Strawberry season on Cam mountain

Cam Mountain or Thien Cam Son, located in An Hao Commune, Tinh Bien Town, is one of the seven mountains of the That Son range. In May, when the mulberry gardens on the mountain are all ripe and golden, Cam Mountain becomes an attractive destination for tourists who love nature and fruit.

Duong Viet Anh, a tour guide in An Giang, said many people choose trekking to enjoy the green space and taste the "special" fruits of this land.

The Baccaurea sapida, also known as the ground mulberry, has the scientific name Baccaurea sapida, is a woody plant, the tallest is about 20 m, the shortest is 5 m. The fruit grows on the trunk and some large branches, when ripe it is red or yellow.

Mulberries grown in the Cam Mountain area are suitable for the soil conditions and therefore have few pests and diseases. Growers only need to apply organic fertilizer once a year. Two weeks before the fruit begins to ripen, the trees are watered to help the fruit ripen evenly and sweetly.

In An Giang, besides Cam Mountain, mulberry is also grown in many other mountains of the Bay Nui region, most in Tinh Bien and Tri Ton.

According to the tour guide, the mulberry tree has a brittle trunk, so visitors should not climb when picking because the branches are weak and easily broken. For clusters of fruit that are out of reach, use a pole to harvest, and have someone stand below to catch them.

The mulberry fruit is round, with a golden yellow skin that clings tightly to the stem. In many places, the ripe and green fruits are mixed together, so when picking, people must be careful to avoid dropping the unripe fruits next to them. A well-developed mulberry tree can produce hundreds of kilograms of fruit each season.

A bunch of mulberries usually has dozens of berries growing close together. Peeling off the outer skin reveals the transparent and juicy inside. According to garden owners, mulberries have a slightly sour taste, so visitors should choose large, ripe yellow berries for a sweeter taste.

At Cam Mountain, strawberries are grown under the forest canopy, and the harvest season lasts from May to mid-June. Visitors can visit the garden on a tour or ask permission from the garden owner to visit and pick the fruit. The price of strawberries ranges from 10,000 to 15,000 VND per kilogram.

In the photo is a group of tourists in Long Xuyen, renting costumes and choosing mulberry trees full of fruit in the garden to pose for photos.

Ms. Le Thi Thu Nghia, living in An Giang, said that the first time she experienced picking strawberries on Cam Mountain, she and her friend wore traditional Vietnamese clothes and arrived early when the garden was empty to take pictures.

"The scenery is very beautiful, the strawberries grow in golden clusters," Thu Nghia said.

Cam Mountain is about 70 km from Long Xuyen city, known as "Da Lat of the West". Tourists can take a bus from Ho Chi Minh City to Chau Doc, then rent a motorbike to continue the journey. For those who like to explore, they can choose to trek through the fields, weaving between rows of palm trees and fruit gardens such as strawberry, red apple, mango or take a motorbike taxi or cable car to go up the mountain.
Viet Anh suggests renting a homestay near Cam Mountain to rest, conveniently taking photos early the next morning. In addition, visitors can choose a two-day-one-night schedule to stay overnight, watch the sunrise and hunt clouds on the mountain top.

TH (according to VnExpress)

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/mua-dau-da-tren-nui-cam-411351.html