Phu Quoc Island, 120 kilometres from Rach Gia, is considered as a ‘Pearl Island’ with great economic potential and beautiful landscapes. Nature has provided Phu Quoc with magnificent scenery with 36 isles in the Bay of Thailand, south of Rach Gia city, Kien Giang province.
Phu Quoc has many unique features including 99 hills stretching from the north to south of the island, which has the largest area, 585 square kilometres. Eighty six per cent of the island’s area is covered by forests. Phu Quoc is an ideal tourist destination with many beautiful beaches such as Truong, Khem, Gieng Ngu, Ghenh Dau and Rach Tram. The Truong beach has a 20-kilometre long sand bank, stretching from Dinh Chau, an age-old worship place, which is located on a small mount, on the southern bank of the river.
Travelling from Rach Tram to the eastern coast of the island, tourists can witness the magnificent scenery of Phu Quoc, that is, Hon Chong. Along the road to Ham Ninh, visitors will be surprised with the wild scenery provided by mountainous areas. During the rainy season, tourists can hear the whispers of the Chanh stream, next to the road. This is one of the most beautiful and wildest streams on Phu Quoc. Other tourist attractions include the Tien and Ky Da streams.
Tho Chu is a residential area of the Phu Quoc archipelago, which is located 100 kilometres from the Phu Quoc island. The island is surrounded by beautiful beaches. The most beautiful beach is Ngu which is located in the southwest of the island. From the beach, tourists can see the Kho isle. The beach is surrounded by two mountains stretching to the sea, which look like two dragons drinking water, so they are called Co Co (Egret Neck) or Mui Rong (Dragon Nose). Behind the beach is a 160 metre high stone cliff. On the left of the Ngu beach is Nhut beach, which is short and narrow. Tho Chu is home to many precious plants and animals, including corals, turtles and fish. When the sea becomes rough, many swallows begin to build their nets.
The weather in Phu Quoc is always cool, which is ideal for tourists. Also, Phu Quoc has many famous historical relic sites, including the Tuong and Cua Can, which were the base of Nguyen Trung Truc, who led an insurrection against the French aggressors; the Gieng Tien (Fairy Well) near Ong Doi; the Phu Quoc prison, or the Cay Dua (Coconut Tree) prison on the south of the island, which is located on 400 hectares of the An Thoi valley. This was the largest prison of the US imperialists and the southern puppet regime, where 40,000 Vietnamese soldiers, cadres and patriotic people were detained.
More particular, forests in Phu Quoc are home to many precious plant species. The island now has over 5,000 hectares of primitive forests, which have been planned by the State as a national park.
Phu Quoc is home to many specialities, among which fish sauce made of local anchovy has become most famous for its unique taste. The island has become famous for its black pepper and cuttlefish. The Duong Dong port receives many ships from Thailand and Singapore to buy cuttlefish during the harvesting season.
With the Ho Chi Minh City-Phu Quoc flight route now in operation, Phu Quoc will certainly become one of the most attractive tourist sites in Vietnam.
Huong Thao
Vietnamese
