In the heart of Le Hong Phong secret area

Le Hong Phong war zone, also known as Le area or Le Hong Phong secret area, was a resistance base established by the anti-French resistance force around 1951, located in coastal communes in Ham Thuan Bac and Bac Binh districts ( Binh Thuan province) today.

In 1959, when the US - Diem established "strategic hamlets", gathering people into concentration areas to isolate the revolution, Le Hong Phong secret zone became an important base for the revolutionary forces of Binh Thuan province and the Southeast region.

Here, the forests are dense, the trees are not taller than a person, the leaves are small, easy to camouflage. Soldiers and cadres operate secretly, hiding in the forest during the day, and at night they organize meetings, conduct propaganda, and build mass bases. The trails in the forest are carefully hidden by broken branches, very small traces that only those familiar with them can recognize.

"A bomb crater left by the enemy, a rotten tree stump, a large grassy area... all became secret bunkers, places to hide documents and weapons. Sometimes, just one rain shower could turn the whole area into a swamp, trapping the enemy and saving our lives," said Mr. Tu Tho - a former liaison officer in the war zone in the past.

Bau Trang landscape.

Life in the Le Hong Phong secret base was extremely difficult. In the dry season, the wind blew so hard that the skin burned, and water was as scarce as gold. In the rainy season, the entire forest turned into a sea of mud, with insects, snakes, and centipedes running rampant. The main food was bamboo shoots, wild tubers, and occasionally a little stream fish or rice sent in from the outskirts.

However, this was the place that witnessed many secret meetings and many campaigns to mobilize the army and people to rise up. From the secret base, small troops spread out throughout the region, raided enemy posts, destroyed "strategic hamlets", and shook the US-puppet regime.

However, the Le Hong Phong secret area is not all harshness and hardship, but also has beautiful natural scenery that has today become a famous tourist destination of Binh Thuan province: Bau Trang scenic spot.

Bau Trang consists of two fairly large lakes (Bau Ong and Bau Ba) with a white sand dune across the two lakes (according to the dialect, Bau means lake). In the summer, white and pink lotuses bloom all over the water. That explains why Bau Trang is also called Bau Sen. Under the clear, emerald-green water, there are many species of freshwater fish such as carp, perch, grass carp, and snakehead fish.

There are quite a few houses along the provincial road, a few hundred meters from the lake. On the other side of the lake is a strip of high, dry sand dunes, with sparse trees and almost no houses. The contrasting image is very impressive: From the lakeside up, there is almost no water, on the contrary, below the lake surface is a vibrant, eye-catching flora! The residents here mainly live by raising livestock and growing crops during the rainy season. Near Tet, in places with irrigation water, people grow "pink melons", which are a type of melon in the gourd family, with many seeds, used to make "melon seeds".

Nowadays, when coming to Bau Trang, visitors can participate in the game of driving off-road vehicles through the wild, immense sand dunes... Or hang a hammock, relax on the shore of Bau Trang and watch the rippling lake surface, or rent a boat to pick lotus in the lake. On bright moonlit nights, Bau Trang is as beautiful and magical as a fairyland.

Today, the traces of the Le Hong Phong secret base have somewhat faded under the new layers of forest and straight asphalt roads. But in the hearts of the people here, the name Le Hong Phong still evokes deep pride. Groups of students and veterans still return to the old base, listening to the rustling sound of the wind through the forest canopy as if echoing the steadfast oaths from a time not long ago...

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/van-hoa-du-lich-van-hoc-nghe-thuat/202506/giua-long-mat-khu-le-hong-phong-43d03e8/