Just 10 kilometers from the Vietnam-Cambodia border, Tra Su Forest in Tinh Bien District is at its best time between September and November, known as the flooding season in the Mekong Delta, a natural phenomenon that occurs each year on the downstream Mekong River.
A trip in Tra Su typically starts with a composite motorboat that departs from a pier in the forest and goes through the cajuput forest for visitors to admire the lush greenery including lotus and water lilies.
Then visitors are transferred to a small wooden rowboat that makes its way through green duckweed deeper into the forest for around 30 minutes.
A group of French tourists wait to get on their boats on October 14.
After enjoying a 10-minute motorboat tour, they will be transferred to a small dock to continue their tour on small boats called sampan where female rowers take them throughout the ecological forest filled with lotuses, water lilies and water hyacinths.
Anna (front), a French tourist, said this was her first time to experience the tour in Tra Su cajuput forest.
"After visiting Cambodia, we get on a bus through the border to explore Tra Su cajuput forest and it's really so beautiful."
"My tour guide told us this place is one of the most beautiful forests in Vietnam. It's true!"
Hung, the tour guide leading the group of French tourists to Tra Su Forest, said most of his guests are retirees and they love to explore the natural landscapes of Southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia and Vietnam.
In addition to Tra Su, they also visit some other tourist attractions in An Giang such as Chau Doc Market and Cam Mountain, home to Buddhist spiritual sites.
The forest is home to about 140 plant species, but the dominant growth is of cajeput trees. The most suitable time of the year to visit the forest is during the lotus season, from June to September, and the flooding season, from September to November. Photo by Toan Vu
Nhung, a local rower wearing ao ba ba (traditional southern Vietnamese garment) and conical hat non la, said Tra Su forest was only crowded during weekends when she could make up to VND300,000 (US$12.29) a day.
On normal days, she could earn only VND70,000.
