Going to the Forbidden Forest to listen to the sound of famous trees...

(VHQN) - Not as zigzag and bumpy as the forest roads in other regions, the Forbidden Forest in Dai Binh village (Nong Son) is located next to the village. Walking among the rows of ancient trees such as jackfruit, huynh dan, giang huong, mu u..., the scent of the forest gently intertwines in the shade of the leaves. A light space opens up amidst the green.

Grateful to the forest

The sun slanted, weakly struggling among the dense forest leaves. The afternoon storm in the midlands had just ended. The sun still stretched to spread the last rays of the day. Young people spontaneously invited each other to make a trip to... the Forbidden Forest.

From the beginning of the village, following the concrete road between the plains on one side and the mountains on the other, the sign “Forbidden Forest” appears, becoming a place introduced in the journey to the riverside tourist village, the forest carries the idea of a large “garden” of the village, rather than a deep, mysterious forest in the highlands.

The space was clear and quiet. The wet ground with a carpet of rotting leaves after the rain, softened the random footsteps that came. My sensitive and somewhat romantic companion even said that she seemed to hear the sound of life taking shape.

Quang Nam Green Tourism Association, Quang Nam Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Da Nang Department of Tourism in coordination with Nong Son District People's Committee are calculating to build a tour route, creating conditions for travel agencies to bring tourists from cities to Hon Kem, Dai Binh. In the Dai Binh Cultural Tourism Festival held in mid-August, Forbidden Forest will be introduced as a destination for tourists to explore when coming to the festival.

Dai Binh, with the Nom name Dai Buong - is the old village name that has existed since the same period as the oldest villages of Quang Nam . Since 1602, after Lord Nguyen Hoang established the Quang Nam citadel and divided the system of villages, communes, and districts, Dai Buong village also existed.

No one in Dai Binh village calls it Forbidden Forest, but simply “Forbidden”. They go to “Forbidden”, enter “Forbidden” to collect firewood, medicine, and sometimes even hunt. In “Forbidden”, there are dozens of ancient trees with trunks larger than two people’s arms.

Mr. Nguyen Van Lang, a prestigious elder of Dai Binh village, said that this Forbidden Forest has existed for a long time. Right from the time our ancestors reclaimed the land of Dai Binh, there was already a sacred place with lush green grass and trees.

“To prevent people from overexploiting the forest, our villagers themselves set a law... prohibiting it. The name Forbidden Forest, or “Cam” has been around since then. “Cam” is a shelter for the people of Dai Binh, a solid wall, blocking the storms blowing down from the north.

Cam is also where our villagers avoid floods and wars. The flat land of the Cam Forest is high and dry, the water does not flow rapidly, and the water does not reach it during floods. So this is also where people took shelter during the flood of the year of the Dragon in 1964" - Mr. Lang said.

The people of this place, known as a peaceful village despite the chaos of war, seem to be grateful to the Forbidden Forest. The old man who lives in a three-room tiled-roof house in front of the road leading to the Forbidden Forest, is proud that the people of Dai Binh village live long because they breathe the oxygen from the forest at the entrance of the village. The forest has precious medicinal plants and fruit trees, so it is naturally the place where the people of this place rely on, in times of difficulty and hardship.

Compared to the vegetation resources in Nui Chua, Forbidden Forest is smaller in scale. But for those who grew up in this village, it is a sacred place.

Special plants

Research from a group of experts from Dalat University shows that Cam is still a fairly pristine forest with many large trees. Ecologically, Cam Forest is considered a green lung, creating spatial harmony and ecological regulation for the village. In terms of resources, through initial assessment, there are currently 10 groups of timber resources and medicinal plant resources in the forest.

Forbidden Forest in Dai Binh village is considered by locals as a “treasure of the village” and is still waiting for opportunities to develop eco-tourism. Photo: H.T — Forbidden Forest in Dai Binh village is considered by locals as a “treasure of the village” and is still waiting for opportunities to develop eco-tourism. Photo: HT

“Although not large, the Forbidden Forest area still has many famous trees. In addition to huynh dan, there are also huynh, giang huong, mit nai, mu u, trai trees and many other precious medicinal herbs. Notably, in the Forbidden Forest there are 51 huynh dan trees, which are rare and precious trees, listed in the Vietnam Red Book and ranked at VU scale - endangered, requiring measures to protect and develop gene sources. The Forbidden Forest space acts as a “regulating valve” for the entire ecosystem of the village” - research from Dalat University on the tourism potential of Dai Binh.

In the Forbidden Forest there is a breed of jackfruit that it seems like everyone from this village “grew up in its fragrance”.

A local wrote: “This jackfruit is bigger than a fist, and after three or four days in the leaves it will ripen. The jackfruit segments are slightly bigger than an index finger, and have a strange aroma; each person who eats half of the fruit will feel a buzz in their head. If you eat a lot of jackfruit segments, you will be more drunk than if you were drunk on wine. The best part is still the jackfruit seeds.

We cut bamboo, weaved it into a basket, took the whole pile of jackfruit down to the stream, put it in the basket and crushed it right in the fast flowing water. The jackfruit segments melted away, leaving only the seeds. The jackfruit seeds were dried in the sun for two days, then poured sand into a pot and stirred them until they were roasted. Those who were frugal took the jackfruit seeds and left them on the stove. On cold winter nights, taking the seeds from the stove to roast, sitting and watching the flood, the loneliness suddenly became fragrant.

And then this fragrance spreads along the journey of life, at each stop we can smell the fragrance of our homeland. To live a better, kinder life...

We still regret the trees and grasses of our childhood associated with the forest and the stories from the forest that the elders kept. The invitation from the special trees and the mysteries that the forest is hiding, seems not to be enough to stimulate the explorers.

For many years, the Dai Binh community tourism festival has only stopped at introducing a fruit-growing area, a green living space with village roads and the long-standing lifestyle of the people. The potential of the Forbidden Forest and the intention of exploiting tourism from the forest, with the experience of "forest bathing" and sitting and listening to the sounds in the forest, taking pictures with the grass and trees of the primeval forest, camping for survival... have not yet been realized.

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