General information about Chau Doc

Chau Doc is one of two cities in An Giang Province that play an important role in the economic development and tourism of the Mekong Delta. Besides, sharing a border with Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Chau Doc has become a vibrant city in terms of trade, purchase, and transportation in Vietnam and Cambodia. Moreover, the perfect blend of natural beauty, historic sites, and friendly local people of this town will leave a deep impression on visitors. Let’s find out what to do in Chau Doc with some attractive places suggested by Mekong Smile Tour!

What to do in Chau Doc - Top destinations in Chau Doc
What to do in Chau Doc town

Is Chau  Doc worth visiting?

Chau Doc is well worth a visit, and most visitors stay for two to three days. Because they not only enjoy the beautiful scenery but also immerse themselves in the unique local culture. The cultural diversity of Chau Doc can be seen in the mosques, temples, churches, and pilgrimage sites nearby. That will make you have fascinating discoveries about Vietnamese culture here.

How do you get to Chau Doc?

Chau Doc is about 245 km from Ho Chi Minh City and 120 km from Can Tho.

• From Ho Chi Minh City: you can buy a bus ticket at Mien Tay bus station to reach Chau Doc or Long Xuyen city. It will take around 5-6 hours driving. Some recommended local buses are Phuong Trang, Thanh Buoi… The ticket price is about 150,000 – 250,000 VND/ one way.

 

What to do in Chau Doc - Top destinations in Chau Doc
Phuong Trang bus

• From Can Tho: you can also catch a local bus at Can Tho station to get to Chau Doc. The journey is shorter, about 3 hours, and the ticket is cheaper, about 100,000 – 200,000 VND/ one way.

• From Danang, Hanoi: You can book the air ticket with Vietnam Airlines or Vietjet Air from Hanoi or Danang to Tra Noc Airport (in Can Tho). On arrival to Can Tho, you can choose a local bus or hire a private transfer for a nearly 3-hour drive to Chau Doc.

What to do in Chau Doc – Top destinations in Chau Doc

1. Top things to do in Chau Doc town – Visit Tra Su forest

Tra Su Bird Sanctuary or Tra Su cajuput forest is located at Tinh Bien district, An Giang province. This forest is an “extremely hot” tourist destination that visitors cannot ignore when coming to the West. Because visitors will enjoy the colorful wild natural world of the mangrove forest with many kinds of rare plants and animals. Moreover, tourists can take beautiful check-in photos with many extreme virtual living angles in the forest.

What to do in Chau Doc - Top destinations in Chau Doc
A panorama of Tra Su bird sanctuary

Tra Su cajuput forest in Chau Doc is a flooded forest with bold wild nature, typical of the West. With an area of about 845 hectares, this place is covered by the green carpet of duckweed and dense cajuput forest. Not only that, this is the home to many rare species of flora and fauna such as Mycteria leucocephala, Anhinga melanogaster, etc.

What to do in Chau Doc - Top destinations in Chau Doc
Mycteria leucocephala in Tra Su bird sanctuary

In addition, visitors have the opportunity to admire the unique places here including ‘The pigeon city” or Kieu Tra Su Bridge. Especially, visitors will experience the feeling of passing the Tra Su cajuput forest by large boats full of fun.

What to do in Chau Doc - Top destinations in Chau Doc
Experience Tra Su cajuput forest by boat

2. Chau Doc Floating Market

In Mekong Delta tours, visitors must go to Chau Doc floating market. That has unique ancient features along the An Giang River. The life of locals here depends mostly on boats. Most of the activities of exchange and sales are in this floating market. You need to get up at 6 – 7 am to attend the market when it’s most crowded.

What to do in Chau Doc - Top destinations in Chau Doc
The lives of people in Chau Doc floating market

Especially when coming to this market, visitors can see that sellers will uniquely promote their products. They will hang things that they want to sell on a long pole plugged into the river so that the buyer can easily find what they are looking for. Chau Doc Floating Market is famous for its tropical garden fruit such as mango, papaya, guava, and all kinds of fresh produce.

What to do in Chau Doc - Top destinations in Chau Doc
The item is hung on the pole

3. Sam Mountain

Another famous tourist destination Chau Doc is Sam Mountain, located in the west of Chau Doc town. That is the highest mountain in the Mekong Delta with a height of 230 meters.

What to do in Chau Doc - Top destinations in Chau Doc
Sam mountain in Chau Doc

Sam Mountain is considered a sacred place for Buddhists. This place is a gathering place for ancient temples, pagodas, and interesting caves, creating a scenic and charming landscape in the middle of the rich plains. There are some attractions in Sam mountain such as Chua Xu temple, Tay An pagoda, Thoai Ngoc Hau Tomb,…

What to do in Chau Doc - Top destinations in Chau Doc
Tay An pagoda at foot of Sam mountain

4. Ba Chua Xu Temple

Ba Chua Xu Temple (the local tutelary goddess) was built in 1820, at the foot of Sam Mountain. This temple is constructed according to the Chinese character, has 4 square roofs, roofed with blue pile-shaped tiles.

What to do in Chau Doc - Top destinations in Chau Doc
The architecture of Ba Chua Xu temple

It is said that the goddess is so sacred that anyone who offers incense to her can realize all wishes. Therefore, in the festival held at Ba Chua Xu Temple from the 23rd to the 27th of April (Lunar calendar), many pilgrims flocks to the temple. During the ceremony, there are 4 rituals have been taken place with many cultural and traditional activities.

What to do in Chau Doc - Top destinations in Chau Doc
The ceremony to worship Ba Chua Xu

5. Hang Pagoda

Hang Pagoda is one of the four monuments recognized as a National Historical Relic in the Sam mountain region – An Giang. The temple is located on the slopes of Sam mountain, in the area of Chau Doc city, An Giang province. That is a spiritual place that thousands of tourists come to make pilgrimages and light incense every year.

What to do in Chau Doc - Top destinations in Chau Doc
Pure beauty in Hang pagoda

The pagoda was founded in 1926 to commemorate Nguyen Huu Canh in the Nguyen Dynasty, who regained the territorial sovereignty for Vietnam. One of the highlights of the tour to Chau Doc is that visitors must climb over 400 stairs to Hang Pagoda.

What to do in Chau Doc - Top destinations in Chau Doc
Pass 400 stairs to reach the Hang pagoda

6. Chau Giang Cham Village

Chau Giang Cham Village is a well-known village of the Cham community in An Giang province, attracting visitors not only because of its ethnic character but also because of the cultural beauty of the land of gods. This is a must-see destination for anyone interested in learning about Cham ethnic culture and people during their visit to Chau Doc.

What to do in Chau Doc - Top destinations in Chau Doc
Mubarak cathedral in Chau Giang Cham village

This village is a place that still preserves many unique cultural features in material and spiritual life. Among them are the traditional brocade weaving, stilt living customs, and Muslim beliefs in the shadow of a cathedral.

What to do in Chau Doc - Top destinations in Chau Doc
The traditional brocade weaving in Cham village

7. Cam Mountain

Cam Mountain, also known as Thien Cam Son, is a 710m high mountain in An Hao Commune, Tinh Bien district. This mountain is covered in green forests and endless blooming flowers, thanks to its cool year-round climate. Therefore, visitors should stay at this place for the night to fully appreciate the quiet silence and cool breeze of the mountainous areas.

In addition, the mountain also owns religious architecture as big as Asia’s largest Maitreya Buddha, Van Linh Pagoda,  or Large Buddhist Temple…

What to do in Chau Doc - Top destinations in Chau Doc
Asia’s largest Maitreya Buddha in Cam mountain

8. Khmer Pagoda

When you come to An Giang, especially in the border areas like Tri Ton (44 km southwest of Chau Doc city), you will see the Khmer temples here as a unique cultural symbol here. The temples with the majority of yellow colors are meticulous works of art, a pride of the people here. Near Tri Ton town, you can visit the famous pagodas such as Xvayton Pagoda, also known as Xa Ton Pagoda, Ta Pa Pagoda on Ta Pa Hill, and Hang Cong Pagoda, also known as Krăng Krốch Pagoda.

What to do in Chau Doc - Top destinations in Chau Doc
Ta Pa Pagoda

9. Sugar Palm Tree Field

An Giang Province is known as the land of sugar palm tree fields. This tree has been associated with the daily life of the An Giang people for many generations. The most famous sugar palm tree fields are in That Son in the Tri Ton district and Tinh Bien district of An Giang province.

In addition, the leaves can be used as roofing or as fuel. Palm tree trunks can be used as pillars, tables, and chairs. Especially, sugar palm fruit is the raw material for many specialties, rustic is the specialty of An Giang.

What to do in Chau Doc - Top destinations in Chau Doc
Sugar palm tree field at dawn

Tips for a visit to Chau Doc

  • If tourists want to fully enjoy life in Chau Doc, the time from August to November is a great time. It will be the most suitable time for the typical activities of the water season as Chau Doc floating market.
  • At the beginning of the year, people often go to the temple very crowded. Therefore, when going to temples, you should keep your personal belongings carefully such as money, phones, identification papers, etc.
  • When renting hotels, visitors should rent in the center of Chau Doc City or the Sam Mountain area. Because those places will be convenient for tourists to visit and travel.
What to do in Chau Doc - Top destinations in Chau Doc
Hang pagoda under the rain

After all, if you want to find a place to discover the beauty of nature and to be immersed in it, then Chau Doc is a good choice for you. In order to get the best experiences in Chau Doc, you can consider Tra Su forest tour. That would be a good idea for you.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2u_%C4%90%E1%BB%91c

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