Perhaps all Vietnamese people know about the name Pac Bo and its association with Uncle Ho in history classes from elementary school or in documentary films.

However, last month a group of friends and I had a chance to visit the place where Uncle Ho lived and worked as he planned the revolution after returning from his 30 years abroad to seek ways for the nation’s liberation.

Travelers visit the place where Uncle Ho used to fi sh in 1941

Pac Bo is located in Ha Quang District of Cao Bang Province, about 50 kilometers from Cao Bang Town. The road from Cao Bang Town to Pac Bo is flanked by towering mountains and rice fields and small hamlets with dozens of stilt houses under the shade of clusters of peach trees, and the winding streams with thatched-roofed bridges in Nung and Tay villages along the way.

Tourists walk along the scenic road near the border belt with China in Pac Bo area

Therefore, after an hour or so following the scenic road, we reached upon the site in a comfortable and excited state.
We then were joined by a young female tour guide of the tourist area. She took us to the first stop which was the newly-built Ho Chi Minh Museum. We had an opportunity to review what we had learnt at school and much more about this remarkable time and location of the country’s revolution, artifacts of Uncle Ho accompanied with images of soldiers and officers. The museum also impressed with bas-reliefs and statues depicting historical events.

We then went to the Lenin Stream at the foot of Karl Marx Mountain. The stream features clear, cool and tranquil water so that tourists can see fish swimming underwater.

Walking on the rocks along the side of the stream, where Uncle Ho used to work and fish, visitors reach a wooden bridge over Coc Bo rivulet where Lenin Stream starts.

Visitors take photos at Lenin Stream under the foot of Karl Marx Mountain -
Photos: My Tran

Halfway up the mountain is Coc Bo Cave, which is cold and humid, where Uncle Ho settled. Looking down into the cave from its mouth, you can see the words February 8th, 1941 written by Uncle Ho on the wall. In the distance, on the stream’s bank is the stone table where he translated the Democratic Republic of Vietnam’s history. Each artifact remains to this day.

Uncle Ho’s bed in Coc Bo Cave

About 1km from the mouth of Coc Bo Cave, there is a small hut by the side of Khuoi Nam Mountain. In this hut, Uncle Ho held the eighth Party Central Committee Meeting, which promulgated a resolution on preparations for the armed insurrection and the establishment of the Viet Minh and the revolutionary war zone. Adjacent to the hut is the milestone 108 marking the Vietnam-China border.

Visiting this historical area, travelers will learn more about the life and devotion of President Ho Chi Minh which is partly reflected through his optimistic revolutionary verses.

Source:Baomoi

Trung Khanh, a mountainous district in Cao Bang Province , 332km from Hanoi to the northeast, houses many beautiful landscapes, specialities and rare and precious animals of the subtropical primeval forest. 

Standing at the peak of Ma Phuc Pass , 620 metres above sea level, it’s possible to see two stone blocks resembling a pair of horses standing face to face and a floristic composition covering the mountain and valley.

Also, the 32km-long Quay Son River runs through the region, not only bringing silt to a large rice-growing area but also providing water for chestnut forests laden with fruits. The fruit, as big as rambutan, has many hard thorns and contains 3-4 chestnuts, each being 4-5 times bigger than the normal castanea.

Trung Khanh attracts tourists who like ecological, geological and adventurous tourism because it boasts many waterfalls and marvellous caves. Particularly, it has been famous for Ban Gioc Waterfall, hundreds of metres in height and width.

In the rainy season, its water runs into three flows, one pouring slightly like a silk ribbon and the others rushing in noisily. On sunny days, white water sprays create a sparkling and mysterious rainbow. About 3km from Ban Gioc Waterfall is Nguom Ngao Cave that has many marvellous landscapes complete with stalactites and stalagmites of great geological values.

In recent years, Trung Khanh has attracted a number of scientists from home and abroad due to its bio-diversity of subtropical evergreen primeval forests of seven types. Of which, four types have 15 varieties of plants that are the source of food of the Cao Vit gibbon (scientifically known as Nomascus nasutus nasutus), one of the most rare primate species in the world.

According to a survey conducted in Ngoc Khe and Phong Nam Communes in the north of Trung Khanh in 2002-2007 by the Fauna and Flora International (FFI), Trung Khanh is now home to 17 groups of Cao Vit gibbons with nearly 100 individuals. Nguyen The Cuong who works for FFI said that this species of gibbon is very unique because they do not have a tail.

To protect the rare primate, a conservation area was established in April 2007 with a total area of 1,656.8ha, including a flora area of 543 varieties and a fauna area of 23 animals under 14 families, 61 species of birds, 11 species of reptiles under 10 races, of which 10 species were listed in the Red Book of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2006.

Once visiting Trung Khanh, tourists will never forget moments of relaxing among wild nature, beholding beautiful landscapes with white pear flower and listening to birdsongs.   

  

Source: Vietnamvnanet

 

 

Location: Nguom Ngao Cave located in Gun Village, Dam Thuy Commune, Trung Khanh District, just 3km from Ban Gioc Waterfall.

Characteristics: Nguom Ngao Cave was formed from weathered age-old limestone by wind and water. It is considered as one of the most beautiful caves in northeast of Vietnam.  

It is discovered in 1921 by local people then opened for tourists since 1996. With the length of 2,144m, Nguom Ngao cave is relative enormous, includes three main entrances. Now, Cao Bang Province only exploits 900m. The scenery in the interior of the cave is as picturesque as that of a fairly land. Visiting cave, tourist come in Nguom Luom entrance and go out Nguom Ngao entrance.

Go inside the cave, visitors will be dazzled by wonderful sparking seven-colored stalactites hanging down from high stone cliffs. Nature is clever to create stone statues of which some look like human bodies, some look like forest plant, animals, a fairy combining her hair or a lotus bulb, etc. Visitors can feel the harmony between stone and water. 

Cave roof is continuously closed and open, giving the tourists a big surprise. Stalactites seem to grow from the soil, or hang down, vertical or horizontal with small and big figures piled and fixed in a hustle. 

Nguom Ngao Cave with its primitive beauty creates a natural landscape that is not only magnificent, attractive but also full of Viet Bac distinction. It has been awarded as a national landscape by the Ministry of Culture and Information, drawing attention from domestic and foreign tourists to visit.

From 2006, there are asphalted road from Highway 206 to Nguom Ngao site and cement ways spreading inside cave combined with light systems.