(HBO) - For a long time, when talking about tourism in Mai Chau and Hoa Binh, it is often mentioned Van, Lac, Pom Coong villages, few people know that Hang Kia - Pa Co communes are also rich in tourism potentials having beautiful and pristine nature with the unique culture of Mong ethnic people kept almost intact. The government and tourism industry of Hoa Binh province are making efforts to make it a key destination for tourism in the province.
The booth for the
exhibition and selling souvenirs of the ethnic minorities at the Conference
promoting the tourism investment in two communes, Hang Kia and Pa Co.
From the center of Mai Chau district, moving about 30 km
over the mountain of about 1,200 m above sea level, tourists will reach Pa Co
commune and moving about 10 km further to Hang Kia commune. Looking down from
above and narrowing into the eye, you can see the green color of the mountains
hidden under the house roofs of the Mong people in the floating fog.
The
landscape here is always inspiring photographers who like to hunt photos. From
the small winding road with steep and narrow bends to the tea plantations, the
stone fences, the yellow flowers of broccoli totally hug in front of each
porch. Going deep into the village, you can occasionally see Mong women who are
diligently embroidering, the children who are passionately laughing and playing
mischievously. Even the pile of woods in the middle of the yard, the thin smoke
rising from the roof of the kitchen is enough for the tourists to leave the
noise behind and enjoy the difference of peace.
Coming to Hang Kia - Pa Co, in addition to the road discovering the villages, visitors
can set foot to the destinations with the intact beauty such as tea hills, plum
gardens in Ta Xong A and Ta Xoe areas, A Lang valley and so on... Along the
roads connecting the villages and hamlets, the high points on the mountain, the
ideal place to hunt the "clouds”, should not be ignored. They are the Heaven
Gate, Pa Khom area to Thung Mai or on Sa Tha mountain. There you can see the
view of Pu Luong peak (Thanh Hoa) and Pha Luong peak (Son La).
Besides, the
attraction and the desire to explore and the visitors' experiences are also the
cultural features, the typical traditional occupations of Hmong ethnic people
such as brocade weaving, indigo dyeing, beeswax painting and so on. In
addition, it is impossible not to mention the attractiveness of highland
cuisine with a lot of mountain and forest-style products such as corn wine,
Thang Co (A kind of Mong traditional dishes), hand-pounded Day cake, Men Men (A
kind of cakes made from corn), Meo broccoli, indigenous chicken, indigenous
pig, bamboo shoots with the unique spices blended in the strong smell of
Zanthoxylum rhetsa.
In the first 9 months of 2024, Hoa Binh province continues to implement the expanded tourism development cooperation program plan of 8 Northwest provinces with Ho Chi Minh City; deploying digital transformation content in tourism and developing a smart tourism province. Hoa Binh province received about 3.6 million views, an increase of 7.9% over the same period. In which, international visitors are about 380 visitors, domestic visitors are estimated at 3 million 220 visitors.
Spanning thousands of hectares and winding gracefully along mountain slopes, hillsides, and riverbanks, the terraced rice fields of Lac Son District present a stunning and captivating beauty. This region, renowned for its remarkable terraced landscapes, is also the centre of Hoa Binh Culture known for numerous archaeological sites.
The life of Mong people in Hang Kia and Pa Co communes of Mai Chau district has improved much thanks to tourism development.
The man-made Hoa Binh Lake, with a water surface area of approximately 9,000 hectares and a capacity of 9.45 billion cubic meters, stretches over 200 kilometers from Hoa Binh to Son La provinces. With the goal of developing into a national tourism area, the Hoa Binh Lake tourism area is expected to not only become the largest tourism centre in the province but also one of the 12 key tourist destinations in the northern midland and mountainous region of Vietnam.
Da Bia hamlet, now Duc Phong, in Tien Phong commune, Da Bac district, was once almost isolated from the outside as the only way to the hamlet was to get a boat ride across the Hoa Binh reservoir. However, as its tourism potential has been unleashed, the hamlet has established itself as one of the most attractive destinations on the tourism map. It has even received the ASEAN Community-Based Tourism Awards in 2019.
In the first 9 months of 2024, Mai Chau district, Hoa Binh province welcomed over 684 thousand visitors to visit and relax. In which, over 516 thousand domestic visitors and more than 168 thousand international visitors. Total revenue from tourism is estimated at over 821 billion VND.