Ban Gioc Waterfall - Detian Falls

Ban Gioc Waterfall is one of Vietnam’s most impressive natural sights. Located in the northeastern province of Cao Bang, the falls are 30 metres high and 300 metres across, making Ban Gioc the widest (but not the highest) waterfall in the country. The falls occur on the Quay Son River, a beautiful jade-blue body of water flowing from China through a pastoral landscape of rice fields and bamboo groves surrounded by limestone pinnacles. Despite improved road access and public transportation connections, and the popularity of several recent viral drone videos showcasing the majesty of the falls, Ban Gioc is still a relatively off-the-beaten-path sight. Mass tourism has yet to arrive and, outside of weekends and public holidays, there’s rarely more than a trickle of foreign and domestic visitors.

Nguom Ngao Cave

Nguom Ngao Cave is located in a mountain in Gun village of Dam Thuy commune, Trung Khanh district, is a priceless asset that the nature has gifted to the northern mountainous province of Cao Bang. Nearly 5 kilometres away from the renowned Ban Gioc Waterfall, Nguom Ngao Cave was discovered in 1921, opened to tourists in 1996, and recognised as a national-level scenic landscape in 1998. Nguom Ngao means “Tiger Cave” in the Tay ethnic language. It is said that that this site used to be a den of many tigers which were then killed by local residents to guarantee a safe life. Given this, local Tay people named this place “Nguom Ngao”. However, another story said there was an underground stream with piles of pebbles flowing into the Quay Son River and releasing murmur which echoes in the cave and sounds like a tiger’s roar, thus earning this cave the name “Nguom Ngao”.