Khau Coc Cha pass with its 15 hairpin bends in Bao Lac district, Cao Bang province (Photo: VOV)

Bao Lac border district, about 130 km from Cao Bang city, is blessed with superb natural landscapes such as Phja Da, the highest peak in Cao Bang province at nearly 2,000 meters above sea level, Khau Coc Chà pass with its 15 hairpin bends, Thom Lom lake, the hydropower reserve in Bao Toan commune, and a system of caves .

Le Thi Thu Ha, a tourist from HCMC, took a tour from Dong Van Karst Plateau Global Geopark in Ha Giang province across the Gam river to Bao Lac. Standing on the mountain peak to view the switchbacks in the Khau Coc Cha pass, Ha felt a strong admiration for the workers who built the road.

“The nature and people of Cao Bang are wonderful. The province should expand tourism to improve people's lives, and protect the environment to attract more tourists. This is the first time I’ve been to Cao Bang and I will definitely come back here many more times,” said Ha.

Cao Bang has eight ethnic groups. In Bao Lac district, the Tay, Nung, Mong, Dao, San Chi, Lo Lo, and Kinh live together, with each group maintaining its traditional culture and lifestyle.

Each year Bao Lạc holds two love markets that draw people from the ethnic groups.  Na Van Chuong, head of Khuoi Khon hamlet in Kim Cuc commune, said visitors come to the hamlet to observe the traditional drum and folk dance performance of the Lo Lo.

“Last year our hamlet welcomed more than a thousand visitors. There are two home-stays here and the villagers make brocade products to sell to tourists,” said Chuong.

Bao Lac’s night market, which opened for the first time in 2020, combines culture with commerce to attract locals and tourists, who enjoy the folk arts and sample the local cuisine, which includes horse meat and innards hotpot, fermented pork, ant-egg cakes, and chung cakes made from black glutinous rice.

Nguyen Manh Hung, Chairman of the Bao Lac district People’s Committee, says the district has called for investment in tourism and enhanced advertisement of its potential.

“Our goals are to create livelihoods for people and encourage people to invest in tourism. Community tourism preserves cultural values. We’re determined to make Bao Lac town a district tourism center. We encourage ethnic people to preserve their language, wear traditional clothes to go to the market, and send their children to school. Bao Lac is on the road between Non Nuoc Cao Bang Global Geopark and Dong Van Karst Plateau Park. We make full use of these advantages to develop tourism,” said Hung.

Bao Lac offers many types of tourism, including eco-tourism, discovery and adventure tourism, and community tourism. Its goal is to be a safe, friendly, popular destination with rich ethnic culture. The district has implemented a project to develop tourism and services in association with ethnic culture preservation for the 2021-2025 period. It hopes to receive 30,000 visitors next year, including 10,000 foreign visitors.