Waterfall tourism - an ideal space to "cool off" in the summer.
Perhaps, in the system of large and small waterfalls in Thanh Hoa, May waterfall is the most famous name. The beauty of the waterfall has gone beyond the framework of villages, communes or countries to reach international level. The proof is that in 2018, Culture Trip introduced a list of the most majestic waterfalls in Vietnam, May waterfall was ranked 3rd, after Ban Gioc waterfall and Mu waterfall.
Also honored to be in the top 7 magical waterfalls of Vietnam announced by Saigon Marketing (Saigon Online Economic Magazine) in 2022, Ma Hao waterfall, Nang Cat village is like a free, liberal, energetic Bohemian girl. The waterfall is surrounded by green forests on Chi Linh mountain, a place associated with the famous Lam Son uprising in Vietnamese history . This is one of the initial operating areas, during the extremely difficult days of the Lam Son army led by Le Loi: "When Linh Son ran out of food for several weeks / When Khoi Huyen army had no one" (Binh Ngo Dai Cao). Before the enemy's major attacks, the army had to retreat to Chi Linh mountain to hide many times, there was a time when for more than two months the food ran out and they had to eat bamboo shoots and wild vegetables to survive. To this day, legends and stories surrounding Le Loi and the Lam Son uprising are still circulated among the people, adding to the cultural and historical colors of this place.
Ma Hao Waterfall flows from a height of more than 1,200 meters, letting the water fall over large rocks, making the scene even more magnificent and majestic. In particular, when coming to Ma Hao Waterfall, visitors can not only enjoy the fresh air, freely bathe in the cool water, dispelling the hot summer sun, but also explore the indigenous cultural space associated with the history of formation and development of Nang Cat land, typical in the cultural life and spiritual life of the people here.
That characteristic is present through the rustic, traditional stilt houses; dishes imbued with the flavor of the mountains and forests; dances, melodious songs... There is a specialty that visitors to Ma Hao waterfall should try once, which is salmon salad wrapped in sa lang leaves. This type of leaf is only found on the top of Pu Rinh mountain, has a shape similar to fig leaves but does not have an astringent taste but is crispy, rich with a slight bitter taste. The salmon used in the dish is also fresh, not frozen, and is raised right in this mountainous area. The resonance of fresh, delicious ingredients with special spices brings a unique flavor, lingering in the mouth, stimulating the taste buds extremely.
Recently, along with the orientation of developing community tourism of the district and commune, along the Ma Hao waterfall, many households in Nang Cat village have quickly taken advantage of the opportunity to build homestays to welcome visitors and experience, gradually becoming an attractive tourist destination, especially in the summer. Mr. Le Manh Dung, a tourist with a group of close friends from Hanoi to Thanh Hoa to experience community tourism in Nang Cat village, bathing in Ma Hao waterfall, said: "This is the first time I have come to a district in the West of Thanh Hoa. The distance to Ma Hao waterfall is a bit far but I am very satisfied because of the impressive mountain and forest scenery, the cool, clean sleeping place, imbued with indigenous cultural nuances".
In addition to the waterfalls that are widely known to tourists such as May waterfall, Ma Hao waterfall, Hieu waterfall..., the vast Thanh land embraces many beautiful, wild, majestic waterfalls that few people know about such as Trai Gai waterfall, Thien Thuy waterfall (Mu waterfall), Yen waterfall hidden in the vastness of Xuan Lien National Park, waiting for people to discover.
Yen Waterfall is the most beautiful and largest waterfall in this area. To reach Yen Waterfall, visitors can follow the trail up San Pham Mountain, passing through the magical, misty mountain slopes, with all kinds of colorful wild flowers... The waterfall is formed from small streams pouring down from Pu Gio peak, which is over 1,600m above sea level. Yen Waterfall has water flowing all year round, cool in the summer, warm in the winter. A special feature that makes Yen Waterfall different from other waterfalls in Thanh Hoa is that there are many rocks of different sizes blocking the water flow. At the points where the waterfall falls down and contacts the rock surface, it creates a layer of white foam that shoots out in all directions, forming a cool waterfall space.
The water flows down, gradually strong enough to "carve" the rocks into deep pools. In those pools, sometimes, forest goers encounter a pair of cunning fish always clinging to each other. The story goes that a young couple from Bong Nang village loved each other deeply and promised to become husband and wife. One day, Tao Le (a Muong leader) went to the village to collect taxes and met the girl. He fell in love with her and demanded to marry her. The girl's family and the village could not disobey Tao's wishes, so they had to marry their daughter. The girl and the boy were helpless and ran away at night. They kept running and running until they reached this waterfall. They knew they could not go anywhere to live together, so they held hands and threw themselves into the waterfall. Their grief reached the heavens, and God was moved and turned them into a pair of cunning fish. Since then, this waterfall has been called Trai Gai waterfall by the locals to remember the touching love story of the ancients.
Thien Thuy Waterfall (Mu Waterfall) is a complex of 4 waterfalls pouring down from the peaks of Pu Ta Leo mountain range with an altitude of over 1,400m above sea level, the highest level of the waterfall is 500m from the stream bed. From the first waterfall, visitors climb the slope past the hundreds of years old gnarled tree roots to reach the three waterfalls above. The three waterfalls are created from two streams from a height of nearly 500m, pouring water down to form a complex of waterfalls arranged neatly in a circular shape, stretching nearly 1km, creating a majestic scene. From afar, the waterfall can be seen like a silver thread in the middle of the deep green forest. Currently, there is a concrete road near the waterfall area with a system of auxiliary works such as toilets, temporary shelters in the forest, parking lots and a system of signposts. About 3km from Thien Thuy Waterfall is the immense Cua Dat Lake, blue like an eye in the middle of the forest. After visiting the waterfall, visitors can take a walk around the lake and continue to experience other destinations in this place such as: visiting the heritage tree, offering incense at the temple of famous people Cam Ba Thuoc and Ba Chua Thuong Ngan...
Thanh Hoa waterfalls are not only places with beautiful and majestic natural scenery but also a place where many local historical and cultural values converge. However, these potentials and advantages have not been invested and exploited to their full potential, and have not been able to create outstanding and competitive tourism products. Therefore, Thanh Hoa province in general and localities with strengths in waterfall tourism in particular need to build incentive mechanisms and mobilize resources to invest in developing infrastructure and tourism services in a sustainable manner, associated with preserving and promoting local cultural identity; actively promote and advertise on mass media, digital platforms... so that the waterfalls can write the vibrant melody of the tourism song.
*The article uses materials from the book "Geography of Thuong Xuan District" (Thanh Hoa Publishing House, 2018).
Article and photos: Linh Anh
Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/diu-mat-ngay-he-voi-du-lich-thac-nuoc-xu-thanh-252543.htm
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