Ban Gioc Waterfall - the epic of water

The morning mist still lingered, making the valley hazy. It was only 6am, we were eager to go down to the waterfall. It was still too early, especially when the mist here covered the whole scene, making the valley hazy, the houses on both sides of the road were still closed, occasionally there was the barking of a few dogs. The roaring sound of the waterfall echoed from afar. From the newly paved asphalt road, we could see the giant waterfall fiercely splashing white foam. The Quy Son River (also known as Quay Son) is so gentle, starting from China, flowing peacefully through countless villages, providing abundant water for both Vietnam and China, the river falls from a height of over 35m in the middle of the border between the two countries, forming the famous Ban Gioc waterfall. The main waterfall is the low waterfall, located on the Chinese border, in Guangxi province. The secondary waterfall - the high waterfall belongs toDam Thuy commune, Trung Khanh district, Cao Bang province. With a height of 53 m and a width of 300 m, the waterfall has 3 levels including many large and small waterfalls. Large volumes of water fall down through many limestone steps, creating a white mist.

On spring days, the waterfall flows like gentle silk strips, creating a poetic and romantic scene for the beauty of Cao Bang's mountains and rivers. When summer comes, the Quy Son River is abundant, the waterfall truly shows off its majestic and powerful beauty.The steam from the waterfall met the sun and created athe onesrainbow7 extremely unique and interesting colors.At the foot of the waterfall is a wide river, with both banks being grass carpets and primeval forests. Water splashes from far away, the sky seems to be in a never-ending jungle rain. The fields are soaked with water, the grass is soaked with water, everything is soaked with water. The trees and bamboo trees across the river are soaked with water, slippery. The sound of the waterfall is as fierce as an orchestra of drums being played at the same time. The green of the rice, the forest, the white of the waterfall, the sunlight and the rainbow create beautiful pieces of light for the great waterfall.

We followed the smooth stone steps, climbed up high. Standing from above looking down at the waterfall and the river below, the whole natural scene appeared before our eyes. On the Vietnamese side of the territory are simple villages, simple stilt houses, villages, simple fields. The waterfall part of this land has not been exploited much for tourism, still intact its wild beauty. While on the other side of the neighboring country, Ban Gioc waterfall has been known for a long time, attracting a lot of tourists to visit the waterfall every day. Houses and shops are built close together on the river bank, tourist services such as boats taking passengers down to the waterfall, food stalls, souvenirs...

At 8am, there were quite a lot of visitors to Ban Gioc waterfall.The tourist rafts are bustling with mainly Chinese tourists. Due to the remote geographical location, difficult roads and little attention paid to tourism activities, Ban Gioc waterfall, althoughIt is the fourth largest waterfall in the world among waterfalls located on a border between countries (After Iguazu Falls between Brazil and Argentina, Victoria Falls between Zambia and Zimbabwe; and Niagara Falls between Canada and the United States), but most of the people who visit the falls are mainly backpackers or tour groups.

Looking at the stream of people getting on boats, sightseeing on the Quy Son River, I couldn't help but feel sad that domestic tourism still has no way to exploit the great potential of Ban Gioc Waterfall. The waterfall still continues to roar down in a bustling atmosphere of laughter. We lingered in the bustling border market. The market has about 200 stalls of Vietnamese people, mostly Tay and Nung ethnic people living in Co Muong village. Every morning, people carry goods to the market by tractor, and in the afternoon, when there are fewer customers, they pack up their goods and go home. Along with the market held on Sundays, right on the Quy Son River at the foot of the waterfall, this new market on the mainland gives visitors a deeper insight into the customs and lifestyle of the local people.

Leaving Ban Gioc waterfall after noon, we returned to Cao Bang. We could not help but regret that our stay in this land at the head of the country was too short, not having had time to enjoy the most majestic scenery of Cao Bang mountains and rivers in the afternoon and at night. It is said that when the weather is sunny, rafting on Quy Son river can see rainbows on the waterfall, a spectacular scene painted by nature.

The afternoon was gradually falling, the sun was setting on the undulating mountains. The sound of buffalo gongs was resounding and clicking. The children were playing happily as they drove the buffaloes home. The quiet scene of a mountainous area, no noisy cars, no car horns, no smoke and dust. A few houses were blowing fire, kitchen smoke hovering above the thatched roofs. The Tay and Nung ethnic people were carrying spades and shovels, slowly returning home. The valley was noisy with the sound of our vehicles. The sound of the vehicles had stopped, the whole world was empty.

A noisy summer rain was pounding behind. The road home was faintly visible in the rain. Somewhere, the sound of children shouting, bathing in the cool summer rain.

More information:

From Hanoi, you go straight on National Highway 3 to Cao Bang province (300km long), then you continue to Trung Khanh town and stay overnight here. This is a lovely town with affordable motels.

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To get to Ban Gioc waterfall, there are two routes you can choose. For those traveling by motorbike, they will enter the challenging Tra Linh - Tong Cot road to go deeper into the rugged highland. Meanwhile, the road over Ma Phuc pass, over Quang Uyen is the choice of most people who love to explore this famous pass.

3km from Ban Gioc waterfall is the beautiful Nguom Ngao cave, deep in the mountain, you should not miss it.

Famous dishes of Cao Bang land include egg rolls, Gam river fried fish or wild vegetables. The largest hotel in Cao Bang province is Bang Giang hotel.

The best time to visit Ban Gioc waterfall is in late spring and early summer, when the buckwheat flower fields are in full bloom, the harsh sunlight has not yet arrived and the summer rains have not yet made the waterfall become fierce with foamy streams.