in front of the house at noon, and the sea breeze blew in, making it refreshing without needing a fan." Without any entertainment equipment inside, his family spends their time outside chatting with locals, strolling around, and admiring the small details of the ancient village, which bears the marks of time.
The room that Mr. Nhat stayed in was a thatched-roof, mud-walled hut at the Pineapple Forest homestay.
While staying here, Mr. Nhat often went out for walks to observe the village and the lives of its people.
Village stories, people's stories
Ms. Đi and Mr. Binh, owners of the Dứa Rừng homestay, not only provided accommodation but also gave Nhật a vivid glimpse into the memories of this village. During his stay, he often listened to their stories: "Stories about how difficult things were in the past, how things are better now with tourism. Stories about shrimp and fish, about the village, about their eight children who went away to work… I could listen all day without getting bored."
Three days in Gò Cỏ brought back memories of summers in his hometown with his grandparents. Meals included vegetables and fish, afternoon naps in thatched houses, and waking up to the sound of the sea breeze. His family strolled along the winding dirt roads of the village, followed fishermen out to sea, dived into the crystal-clear water, and helped mend fishing nets at night. Meals were made with freshly caught fish, vegetables picked from the garden, and sea urchins mixed with eggs in a rustic style. "The villagers here live by the sea, simple lives, but they possess a remarkable resilience," he said.
Join the fishermen on their boat to go fishing.
Swimming in the sea, snorkeling in the crystal-clear blue water.
It was precisely this simplicity that allowed his family to be closer to the local people. He helped Ms. Đi dust and sweep the house, touched the cool earthen walls of the thatched roof, carried her plastic basket to the beach to collect the fish Mr. Đinh caught to sell at the market, and took afternoon naps in hammocks strung up in the bamboo hut, enjoying the cool sea breeze. The daily rhythm of the villagers, for Mr. Nhật, was a way to slow down, to listen to nature and people, and to better appreciate the value of each moment.
Enjoy the sea breeze on a hammock in a bamboo hut.
Anh Nhật helped the homestay owners remove the fishing nets early in the morning.
Harvesting the day's freshly caught fish with the fishermen.
The heritage is awakened and preserved by the villagers.
The reason Go Co has been able to preserve its pristine environment lies not only in its isolated location but also in the strong community spirit of the villagers. Sa Huynh is a stretch of golden sand extending from Pho Khanh commune to Pho Thach commune. This is where the first archaeological sites of the Sa Huynh culture were discovered. Not only does it have the earliest dating among similar sites, but Sa Huynh also retains the pristine living space of ancient people. The diverse ecological environment, human geology, and distinctive geomorphology make it an ideal land for settlement and the formation of a long-standing culture.
With its high concentration of Sa Huynh and Cham Pa cultural relics, ancient stone structures, and well-preserved traditional customs, the people of Go Co village have gradually learned to leverage their history for community tourism since 2018. By 2020, the village was recognized as a 3-star tourist village according to OCOP standards. They work in groups to provide services, preserve the landscape, protect the beach, and guide tourists to live like locals. Now, the village is often referred to as the "Village Heritage Park".
The people of Gò Cỏ practice tourism in a simple, genuine way, allowing visitors to experience the spirit of the countryside.
Amidst the modernization spreading to every village, Go Co remains resilient, refusing to be swept away by it. The cultural "fossils" of Sa Huynh and Cham Pa still live on in every stone, every rice field, every well. The people of Go Co don't pursue tourism to change their village, but to help others understand it better. Each thatched house is a slice of memory, each stone well a testament to Cham Pa life, and each story told by the elders is a living testament.
Mr. Nhat's family took a commemorative photo with Ms. Di and Mr. Binh - the owners of the homestay.
"Here, the more rustic and authentic the tourism, the more sought after it is," Nhật said. As he left Gò Cỏ, he looked back at the rocky hill bathed in the early morning sun. The trail leading to the sea was still there. The small village nestled between the mountains and the sea wasn't glamorous or modern, but in his heart, it was a region of awakened memories.
