It is situated in Tri Ton District, An Giang Province, in the Bay Nui (Seven Mountains) region. Instead of the flat plains typical of the Mekong Delta, this area lies in a low basin between Ta Pa and Co To mountains, creating a valley.
In late November Saigon–based photographer Cao Ky Nhan visited Ta Pa to photograph the harvest season. It was his fourth trip to photograph the fields. This year the autumn–winter rice crop ripened earlier than usual.
He says: "The scenery changes every year, and the light always brings new surprises. No two visits are ever the same."
Ta Pa's landscape blends rice paddies with sugar palms, cajeput trees, and hills. The scenery shifts with the seasons, going from flooded fields to golden paddies to bare lands after the harvest.
According to Nhan, this year's rice ripened in mid-November instead of early December as in previous years. Farmers sped up harvesting by helping one another through a practice known as van cong, in which neighbors take turns helping one another reap the fields when the rice matures.
By the end of November many fields had already been harvested.
Roads leading to the valley area between Ta Pa and Co To mountains are available but narrow and steep in places. The best time for taking photos is from 5 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. when sunlight hits the fields and farmers head out. Late afternoons, from around 4 p.m., are ideal for sunset views.
Having photographed rice seasons across Vietnam such as Mu Cang Chai in Lao Cai Province and Phong Nam in Cao Bang Province, Nhan finds Ta Pa different from the northern mountains, with its golden season feeling softer and more poetic.
His favorite moment is early morning, when the fields glow a deep gold as if "coated in honey". It is also the moment when photographers feel awakened, and they can watch the landscape change slowly.
Ta Pa is home to a long-settled Khmer community, whose culture is reflected in farming practices and daily life. Sugar palms, cajeput trees and old temples define the area's character.
Sugar palms and cajeput trees shape the fields and reflect Khmer life in Ta Pa. This year is unusual as the rice crop ripens at the same time as the annual flooding.
