(Photo/Video): Ca Mau Cape is not far away

"I heard that Ca Mau is very far away, at the end of the map of Vietnam..." is the opening line of the song "New Ao Ca Mau" by musician Thanh Son... About 5 - 6 years ago, traveling to Dat Mui, the southernmost point of the country, especially for tourists from the northern provinces, was quite remote, limited by road, water and air, but with the first new direct flight connecting Hanoi - Ca Mau of Bamboo Airways, traveling to Ca Mau is very close.

Before April 2023, only Vietnam Airlines operated the Ho Chi Minh City - Ca Mau route, with a frequency of 1 flight/day, departing from Tan Son Nhat Airport (14:30) to Ca Mau Airport (15:25). Therefore, tourists from the northern provinces who wanted to travel to Ca Mau previously had to fly 2 flights. Traveling by road from Ho Chi Minh City to Ca Mau also took about 6 - 7 hours, covering a distance of nearly 300 km.

Photo caption — Bamboo Airways' recent launch of a direct flight from Hanoi to Ca Mau using Embraer jets from April 2023 has shortened the travel time of nearly 2,000 km to just over 2 hours, to explore the "Fragrance and Colors of Ca Mau".

The opportunity to develop the smokeless industry of Ca Mau is even more open when the local Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism in collaboration with Bamboo Airways is implementing the weekly journey to discover "Fragrance of Ca Mau", to attract tourists from all over the country to visit impressive destinations, comfortable resorts, garden culture, and unique cuisine of the Southwest in Ca Mau.

Landing at Ca Mau airport at 9:15 am, the reporter began an interesting journey to discover "The scent and color of Ca Mau". Located about 110 km from the center of Ca Mau city, Dat Mui commune, Ngoc Hien district has long been an attractive destination, attracting tourists to visit when coming to Ca Mau. Along National Highway 1A to here, visitors can not only immerse themselves in the space of the rich, diverse and lush mangrove ecosystem, but also touch the national coordinate landmark, admire the symbol of Ca Mau Cape, the southernmost point of the country... The Ho Chi Minh road from Nam Can to Dat Mui, put into operation since 2017, has also created conditions for tourists to come here easily by road. Starting the journey of discovery from Binh Minh Eco-tourism Area, visitors begin to travel through the alluvial forest at Mui Ca Mau National Park (one of the destinations with a unique natural geographical location and geomorphology, creating a typical estuary and coastal ecological area) by canoe through the mangrove forest, participating in the experience of catching clams, processing clams on the beach and waiting for the sunset. After that, visitors will experience the rustic life of the people of Dat Mui at night, with the program of catching clams, looking for three-sided crabs, rowing a boat with the locals to set crab traps and spread nets to catch fish at the shrimp pond... Unlike many other destinations, perhaps because there are not too many tourists or the people themselves are aware and love nature, the alluvial land here is extremely clean. Visitors almost do not see used bottles and plastic bags floating on the river or washing up on both sides of the river like many other tourist destinations. There is only the immense yellow mangrove river, the endless green mangrove forest. One of the destinations that tourists cannot miss when traveling to Dat Mui is Mui Ca Mau Cultural Tourism Park, located in the Mui Ca Mau World Biosphere Reserve recognized by UNESCO in May 2009. Here is also located the national coordinate marker GPS0001 (kilometer 0) - one of the four extreme points marking the sacred sovereignty of Vietnam's territory on land. The northernmost point is Lung Cu flagpole ( Ha Giang ), the westernmost point is Apa Chai commune (Muong Nhe, Dien Bien), the easternmost point is Mui Doi (Van Ninh, Khanh Hoa) and the southernmost point is the national coordinate marker GPS0001. Continuing the journey, visitors set foot on the ship symbol at Mui Ca Mau Cultural Tourism Park, an interesting highlight with the image of a boat full of wind always heading out to sea. The sail with the words "Ca Mau Cape", coordinates: 8°37'30'' north latitude, 104°43' east longitude is a familiar place that every tourist coming to Dat Mui cannot miss to take souvenir photos, recording moments marking the journey "Fragrance of Ca Mau". The Ho Chi Minh Road milestone - the end point of Ca Mau Km 2436 is a tourist destination marking the "last point" on the journey stretching from Pac Bo - Cao Bang (starting point) to Dat Mui - Ca Mau (end point), passing through 28 provinces and cities with a length of 3,183 km. With a suitable scale and simple form, visitors can visit the Ho Chi Minh Road milestone to leave their mark on the journey to visit Dat Mui.

Visiting Ca Mau Cape, a place known as "the land that knows how to bloom, the forest that knows how to move and transform", with a strip of land jutting out into the sea in the shape of a boat's bow, visitors can immerse themselves in the clear blue space of the vast mangrove forests. This is also the only place in the country where you can watch the sun rise in the East Sea and set on the West Coast. From the 21-meter-high lighthouse, visitors can look out over the vast ocean and Hon Khoai Island looming in the distance. The scenery of the forest and the sea blend together to create a poetic scene that is rarely found anywhere else... In addition, the journey to discover "The Fragrance of Ca Mau" also creates conditions for visitors to "check in" at Lac Long Quan Temple and Mother Statue; Hanoi Flag Tower; Southern Special Printing Office (a famous work containing important historical values of the locality); Provincial Party Committee Base Relic in Xeo Duoc (a place that records and marks the resistance journey of the Party Committee, army and people of Ca Mau province); CM-12 Victory Monument; National Security Protection Monument; President Ho Chi Minh Memorial House; Nam Hai Mausoleum; the natural stone hand in front of the sea at Hon Da Bac tourist site and experience the community tourism site in U Minh Ha National Park (a place to preserve and recreate the value of natural landscapes, ecological environment, biodiversity, develop rare genetic resources of native flora and fauna); Thi Tuong lagoon (the largest natural lagoon in Ca Mau, also the most beautiful lake in the land of nine dragons) associated with the livelihoods of local people...

The friendliness and simplicity of the land and people of Ca Mau in the journey to discover "The scent of Ca Mau" is reflected in the simplicity, generosity, and naturalness, from the fresh air, rivers to the unforgettable memories. As the southernmost province of the country, Ca Mau currently owns 2 National Parks (Ca Mau Cape, U Minh Ha) recognized as Biosphere Reserves and Ramsar sites in the world. The forest ecosystems along with the unique cultural features of the locality help Ca Mau have more potential for experiential and exploratory tourism. In addition, Ca Mau also owns 12 national relics and 32 provincial relics, more than 40 recognized intangible cultural heritages. Of which, 3 intangible cultural heritages are included in the list of national intangible cultural heritages, including: Southern amateur music art, traditional craft of bee-laying, and traditional craft of salting three-crab crabs. According to Mr. Tieu Minh Tien, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ca Mau province, one of the reasons attracting many tourists from all over the country to Ca Mau is the direct flight of Bamboo Airways connecting Hanoi with Ca Mau and vice versa. After more than 1 month of operation, in addition to meeting the needs of the people, the new flight service on the Hanoi - Ca Mau route of Bamboo Airways is also expected to contribute to supporting the locality to increase regional connectivity, promote the socio-economic development of the province and the entire aviation industry. “The tourism development plan of Ca Mau province in 2023 is expected to attract 1.75 million visitors. To achieve and exceed the target, retain and satisfy visitors coming and returning, and build a prestigious tourism brand, the locality is focusing on implementing tourism stimulus programs; focusing on propaganda and promotion, combined with strengthening inspection and supervision of the quality of tourism and service establishments, ensuring safety for visitors... The province aims to welcome about 2.8 million visitors by 2025, achieving total tourism revenue of about VND 8,460 billion. By 2030, welcoming 4.7 million visitors, achieving total tourism revenue of about VND 16,000 billion...", Mr. Tieu Minh Tien shared.