Located near the Vietnam-Laos border, in the buffer zone of Pu Mat National Park, Cao Veu is often associated with a remote, isolated place, hidden deep beneath the ancient forests of the Truong Son Mountains; Cao Veu is also known as a place where wild elephants often roam and cause trouble... Now, Cao Veu has transformed with a new look that promises to become an attractive community tourism destination in the mountainous Anh Son district.
Fertile buffer zone
We arrived at Cao Veu on an early autumn day, when the first rains of the season had begun to fall on the eastern slopes of the majestic Truong Son mountain range, creating silvery streams flowing downstream along the ravines and streams.
Accompanying us were Mr. Dao Anh Tan - Deputy Head of the Ethnic Affairs Department of Anh Son District and Mr. Phan Van Duc - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Phuc Son Commune. From the administrative center of Phuc Son Commune, located right next to National Highway 7, we followed Provincial Road 534C straight towards the Cao Veu border gate. This section of road connecting National Highway 7 to the Cao Veu border gate is approximately 40km long. From kilometer 20 onwards, the cluster of four Cao Veu villages, including Veu 1, Veu 2, Veu 3, and Veu 4, are distributed along both sides of Road 534C all the way to the border gate. These are the furthest villages in Anh Son District, sharing a border with Laos, stretching over 6.9km from border marker number 7 to border marker number 9.
Provincial road 534C leads to Cao Vều. Photo: Tiến Đông
"Cao Veu isn't as bustling this season as it was in early summer, when people from all over flocked there to bathe in the waterfalls and streams. This season, the only special feature is... the jungle rain, so the journey will be a bit tiring!" - Mr. Phan Van Duc said jokingly as we began our trip.
After nearly an hour of struggling with the bumpy, rocky, and uneven road 534C, with many patches of asphalt peeling off due to prolonged rain and wind erosion, we finally reached the banks of the Giang River, considered the gateway to the Veu region. Crossing the Giang River is now easier thanks to the permanent concrete bridge.
The permanent concrete bridge spanning the Giang River has made the road to Cao Veu much more convenient. Photo: Tien Dong
The Giang River is a tributary of the Lam River, originating from the 1,300m high Pa Lon mountain, part of the Northern Truong Son mountain range – the core area of Pu Mat National Park. The Giang River is 150km long, flowing through the districts of Con Cuong, Anh Son, and Thanh Chuong before joining the Lam River at the border between Phong Thinh and Thanh Tien communes in Thanh Chuong district. Phuc Son is the only commune in Anh Son district through which the Giang River flows, with a length of 8.3 km.
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The Giang River does not flow through Cao Veu. This area has the Veu River, which originates from the eastern slope of the Truong Son mountain range and then merges with the Giang River right at the But Gorge.
Mr. Phan Van Duc - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Phuc Son Commune
The Giang River flows from the core of Pu Mat National Park through the edge of the Cao Veu area. Photo: Tien Dong
Located in the buffer zone of Pu Mat National Park, Cao Veu has a gradually decreasing slope along the border towards the lowlands. Here lies Cao Veu Mountain (also known as Veu Mountain), reaching a height of 1,342m, making it the highest mountain in the Anh Son mountainous region.
The Cao Vều mountain range, along with several localities in the two districts of Con Cuông and Tương Dương, lies within the 86,000-hectare buffer zone of Pù Mát National Park. This area is home to the majority of the Thái ethnic minority and is considered to have high biodiversity, with many rare and endangered plant and animal species listed in the Red Book of Vietnam and the world. Among these, the wild elephant is particularly noteworthy.
Elephants in Cao Veu. Photo: Archival material.
Due to the shrinking habitat and food sources of wild elephants, in recent years, they have frequently appeared and destroyed sugarcane crops in Cao Veu. To resolve the "conflict" between elephants and humans, since the beginning of 2016, an elephant-proof moat has been built in Veu 1 and Veu 2 villages. The moat is 5km long and surrounds the villagers' production area from the natural forest.
Nevertheless, wild elephants occasionally manage to cross the ditch to destroy people's crops. Therefore, an Elephant Conservation Team was established in Phuc Son commune (mainly in Cao Veu) with 12 members, aiming to protect the wild elephant herd and minimize the damage caused by wild elephants encroaching on human living areas.
Occasionally, wild elephants return to Cao Vều and destroy the crops of the local people. (Photo: Archival material)
According to Mr. Duc, the elephant herd in Cao Veu previously consisted of six individuals, but in October 2023, a mature male elephant died in the forest area of Hanh Lam and Thanh Duc communes in Thanh Chuong district (bordering Cao Veu). Due to the nature of elephants, which usually have only one dominant male, the appearance of a mature male elephant may have caused conflict, leading it to separate from the herd, move, and live in solitude in the forests surrounding Cao Veu. Meanwhile, its herd continues to live in nearby forests.
Potential for community tourism
To better understand the changes in this land, we decided to venture into the most remote villages of Cao Veu. At midday, the first rain of the season subsided and then stopped completely. The fog gradually dissipated, and fragments of clouds drifted and swirled over the mountaintops, revealing a vast valley surrounded by the winding Veu River.
The Cao Veu Valley with the winding Veu River, viewed from above. Photo: Tien Dong.
Currently, the four Veu hamlets of Phuc Son commune have 508 households with 1,840 inhabitants, of which 339 households with 1,063 inhabitants are ethnic Thai people.
Mr. Dang Dinh Lam, head of Veu 2 village, welcomed us and gave us a tour around the village. Veu 2 village is located entirely on the right bank of the Veu River, with 91 households and 330 inhabitants, mainly of the Thai ethnic group. Because it is a buffer zone of Pu Mat National Park, it has rich and diverse natural resources and many unique natural landscapes such as streams, springs, hills, and forests.
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The Thai people have been present in Cao Veu for hundreds of years. Many Thai clans originated from Con Cuong district, while some came from Thanh Chuong district. After arriving here, they settled along the rivers and streams...
Mr. Dang Dinh Lam - Head of Veu 2 village
Over the years, implementing the national target program on socio-economic development for particularly disadvantaged villages, the economic, cultural, and social lives of the people of Cao Veu in general and Veu 2 village in particular have seen many positive changes. Currently, many households in Veu 2 village have become relatively well-off or wealthy thanks to the establishment of stable economic models.
We visited Mr. Lo Thanh Tam's house in Veu 2 village. Mr. Tam's family moved here from Con Cuong in the early 1990s. After settling in this new land, his family has established a stable life with three grown children. Mr. Tam also invested in building an electric rice mill to serve the villagers and support his family's buffalo and cattle farming.
Mr. Lo Thanh Tam - Veu 2 village. Photo: Tien Dong
Most notably, thanks to favorable natural conditions, in recent years, the policy of developing community tourism associated with preserving and promoting ethnic cultural identity has been implemented. In the Cao Veu area, several homestays, ecotourism destinations, and community tourism sites have emerged and become well-known to tourists from many places.
Among them, the Vuc But beach eco-tourism area, located in Veu 4 village, has been completed and put into operation for several years now. The Cay Sung beach in Veu 1 village, with its ancient fig tree casting cool shade over the Veu River, has become an attractive tourist destination for visitors in the region.
But Gorge, the confluence of the Veu and Giang rivers. Photo: CSCC.But Gorge Beach. Photo: CSCCThe Sung Tree Beach in Cao Veu always attracts a large number of people who come to relax and unwind. Photo: Duc Anh
Mr. Nguyen Van Chien, the owner of an ecotourism business in Veu 2 village, shared that although the economic and social life of the villages in Cao Veu still faces many difficulties, nature has blessed Cao Veu with conditions that few other places possess. These include the clear, winding Veu River flowing through pristine forests and a not-too-high temperature, making it an ideal location for ecotourism and relaxation. Recognizing these favorable conditions, more than a year ago, Mr. Chien boldly invested in building an ecotourism destination on his family's land next to the Veu River.
An ecotourism destination located next to the Vều River. Photo: Tiến Đông
According to Mr. Dao Anh Tan, Deputy Head of the Ethnic Affairs Department of Anh Son District, developing ecotourism and community tourism is one of the directions the district is pursuing in Cao Veu. In recent years, the district has been actively attracting investment from businesses and projects to build tourism infrastructure such as restaurants and green, clean, and beautiful community tourism houses.
Currently, eight community tourism destinations have been established in the four villages of Cao Veu, including beaches along the Veu River and other scenic locations. In addition, with funding from the National Target Program, Phuc Son commune is currently selecting a location in Cao Veu to build a community tourism center, with an estimated cost of 1.7 billion VND.
Officials from the Ethnic Affairs Department of Anh Son district and the People's Committee of Phuc Son commune are seen exchanging views with local residents. Photo: Tien Dong.
In particular, exactly one year ago, the project to repair and upgrade provincial road 534C leading to the Cao Veu border gate was started in Veu 1 village, with its end point at milestone M8 on the Vietnam-Laos border. This project aims not only to ensure transportation for the people and connect the central area with remote villages in Anh Son district, but also to serve as a bridge to develop tourism in the Cao Veu area. Especially, it promotes ecotourism and adventure tourism associated with the border gate, border road, and milestone. At the same time, it promotes economic and trade cooperation and builds a sustainable friendship with neighboring Laos.
Currently, Cao Veu has 8 community tourism destinations, including beaches along the Veu River and other scenic spots.
A welcome piece of news is that several projects under the National Target Program for Socio-Economic Development of Ethnic Minority and Mountainous Areas, giai đoạn 2021-2030, are currently being implemented in the four Vều villages of Phúc Sơn commune, with Phase 1 running from 2021 to 2025. Specifically, these include projects addressing land shortages, housing, production land, and clean water; projects investing in essential infrastructure serving production and daily life in ethnic minority and mountainous areas and public service units in the ethnic affairs sector; and projects supporting research, restoration, preservation, and promotion of intangible cultural heritage of ethnic minorities at risk of extinction. This serves as a driving force and a source of hope for the development of the four Vều villages.
Leaving Cao Veu, we carried with us a joy at the changes taking place in this land. It was the joy of seeing the distance between this remote, isolated area and the center of Phuc Son commune shortened, no longer as far and distant as before. It was also the hope for a community-based tourism destination with ancient Thai villages that still retain their pristine and captivating charm.
However, for Cao Veu to truly break through, in addition to the continuous efforts of the people themselves, it still needs the attention of the government at all levels and the entire community…
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