According to "Journey of Sea and Flowers" in Tuy Phong

Going down the steep passes and admiring the beautiful landscapes of mountains, forests, rivers, streams, and lakes from above in Phan Dung commune, visitors are also amazed by the vast expanses of white below. Coming closer, they see apples and grapes growing in a very special and creative greenhouse created by the local people.

There is a "gateway" like Phan Dung

These days, Phan Dung is entering the harvest season, so the fields in the commune have turned yellow on all the paths. The main road into the commune has just been repaired, paved with black asphalt, winding from afar like a soft silk, creating a romantic space in the mountains. The morning air here is chilly, as if influenced by the climate of the highlands, even though the sun is high. The sun shines through, shining on the heavy dew drops left on the leaves, when the tourists of the trekking group from Ta Nang (Lam Dong) come down to Phan Dung (Tuy Phong - Binh Thuan ).

View of both sides of Ta Nang - Phan Dung road. Photo: Ngoc Lan

This mountainous commune always welcomes visitors in the morning. The schedule of trekking groups has long been set like that, because the route from the flower area to the sea area at that time is reasonable. Visitors often stay overnight at the hill named 2 pine trees located on the border of 3 provinces including Lam Dong, Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan. Early the next morning, they continue on their way to the center of Phan Dung commune. Here, groups visit Phan Dung lake from outside the fence, under the canal, freely using the cool water to wash clothes and wash. Then, stop by the restaurants near the lake to enjoy the unique dishes made from the products of the Rac Lay people.

Anyone who has ever drunk rice wine in Phan Dung will come back to enjoy it again, because of the purity and richness of organically grown rice grains brewed using traditional methods. Similarly, anyone who has not eaten farmed chicken but like the wild chicken here, is also missing out, not only because the chicken meat is tough, sweet, and fragrant, but also because of its scarcity. The story is that people in Phan Dung raise chickens but let them roam freely, so only near night do the chickens return to the coop or sometimes don't return but stay somewhere else. Therefore, if the owner can't catch the chickens, the restaurant will have no chickens to sell. Then the black pigs, although raised, grow up very naturally, without worrying about having food to increase their growth like in the lowlands. Not only that, there is also corn grown by the people here, also a specialty that many people call primitive corn. Maybe thanks to the climate, the nature of the soil in the mountains, in the border of cold regions and the way of growing like in the grandparents' time, the corn is very delicious and there are no words to describe it.

In addition, in early 2023, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tuy Phong district deployed a model of intensive cultivation of dwarf coconut in Phan Dung. Currently, 13 households have received seeds, materials, and fertilizers to plant 5 hectares. In parallel, the district's Agricultural Technical Service Center organized training on intensive cultivation of coconut trees according to GAP; intensive cultivation of jackfruit according to GAP and training classes with contents such as processing and preserving feed for livestock; techniques for raising free-range chickens with biological safety... Therefore, maybe next year, after the walking journey, tourists stopping at Phan Dung will enjoy a variety of dishes and drinks that, with just a little improvement, have created Phan Dung mountainous cuisine.

The road to the sea

Phan Dung is the gateway to the sea of the Ta Nang - Phan Dung trekking route, which was officially put into trial by the two provinces in 2023, when a few years before that, tourists had spontaneously opened it. Therefore, Tuy Phong still welcomes an increasing number of visitors through this route every year, such as 6,230 visitors in 2022; more than 10,000 visitors in 2023. In fact, the Ta Nang - Phan Dung experimental route is part of the "Sea and Flower Journey" tourism development cooperation program between Lam Dong and Binh Thuan. And Phan Dung is where tourists first set foot on their journey to the sea.

Going down the steep passes and admiring the beautiful landscapes of mountains, forests, rivers, streams, lakes from above, visitors are also amazed by the vast white patches below. The further down the plains, the more clearly they see the greenhouses in Lam Dong, but everyone asks what is grown in the harsh sun and wind of this coastal region. Up close, there are apples and grapes spreading out in very special greenhouses, very creatively created by the local people. Apples from Phong Phu commune. Grapes from Phuoc The commune. These agricultural production models have attracted visitors to visit, enjoy the fruit and buy them as gifts for the past few years, contributing to diversifying Tuy Phong tourism products, in addition to products from the sea.

Arriving in Lien Huong, go to Binh Thanh to visit Co Thach Pagoda, swim in the sea, enjoy seafood, then you can visit historical relics and provincial scenic spots such as Ca Duoc Rock Beach, Hon Cau, General Secretary Le Duan Memorial House... Especially Hon Cau relic and scenic area, this is also a marine conservation area with the highlight of being the breeding ground of sea turtles, so it attracts more and more tourists to explore, such as in 2022, welcoming 8,295 visitors, in 2023, welcoming more than 11,000 visitors.

At the meeting to summarize 2 years of implementing Resolution 06 of the Provincial Party Committee on tourism development to 2025, with a vision to 2030, Tuy Phong district proposed: Pay attention to developing infrastructure of the common tourism belt in the North of the province associated with developing diverse tourism products in terms of forest ecology (Phan Dung) - sea (Lien Huong, Binh Thanh) - island (Hon Cau - Phuoc The). In parallel, the Master Plan of Binh Thanh Tourism Urban Area aims to create a chain of tourism development links from Co Thach - Binh Thanh Tourist Area towards Lien Huong town - connecting Phuoc The commune (Cu Lao Cau island) about 4 km.

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