Cua Lo Town: "Awakening" the potential of spiritual tourism

(Baonghean) - Spiritual cultural tourism is a type of tourism through relics, pagodas, mausoleums... for people to seek the light of faith, the mystery of religion to satisfy the needs of spiritual life and beliefs. Cua Lo has many sacred historical relics, imbued with marine culture but has not been exploited for tourism...

Cua Lo is a land of "human mountains" with many relics and famous landscapes, including those that have been ranked nationally and have been restored by the people into large-scale festivals. A typical example is Van Loc Temple, worshiping Nguyen Su Hoi with the Van Loc Temple Festival held on the 15th day of the first lunar month every year. When visiting Van Loc Temple, visitors can also admire the charming scenery: in front of the temple is the Cam River with boats going up and down, to the right of the temple is Dau Rong Mountain, to the left is Voi Mountain, behind is Lo Mountain (Lo Son); to the East and South are Lan Chau Island and Song Ngu, Mat Island like beautiful pearls emerging in the middle of the blue East Sea; to the West are Mao Mountain, Co Mountain, Kiem Mountain...

Lo Son Pagoda (Nghi Tan Ward, Cua Lo Town) - a spiritual tourist destination.

Along with the Van Loc temple relic, there are also the Lo Son pagoda relic, Mai Bang temple, Yen Luong temple... In particular, when coming to Cua Lo, visitors cannot miss Dao Ngu pagoda - the pagoda was built during the Tran Dynasty (13th - 14th century), which is the place to worship the god Sat Hai Dai Vuong Hoang Ta Thon. In 2004, Dao Ngu pagoda was restored, meeting the spiritual and cultural needs of local people and visitors from near and far. Along with the restoration of the pagoda, the port on Song Ngu island and Lan Chau island was also built, convenient for tourists to make pilgrimages and visit the pagoda.

Tourists can visit Dao Ngu Pagoda by motorboat within 25 minutes from Cua Lo beach. Besides visiting Dao Ngu Pagoda, tourists also have the opportunity to visit the island's landscape, the cobia farm in the middle of the sea, enjoy 7-course cobia with Song Ngu wine - a wine distilled from the water source of the Divine Well on the island. And 1 year ago, the project of the ecological tourism complex, resort villas, entertainment and sports area Lan Chau - Song Ngu started construction and the waterway passenger transport route from Lan Chau Island to Song Ngu Island was opened in the coastal town - opening a new direction for Cua Lo tourism in a variety of services to serve tourists.

It can be seen that the spiritual cultural tourism potential of the town is very rich and diverse. However, currently, tourists only know about Dao Ngu Pagoda and very few people know about other temples and pagodas located right in the heart of the town.

Ms. Vo Thi Hao (64 years old), a resident of Block 4, Nghi Thuy Ward, who looks after Mai Bang Temple, said: Every year, on the 12th day of the second lunar month, the temple organizes the death anniversary of Mrs. Bich Chau, associated with the fishing festival of the coastal people. Visitors from all over the region come to offer incense and watch the festival. The festival is so big, the temple is so beautiful and spacious, but very few tourists come. As the temple's caretaker, who has been attached to this land since her ancestors' time, Ms. Hao feels very sad: Because tourists from far away provinces flock to Cua Lo every year, but not a single person knows about this temple, even though the temple is very close, right in the heart of the town.

And Ms. Hao surprised us by suggesting that: It is time for the people of Cua Lo to get involved in promoting and advertising to tourists. For example, when customers come to buy seafood at Nghi Thuy craft village, the shop owner not only sells seafood but also advises and introduces to customers that Cua Lo also has many sacred relics and attractive landscapes. Through such introductions, tourists will certainly be curious, interested and want to go right away. At that time, the shop owner must be the one to guide and show the way to the customers. If he cannot guide them, he can call the Temple Management Board for further support. With this approach, from the electric car driver who takes customers out for a walk, he can also promote, to the breakfast seller, the hotel waiter, the restaurant waiter... all can become tour guides. From those relics, tourists can admire a civilized, modern Cua Lo but rich in cultural and historical sediments.

Mr. Vo Hong Hai, Director of Cua Lo Cultural and Sports Center said: With 18 historical and cultural relics, of which 10 have been ranked, in recent times Cua Lo has also mobilized socialization to restore, embellish, and reconstruct the relics associated with traditional festivals. At the same time, promoting propaganda and promotion on mass media to exploit and promote the value of relics in the area. However, these relics have only attracted local people and neighboring areas, but have not attracted tourists. In the coming time, the town will continue to promote the content and value of relics on mass media. Manage relics well in the area to effectively exploit tourism potential. In particular, tours and tourist routes within the town will be formed associated with relic sites...

Article and photos:Thanh Thuy