There is an old saying that “Thai tea for Tuyen girls” – refers to the deliciousness of Thai Nguyen tea and the gentle and pure beauty of Tuyen Quang girls.
Today, traveling to Thai Nguyen, travelers will be surprised to admire the charming beauty of the green and blue water. Vast green tea hills, cool waterfalls, fanciful caves… All make this place a new discovery point on the tourist route of the Northeast mountainous region of our country.
The interesting place Mo Ga
When I was a student – a student I had a couple of times followed the school delegation to Thai Nguyen according to the source program. Thai Nguyen is famous for the relics of ATK (An Toan Khu) during the resistance war against the French in Dinh Hoa.
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| The idyllic village beauty that Vo Nhai land still retains |
Recently, I had the opportunity to return to Thai Nguyen with a group of friends to be free to roam on new roads, and explore strange lands. From the center of Thai Nguyen city, we started to turn along Highway 1B to the land of Vo Nhai – a district with many famous natural beauty spots in the country of tea, but still few people know about it.
On the road leading to the unspoiled mountains and forests, visitors are lost in the typical Northern midland countryside scenery. The rows of bamboo hanging down the clear blue river remind someone of their mother’s childhood lulling “uuuuu” on summer afternoons. Going through the communes of Dan Tien, Binh Long, and Nghinh Tuong, wherever we go, we will see the green bamboo ramparts of the village. This is an idyllic beauty that many other villages in the process of urbanization have lost.
In Dan Tien commune, we were extremely excited to stop the car to wade in the shallow river that the locals call “Red River”. This is a river flowing through tea fields with many old trees on the banks creating a beautiful landscape. In many places, the river is only flooded to the calf, the bottom is a layer of pebbles and green moss. The river water is very clear, there are some types of goby fish, so the local people often come here to drop nets.
At the end of summer and early autumn, the tea fields are printed on the calm, blue water, creating a beautiful natural picture of this place.
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| The green tea plantation by the river evokes a beautiful picture |
Traveling through tea fields, bamboo groves, and gentle rivers, we finally arrived at Phu Thuong commune (Vo Nhai). Right next to Highway 1B group of young people were surprised to see the towering mountain standing independently from the surrounding scenery. At first glance, my friend said it looked like a green pyramid. Asking a farmer who is working in the fields nearby, we learned that this mountain is called “Mother Chicken”. The farmer confided here that the place Mo Ga is very famous and familiar. He directed us to Mo Ga communal house, stream – Mo Ga cave… all beautiful and meaningful landscapes
Located halfway up the mountain in Mo Ga village, is a magical stream flowing out from the cave. The stream is clear, and the water is cool, but when you put your hand down, everyone feels refreshed and excited. The stream divides into many small branches flowing through the bushes and rocks forming beautiful miniatures. Sometimes we come across a clear puddle in the middle of the stream where we can see small fish swimming at the bottom.
Excitedly following the stream downstream for a while, we also reached Mo Ga cave. This is a cave that still retains its pristine appearance due to the small number of visitors. The cave entrance creates many niches for people to wriggle through. There are a few large rocks protruding out that make my friends climb up to sit and admire the scenery. Mo Ga Cave is a labyrinth of several hundred meters long, with a narrow path, deeply rooted in the mountain. The ceiling and walls of the cave have stalactites with many unique shapes.
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| Mo Ga Mountain stands in the middle of the field |
In the flashlight and flash of the camera, layers of stalactites appear with beautiful shimmering colors. Visitors follow the flashlight to wade on the stream to go deep into the cave. Below, we can clearly feel the small snails and pebbles like marbles massaging the feet.
Lost in Phoenix Cave
If you have been to the stream – Mo Ga cave without visiting Phuong Hoang cave, it is a mistake. This is the most impressive and famous place in the land of Phu Thuong, Vo Nhai. Compared to the stream area – Mo Ga cave, the journey to Phuong Hoang village is much more arduous.
The mountain named after the phoenix bird is only found in the legends of some ethnic minorities in the northern mountainous region. According to legend, the phoenix represents beauty, splendor and is the king of all birds.
Phoenix Cave is located on the top of the mountain of the same name. To conquer this place, visitors must prepare well . Because the challenge in front of everyone is more than 2,000 steep stone steps. Normally, it takes tourists 2 hours to go from the foot of the mountain to the cave entrance while taking a break. The higher you climb, the more you look back, and the more you can see the wild, idyllic but beautiful surroundings.
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| An interesting protruding stone outside the entrance of Mo Ga cave |
The cave has two wide doors to let the sunlight shine in. The arch of the cave is immense, standing at the door can see the deep bottom about 80-100m away. The cave has huge mossy stalactites growing like a mountain. Admiring that beauty, we realize that in Vietnam, there is much hidden great beauty hidden in the mountains and forests.
Along the journey are fanciful stalactites with pictures: adoring elephants, tiger costumes, dancing unicorns, mother holding children, including a linga about 10m high, the size of 2 people hugging… very unique and fancy. According to people living nearby, Phuong Hoang cave is the place to save the national army and local guerrillas to set up a resistance base in the past…
Sights like Mo Ga, and Phuong Hoang… that we explored for a full day are located in Than Sa Nature Reserve. The reserve was established in 1999, and has a boundary-stretching over 7 communes and towns of Vo Nhai district: Dinh Ca town Than Sa commune, Sang Moc, Thuong Nung, Phu Thuong, Vu Chan, Nghinh Tuong.
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| The beauty of stalactites and springs in Mo Ga cave |
In the morning of the 2nd day in Thai Nguyen, we drove to Than Sa commune – the core area of the Nature Reserve. Here, there is a system of streams, waterfalls, and extremely rich primeval forests. From the provincial road, visitors can hear the sound of water flowing at the edge of the forest. Getting closer, in front of everyone’s eyes, the waterfall named Rainfall exists with a strip of white water pouring out from the mountain.
From a height of more than 40m, with steep cliffs, moss, covered with trees, small water jets fall. The sound of water falling, the sound of birds singing beside the bushes, accompanied by cool winds made us extremely excited. Rainfall falls down forming a small river flowing along the mountainside to the downstream. The female tourists took advantage of wearing new ethnic costumes rented from the shop to the stream to cool off and take pictures.
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| Female tourists wearing ethnic costumes take pictures by the stream |
After a while at the beautiful waterfall, we continued to follow Than Sa’s stream with clear water to find the famous archaeological site in this place. In Nguom mountain, Trung Son village, and Than Sa village, there are still a lot of snail shells, shells, ancient animal bones… under layers of rock. It has been proven that this is the residence of the ancient Viet people in the Stone Age.
In the late afternoon, we passed a suspension bridge over the stream to say goodbye to Thai Nguyen. The image of the mountainous region in the sunset is beautiful and idyllic. A journey in the countryside of Thai Nguyen leaves each of us with emotions and surprises.
Photo: Internet (vinlove.net)