VietNamNet Bridge – Located in Van Son and Thach Son communes in Son Dong District, Bac Giang Province, Dong Cao plateau is nearly 1,000 meters above sea level and is actually a gift from nature.

Visitors to Khe Ro Forest wade through the stream in the forest

Tourists can travel to Dong Cao from Hanoi by motorbike but should form a group of several people as the place is not safe to travel alone.

Since no tourism services are available in Dong Cao, the plateau is beautiful with the vast green grass field and clusters of rocks around the plateau. The scene is as beautiful as a painting, and cool weather and fresh air are mingled with the smells of grass and fog.

Standing on the top, we could see herds of buffalos and horses eating grass on the plateau. Walking around the plateau, we could hardly see any houses and it took us a while to find a small coffee shop owned by a Dao man named Trieu Phi Nhan.

“The area has no access to electricity while the school is ten kilometers from here and the children have to walk to school early in the morning,” he said.

Many backpackers have traveled there in groups and stayed overnight on the plateau in their tents. There, they could explore nature and daily chores of ethnic minority groups such as Dao, Cao Lan, and San Chi.

Visitors sit beneath a stilt house in Khe Ro Forest – Photos: Hai Duong

Back to the foot of Dong Cao, we started another trip to explore Khe Ro Forest in An Lac Commune.

The concrete road leading to Khe Ro made it easier to approach the forest. However, no bridges were built on some stretches to protect nature but we had to wade through the cool and clean water of streams.

The feeling we had when trekking through the forest was incredible. The shades of large trees almost hid the blue sky and we could only feel cool air and breeze though it was noon.

The deeper we went into the forest, the cooler and clearer the stream water is. Natural swimming pools could be found along the stream.

Along the bank of the long stream, there are areas where visitors can take a rest under large trees. There is a stilt house located at the end of the path running through the forest.