HÒA BẮC – A PEACEFUL COUNTRYSIDE PAINTED BY NATURE ITSELF

By Mr. Old Man

Just 25 km west of Đà Nẵng lies Hòa Bắc — a tranquil slice of countryside so beautiful, it looks like it was brushed into existence by an artist’s hand.

From the hillside road, you can look down and see the small villages of Trường Định, An Định, Nam Yên, and Phò Nam nestling together in a narrow valley. On one side flows the crystal-clear Cu Đê River; on the other, hills roll gently toward the sky — the whole scene tucked quietly between water and mountain like a secret the land is keeping.

Early in the morning, as the sun peeks out over the hills, or in the late afternoon when it dips below the distant ridge, cycling along the lone road that winds through patches of forest, shrimp ponds in full season, freshly harvested rice fields, sugarcane plots, and young cornfields is nothing short of magical. It feels like shedding the dust and noise of city life to melt into a world filled with the heady scent of wildflowers, sun-dried straw, and the unmistakable fragrance of childhood spent in the countryside.

Hòa Bắc is blessed with a gentle landscape and soul-soothing beauty — wherever you turn, there’s something worth lingering over. It’s a small land, but rich in natural wonders.

There’s the “Million-Year Rock Garden” (Vũng Bọt), right at the confluence of the Nam and Bắc rivers — the source of the Cu Đê. This geological marvel, located in Tà Lang and Giàn Bí villages (home to the Cơ Tu ethnic minority), features massive rock formations carved and smoothed by ancient water flows over millions of years. Nature’s own bonsai mountains, they’re grand and strangely hypnotic — you won’t help but stop and stare.

There’s Khe Răm in An Định — a pristine mountain stream where only the footprints of adventurous trekkers and those dreaming up eco-tourism ventures have made their mark.

There’s the peaceful charm of Hội Yên Church in Nam Yên — as serene as its name suggests.

There are the romantic sandbanks of Phò Nam, Lộc Mỹ, and Nam Mỹ, which have quietly become favorite overnight camping spots for nature-loving youths in recent years.

And hidden deep within the Bạch Mã National Park are Hòa Bắc’s mystical, untamed waterfalls — Mây Treo, Cối Tiên, Cốc Tiên — each one a secret oasis waiting to be discovered.

Beyond natural beauty, Hòa Bắc is also alive with culture and tradition. There are festivals and outdoor events — like boat races and river kayaking — and even paragliding for the thrill-seekers. Most notably, the villages of Tà Lang and Giàn Bí are home to the Cơ Tu people, who still proudly preserve their cultural identity through rituals, crafts, and community life.

A few eco-resorts have already begun to take root, and locals are dipping their toes into the homestay game. Change is coming to Hòa Bắc — but in a gentle, thoughtful way — with hopes of turning this postcard-perfect countryside into a thriving destination for eco-tourism.

And I, for one, will definitely be back — on two wheels, of course.

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Mr. Old Man, 5/2022