Travel Guide

Cam Thanh Village is a potential destination for ecotourism in Hoi An. About 5 km from the center of Hoi An Ancient Town, there is an endless water coconut palm forest. For the past 100 years, villagers have been planting water coconut palms to protect the village from the Thu Bon River's floods. The forest, which is part of the world recognized Cham Island bio-reserve, also helps protect the village from storms while at the same time helping to create a stable income for villagers. This place currently preserves historical architectural heritage of special value, highlights heroic in time of war and is a unique ecological site with flooded forest and charming landscape. The site is also attached with the two honorable wars against French and American invaders. Coming here, visitors will have a great chance to visit beautiful countryside and an authentic social and cultural insight of the Vietnamese local way of life.

Being a Farmer

 

Instead of cars and motorbikes, bicycles fill the peaceful streets of Cam Thanh, an eco-destination that is luring more and more visitors with a mixture of Mother Nature's wonders and human ingenuity. On the way cycling to Cam Thanh Village, tourists can enjoy the fresh air and take photos of the Vietnamese rural countryside with paddy fields, houses with bamboo-thatched roofs, and small, rough walking paths.

 

Biking in Cam Tham

 

Farming works have never been easy to Vietnamese farmers, but more and more international tourists are interested in the farming life experience while traveling in Vietnam. With an agricultural land, water buffalos, farming tools like plow, firewood cookers, hand rice grill, farmers in Cam Thanh Commune in Hoi An will introduce their normal jobs in the paddy fields. To learn the traditional method of rice production, you can have some hands-on experiences by engaging directly in several activities on the muddy fields like a real local farmer such as wearing farmer’s clothes and ‘non la’ (conical hat), growing and harvesting rice, plucking grains off ears using a machine, filtering rice grains using large and flat baskets, separating husks from grains, cooking rice in a traditional way and using rice milk to make pancakes.

 

In the afternoon, continuing to the fishing village to explore the Ecological water palm system with the unique basket boat, from which you can fish with nets or lines. The Bay Mau water coconut palm forest is a unique ecological area with flooded forests and charming landscapes. It is home to shrimp, fish and diverse avian life. At there, you will have chance to touch the fishing life by catching fish with the local fishermen’s net.

Eco Tour

 

The forest also provides raw materials to make craft products and build traditional houses. You will be amazed with a vast and interminable forest and low-roof-houses with walls made of split bamboo panels and a palm-leaf roof which can be used for 30 years. The tour allows customers to feel free to visit any house and join in craft production with locals like watching the craftsman manipulating the furniture from water coconut and bamboo and purchasing souvenirs, interior decorations, and special foods in Cam Thanh Village.

 

Overall, this kind of eco tour gives tourists a unique insight into local life. You can understand more about Vietnam’s rice cultivation culture. Surely, that will be an unforgettable experience on your trip to Vietnam. Moreover, by teaching tourists to do farming works in the fields, life of many villagers in Hoi An has been improved significantly in recent years.