The wild poetic beauty of Pu Luong

Community tourism

The Pu Luong National Nature Reserve is located in two districts of Thanh Hoa Province, Ba Thuoc and Quan Hoa, about 150 kilometers from Hanoi. Pu Luong means “the highest mountain in the region” in the language of the Thai people who populate the area, and its peak reaches over 1,700 meters, a climb only suited to adventurous tourists.

Pu Luong is dotted with quaint hamlets and villages throughout the park. Most of the communities in the reserve are Thai people, an ethnic group with two local branches, White Thai and Black Thai. The Thai people are highly skilled at wet rice cultivation and their homes are built on stilts. Staying at one of these homestays offers an opportunity to experience local customs.

Pu Luong’s mountains are covered with tropical rainforest, while the valley is a series of cultivated rice terraces, all interspersed with rolling mountain ranges and cool streams and waterfalls.

Hieu village in Co Lung Commune of Ba Thuoc District is the heart of the nature reserve. It has 43 households, of which 15 are engaged in community tourism. The favorite destination of backpackers and domestic and foreign tourists is the Hieu waterfall - a scenic spot ranked a provincial-level relic by the Thanh Hoa People’s Committee in 2016.

Hieu waterfall originates from a cave in the majestic rocky mountains of the Pu Luong-Cuc Phuong limestone habitat area, the only lowland area that has residual karst habitat forests in northern Vietnam.

The specialties of Pu Luong

The waterfall is about 800 meters long. Viewed from above, the waterfall current separates into two branches halfway down the mountain, flowing in different directions but merging at the end.

Outside the waterfall is a natural pool where tourists can swim. The water level is just over one meter, and the pool bed is sand.

Roasted duck

The most famous culinary specialty in local meals is Co Lung duck.

According to Director of Co Lung Duck Cooperative Ha Van Sinh, the duck used to make the dish is a native breed of Ba Thuoc District, famous for its small bones and lean meat, not as greasy as ducks raised in other regions.

The duck are stuffed with fresh Mac Mat fruits and spices and then sewn up and grilled on a fiery red charcoal fire. The flavor and taste of the local leaves permeate the duck meat, which turns red-brown. However, the duck specialty is hard to come by. Local Thai minority families usually raise fewer than 10 ducks for their own meals, rarely for sale.

In addition to Co Lung duck, the region boasts other special dishes, such as stone snails, stream fish, and bamboo shoots.