Con Ho is a small islet on the Co Chien River, about 15 kilometres from Tra Vinh Province’s eponymous capital city, featuring sheer natural beauty and a rich ecosystem that appeal to tourists visiting the country’s southwestern region.
Visitors to Con Ho, an islet in Cang Long District, Tra Vinh Province.
The islet is about five minutes by boat from Duc My Commune, Cang Long District. From afar, Con Ho looks like a peaceful green swathe of land.
According to Huynh Van Nguyen, a long-time resident of Con Ho, its name comes from a folk story about a dead giant carp that washed ashore on the islet and was buried by local residents, who regarded it as a divine fish protecting this land. Looking from above or on the map, the islet looks like a giant carp.
Con Ho boasts a rich ecosystem with fruit trees such as pomelos, coconuts, jackfruits, star apples and bananas, as well as freshwater animals such as snails, shrimp, fish, and eels. These are specialties enjoyed by visitors on ecological tours to the islet. Con Ho residents also raise chickens in their gardens, creating an idyllic rural setting.
The islet has 23 households with 80 people. There is only one dyke road linking households on the islet, so visitors can only explore the islet by foot.
Nguyen said residents on the islet live in harmony and consider each other as family, always supporting one another. Thus they were unanimous when deciding to take part in tourism activities. They invested everything by themselves to create a self-reliant ecotourism model, which brings income and enhances their standard of living, while also helping to protect and promote local traditional cultural values.
Co Ho organises light activities to serve tourists such as rowing, fishing, picking fruits, and enjoying herbal foot baths. Chau Thi Phung, owner of a herbal garden in Con Ho, said that each household will contribute a product that they make.
“At first, I was rather worried. My family has a secret about herbs, so I invested in this product. Thanks to tourism, my family's income is better than before. Every month, there are hundreds of visitors, including many international visitors. Tourism activities on the islet are becoming more and more known,” added Phung added.
In the afternoon, a corner of Con Ho bustles with traditional craft activities such as making rice wine and enjoying simple dishes made from fresh ingredients in the garden, creating a special flavour that is hard to find anywhere else.
One of the unmissable experiences when visiting Con Ho is participating in activities by lamplight at night. Con Ho is not connected to the power grid yet, so when dusk falls and oil lamps are lit, it creates an atmosphere that is both peaceful and mysterious, yet also familiar.
Strolling in the flickering light of oil lamps, visitors will feel as though they are returned to life in the 1980s. By lamplight, the ancient stories of the local people and the poignant traditional folk songs will make visitors temporarily forget reality.
Quach Thi Bich Van, a teacher from Binh Duong Province, said: "Con Ho is separated from the fast pace of city life. The familiar, intimate scenery reminds me of country living when I was young. I will invite my friends and family, especially my nieces and nephews, to visit this place, so they can understand the rural lifestyle in the past."
Although tourism has only been developed since 2020, Con Ho has quickly become an interesting destination, attracting tens of thousands of domestic and international visitors.
According to Lam Huu Phuc, Deputy Director of the Tra Vinh Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Con Ho has been recognised as an exemplary tourism site in the Mekong Delta. In Con Ho, visitors feel as though they have returned to their homes and the beloved villages of days gone by.
With strengths in natural conditions and ethnic culture like Con Ho, Tra Vinh Province is focusing on developing ecotourism, community tourism and cultural tourism. At the same time, the province has organised training for businesses and tourism service establishments to adopt clean practices and create novel products to attract tourists.
