08:26, October 27, 2023
There are many places with Heaven’s Gate. In the northern mountainous provinces such as Ha Giang , Lai Chau… or the highland areas in the Central Highlands, there are places called Heaven’s Gate. The Heaven’s Gate that I just visited is located in the mountainous district of An Lao, Binh Dinh province.
The way to heaven's gate
From An Lao town to the Heaven Gate is about 40 km. This is a mountainous area that is still quite pristine, with many primeval forests. The asphalt road is not as good as in the plains, but it is still quite convenient for tourists. When reaching the Heaven Gate, the asphalt road also ends, from here you can only see the green of high mountains and deep forests.
The car drove along the winding mountain pass. Both sides of the road were full of tall forest trees. After only about ten or fifteen minutes, the weather turned cold. After another ten or fifteen minutes, the clouds drifted opaquely in front of the windshield. The space and cold were similar to the highlands of Sa Pa, Da Lat... There were so many clouds that in many places the car had to drive slowly and turn on the lights. Having just reached an altitude of less than 700 m, I saw a large rock by the roadside, on which was carved the words "Heaven's Gate". Not far away, there was a signboard "Cloud hunting spot". I got out of the car and took a few photos. Indeed, this cloud hunting spot was very interesting. Looking down, I saw a multi-colored forest. At the end of the dry season, yellow and red leaves mixed with green leaves. The clouds drifted across like silk ribbons, when the wind blew strongly, they blew, when the wind stopped, they swirled around the treetops.
The car drove a short distance further but it was very steep. Mr. Phan Hoai Son, Chief of the Office of the An Lao District Party Committee, said that this was Village 3, further on would be Village 2, Village 1, all 3 villages belonged to the mountainous commune of An Toan. But Village 3 was the highest point, located at an altitude of 1,200 m above sea level. Village 3 is the administrative name, it is a Bana village of less than 30 houses, located on a flat piece of land right in the middle of the mountain top.
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| Bana children at the gate of heaven. |
Colorful Bana Village
As soon as I stepped through the village gate, I was surprised by the stilt houses full of murals. Although I have seen many mural villages such as Canh Duong village (Quang Binh province), Man Thai village ( Da Nang city), Tam Thanh village (Quang Nam province)... but this is the first time I have seen an ethnic minority village with large murals covering the facades of the stilt houses.
Seeing me looking at him intently, Mr. Son said that the idea of painting this mural originated from the idea of a group of teachers in the village. Living here with the Bana people, they saw the beauty of the mountains, forests, rivers and the fine cultural traditions of the indigenous people. Then they wondered how to let people know about this place. Their idea of painting was approved by the local government and supported with funding. So, with the help of artists, the group of teachers in An Lao district started painting murals on the walls of stilt houses.
I counted 15 large murals in total, covering the walls of the stilt houses. The themes focus on the mountain scenery and daily life in the Bana village. The vibrant colors and realistic content make the paintings come alive in the middle of the mountains and forests. I stopped in the middle of the road leading to the village and chatted with the locals. Many people I only had time to ask their names, such as Ms. Dinh Thi Huong and Mr. Dinh Van Coong, said that the owners of the houses with murals were very happy. They said that with beautiful paintings, seeing the village felt like wearing a new shirt to attend a festival. The elderly and children all liked it. Mr. Dinh Van Lay, an old Bana farmer, added: “Before, this place was very deserted and sad, the adults went to the fields, leaving only the children at home. Now it’s different, many people come to visit. The village always has visitors from far away.”
I looked around the main road leading to the village and the small paths leading to the stilt houses. It was quite strange, because everything was very clean, many flower bushes were planted and cared for by the owner himself. Perhaps, as Mr. Dinh Van Lay said, many people visit so the households here are aware of protecting the beautiful environment, preserving trees and planting more flowers. The Bana people here also still preserve and preserve intact traditional cultural values such as house architecture, costumes, handicrafts, cuisine and especially the festivals during the year.
From the unique mural village in village 3, we headed to village 2 and village 1. The further we went, the more we saw the enchanting wilderness. Similar to village 3, the Bana village here, although it does not have murals, is still attractive because of the beauty of the stilt houses and the flower bushes growing on both sides of the path leading to the village. Along the way, there are also public trash cans, which are rare in the highlands. Many Bana children smiled naturally when they saw strangers, not shyly like in many other places.
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| Mural paintings on the walls of stilt houses. |
Pathway in the middle of the village
The afternoon sky in the highlands was drizzling with a few drops of rain. The air was cool. Son took me around and continued the story. It turned out that all the changes in this highland commune of An Toan had only begun less than 5 years ago. In 2019, Binh Dinh province had a policy of developing tourism based on the positional resources and tourism resources of each locality. Accordingly, for highland communes such as An Toan commune, the Department of Tourism in conjunction with local authorities opened training courses on tourism skills for each household, paying special attention to skills when participating in and implementing community tourism activities.
Thanks to appropriate policies, measures and even creativity such as painting murals on the walls of stilt houses, An Toan commune has become an attractive tourist destination. Many households have renovated their houses, gardens, fish ponds, etc. into homestays. Many households here also sell mountain specialties such as wild bananas used to soak in wine, wild bamboo shoots, mushrooms, etc. Ms. Dinh Thi Thu (in village 2) happily said: “Tourists love it. We sell handmade products such as self-woven brocade, smoked buffalo meat, honey, etc. Life is much better now than before. Doing tourism brings income and is more fun than farming.”
On the way back, we stopped at a small “restaurant” by the roadside. It is called a “restaurant” but it is actually just a small shop located on the bank of a stream. The flowing water and cool breeze seem to blow away the heat of the harsh Central summer. The food and drinks here are simple, such as grilled chicken, stir-fried bamboo shoots, fish cooked with Vietnamese coriander… but very delicious. I think, with this way of doing tourism, the path to poverty reduction is not far away, “the path right in the middle of the village”.
Pham Xuan Hung
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