“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” – Anonymous

Ca Mau Province

Location

Ca Mau Province is well known not by the famous tourist destination but from the position of the south pole of the country. Beside the province is famous with the rich melaleuca forests such as U Minh Ha which has its scale of more than 8.000ha.
Ca Mau Province is bordered with Bac Lieu Province to the north east, with Kien Giang Province to the north, with the East Sea to the south and south east and with the Gulf of Thailand to the west.
  • Center city: Ca Mau City
  • Districts: Dam Doi District, Ngoc Hien District, Cai Nuoc District, Tran Van Thoi District, U Minh District, Thoi Binh District, Nam Can District and Phu Tan District.
  • Tourist places: Ca Mau City, Ngoc Hien District, U Minh District, Tran Van Thoi District and Nam Can District.
  • Climate: Ca Mau Province is in the tropical monsoon climate region. There are the rain season from May to November and the dry time from December to April. The average temperature is 27 C degree. 
  • Transportation: Travel conveniently by land and river way to the province and from it to other provinces.

         The distance is for reference as below:
         From Ca Mau to Ha Noi: 1868 km
         From Ca Mau to Ho Chi Minh City: 289 km
         From Ca Mau to Bac Lieu:  67 km
         From Ca Mau to Kien Giang:  118 km
         From Ca Mau to Hau Giang:  102 km
         From Ca Mau to Soc Trang:  113 km


Landscapes

  • Stork Garden: Located in Dam Doi District, 45 km southeast of Ca Mau City, the Stork Garden is a living and gathering place of flocks of storks. The storks build their nests on high trees, search for food in the morning and get back their nests in the late afternoon.
  • Hon Khoai: The Hon Khoai group of islands is about 15 km from the mainland, in Ngoc Hien District. In the area, there are five islands in extremely close proximity to one another, including Hon Khoai, Hon Sao, Hon Doi Moi, Hon Da Le, and Hon Tuong. Hon Khoai has a primeval forest with many valuable wood trees and a various system of flora and fauna.
  • Hon Khoai was listed as a National Heritage Site in 1994 by the Ministry of Culture and Information. 
  • Nam Can: Nam Can is a town in Ngoc Hien District, 53 km from Ca Mau City. It is also a big floating market of Ca Mau Province and the marine boundary region. In Nam Can, there was an airport built before 1975. Besides, Nam Can also has an international marine port where the province can import and export goods directly.
  • Ca Mau Cape: Ca Mau Cape- the most southern point in Vietnam- is located in Ngoc Hien District, 118 km from Ca Mau Town by waterway. Ca Mau Cape has been invested to be an ecological salt-marsh tourist site.
  • Hon Da Bac (Silver Stone Island): Located in Tran Van Thoi District, 50 km from Ca Mau Town by waterway, the Hon Da Bac has an 6,43 ha area including three small islets nearby the seaside. On the island, there are many beautiful sights such as Fairy Ground, Fairy Well, Fairy Foot, Fairy Hand and Whale Pagoda as well as the various system of flora.
  • 19th May Garden: Located in Ward 1 of Ca Mau City, the 19 May Garden is one of the most attractive spots in Ca Mau. The 18.2 ha garden features a weekend entertainment area of the local people as well as a two- ha natural bird sanctuary assembling many rare birds.
  • U Minh Forest: A large percentage of the area of Ca Mau Province is covered by forest. U Minh Forest is located near Thailand Tokin and spreads immensely from Doc River (in the south) to Kien Giang Province (in the north). U Minh Forest divides into two part U Minh Thuong (Upper U Minh) and U Minh Ha (Lower U Minh). Between U Minh Thuong and U Minh Ha, there are Trem River and Cai Tau River. With the wild nature, the U Minh Forest is comprised of several types of plants, the most common of which are Mam, mangrove and indigo. With the flood environment, there are salt-bearing trees growing and many kinds of animals, insects and microorganisms living.
  • Sac Forest: Sac Forest is a mangrove forest in the coastal region. Everyday, the forest is ever flooded by tidal waters; therefore, the forest mainly includes Mam trees, mangroves, grown in water coconut trees…Because of the flooded tidal, Sac Forest is an ideal environment for fish, shrimp, bird and stork to live.

Festivals:

  • Ky Yen Ceremony: The Ky Yen Ceremony is a popular festival and an important spiritual cultural activity for the people in the Mekong Delta. It is held annually in all communal houses in the South, on the 15th, 16th, and 17th days of the lunar month chosen by each area where the festival is celebrated.In most villages in the South, there is a communal house dedicated to the village Deity. This Deity can be a person credited with great services to the region or someone who was bestowed upon the village by royal decree of an emperor, or a heroic legendary character. In the remote villages, where there is no communal house, people travel to nearby villages to worship. The worshiping ceremony begins with a ritual to request the Deity to arrive on the day of the full moon. It continues with a staged procession for a throne. The offerings include a roasted pig, a tray of steamed violet sticky rice….Following the procession, there are lion dancing performances and drums are played all night long. After worshipping, visitors enjoy a feast and then watch hat boi (classical drama performance). After the three days of festivities, drum, music and prayers to the Deity, the villagers return to work and look forward to the following year’s festival.

And there are many other unique festivals in the province.

Local specialties

There are different local specialties in the province such as ốc len xào dừa (snails fried with coconut milk), salted fish with different types, dried shrimps and fish, dried banana, oysters and other typical specialties.