Golden season on Tam Coc fields

In early June, the rice fields along the Ngo Dong River in Tam Coc - Bich Dong Tourist Area, Hoa Lu City (Ninh Binh) are in the harvest season. The brilliant golden color stretching along both sides of the river is even more prominent with the giant painting "Carp jumping over the dragon gate" on a field of nearly 10,000m², creating a lively scene, attracting a large number of tourists to visit and experience.

Rice fields in Tam Coc, Ninh Hai commune, Hoa Lu city ( Ninh Binh ) in harvest season.

Artistic rice fields - highlight of tourist season

Every year, during the rice harvest season, Ninh Binh organizes a Tourism Week with the theme "The Golden Color of Tam Coc - Trang An", combining many unique cultural and artistic activities. Since 2018, the program has created a positive effect, attracting tens of thousands of visitors, contributing to stimulating tourism demand in the low season. This year, the highlight is the art painting "Carp Jumping Over the Dragon Gate" at Hai Cave, a unique cultural symbol amidst majestic nature.

Rice fields in Tam Coc, Ninh Hai commune, Hoa Lu city, Ninh Binh province, in harvest season.

Tam Coc fields are located along the Dinh Cac - Hang Ca - Hang Hai - Hang Ba waterway tourist route, with only one winter-spring crop per year, from late January to early June, serving both food needs and playing an important role in preserving the ecological landscape and developing community tourism. In 2018, Business Insider (USA) ranked this place in the top 5 most beautiful rice fields in Vietnam, a highlight of the annual Tam Coc Golden Tourism Week.

People of Ninh Hai commune, Hoa Lu city, Ninh Binh province harvest rice in Tam Coc field.

At the end of the 2025 Tourism Week with the theme "The Golden Color of Tam Coc - Trang An", people have begun to enter the harvest season. On the Ngo Dong River, boats loaded with bundles of bright yellow rice follow each other downstream, creating a vibrant and peaceful picture of the harvest day. Due to the unique terrain without roads, the entire production and transportation process is done by boat. The golden rice fields are gradually being harvested, forming alternating plots. The rice harvest period lasts for 2 weeks, the boats take tourists for sightseeing, and the boats carry the joy of a bountiful golden season.

Mr. Chu Duc, Ninh Hai commune, Hoa Lu city shared: “My family grows more than one sao of rice, this year we harvested more than 2 quintals/sao. Although it is hard work, people still keep the job to preserve the landscape, contributing to attracting tourists to Tam Coc - Bich Dong tourist area.”

Crystallization of agriculture - tourism for sustainable development

Coming to Tam Coc during harvest season, visitors can witness with their own eyes the labor of the local people.

The fields in harvest season become bustling with the golden color and aroma of ripe rice and the sound of labor. This is the most beautiful and vibrant time of the year in Tam Coc, bringing visitors a typical Northern countryside experience: sitting on a boat in the middle of the river, watching the ripe rice, observing farmers harvesting and feeling the simplicity and authenticity of traditional wet rice cultivation.

Tourist Bui Hong Hai (Hanoi) shared: “In the middle of the bright summer sun, sitting on a boat gliding on the river watching the golden rice fields and the bustling harvest scene is an unforgettable experience. During the harvest season, tourists visiting Tam Coc have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the harvest atmosphere, immersed in the aroma of ripe rice and the image of farmers working.”

The beauty of Tam Coc comes from the harmony between mountains, rivers and rice fields, all created by the diligent hands of farmers. Here, planting is still completely manual, unable to be mechanized due to the special terrain. To get to the fields, people have to row boats upstream of the Ngo Dong River, through the caves. Despite the hardship, with their love for their homeland and desire to preserve their profession, they are still attached to the fields.

Sitting on a boat gliding on the Ngo Dong River, watching the rice fields ripen and people busy harvesting is an extremely interesting and attractive experience for tourists.

In recent years, local authorities and businesses have provided much support in terms of seeds and fertilizers, creating motivation for people to feel secure in cultivating. According to Mr. Dinh Anh Toi, Vice Chairman of Ninh Hai Commune People's Committee, the rice variety used to create the art form is Thai Xuyen 111 - a type of rice with strong stems, good resistance to pests and diseases, suitable for the soil conditions here. This year's winter-spring crop, the entire Tam Coc field planted 19.5 hectares with nearly 200 households participating, with a yield of about 2 - 2.5 quintals/sao.

After the harvest, the Commune People's Committee continued to propagate and guide farmers to take care of regenerated rice and plant lotus flowers to build Tam Coc into a four-season destination to attract tourists back to Ninh Binh.

Tam Coc people harvest ripe rice.

Ninh Binh Tourism Week 2025 (May 23 - May 31) recorded impressive results with about 485,000 visitors, an increase of 70% compared to 2024; of which international visitors reached more than 120,000, an increase of nearly 97%. Tourism revenue is estimated at 750 billion VND. These figures demonstrate the strong attraction of Tam Coc and the effectiveness of the community tourism development model associated with ecological agriculture.

Through Tam Coc rice fields, farmers have joined with the government and businesses to preserve the cultural and natural values ​​of the heritage to exploit community tourism. This is also an important basis for Ninh Binh to develop sustainable tourism.

According to VNA

Source: https://baodanang.vn/channel/5414/202506/mua-vang-tren-canh-dong-tam-coc-4008405/