Phong Nam Valley

Phong Nam is a flat-floored valley in the Cao Bang karst, farmed in rice by Tay villages with limestone towers rising straight out of the fields and the Quay Son river running through it - the same river that makes the Ban Gioc falls a short distance downstream. The valley is best seen from the hill road above, where the whole pattern of fields, towers and stilt houses lays out. Nearby is Mat Than, the angel eye mountain, a peak with a natural hole about fifty metres across pierced clean through it near the summit, which is the district's other set piece.

Highlights

• A flat rice valley in karst - towers rising from the fields.
• The Quay Son river - which makes Ban Gioc downstream.
• Tay villages and stilt houses - working the valley.
• Mat Than nearby - the mountain with a hole through it.

When to go

Late September for the harvest; March to May otherwise. A full day.

Before you go

There is no formal viewpoint or infrastructure - the views are from the road. These are working fields and walking into them damages the crop. Roads are narrow. Services are in Trung Khanh, not the valley.

Nearby

Ban Gioc waterfall is downstream; Mat Than is a short drive away.