Ca Mau: Forest, Lagoon and Cultural Heritage

Ca Mau can be explored through a wide range of natural and cultural themes: Mũi Cà Mau offers sea views and a distinctive landmark, Hương Tràm offers experiences in the melaleuca forest, and Thi Tuong Lagoon provides insights into fishing. When choosing a hotel, it makes sense to first decide which of these themes you want to shape your stay.

Mũi Cà Mau: Sea Views and a Landmark

The Mũi Cà Mau National Tourism Area is located mostly in Đất Mũi Commune and covers about 20,100 hectares. It is the only place on Vietnam’s mainland where you can watch both sunrise and sunset over the sea. The landscape itself is therefore a defining experience of the area.

The Mũi Cà Mau Cultural and Tourism Park is home to the national GPS-0001 coordinate marker, which visitors can see. Another landmark is the Hanoi Flag Tower, donated by Hanoi. It conveys national traditions and adds a cultural dimension to a visit focused on the landscape. When planning, you can decide whether to focus mainly on the sea views, the coordinate marker, or the historic landmark as well.

Hương Tràm and U Minh Hạ: Forest and Activities

The Hương Tràm Ecotourism Area is located in Khánh An Commune in Ca Mau Province, in the U Minh Hạ melaleuca forest area. Experiences on offer include setting up beehives, catching fish with traps, draining ponds to catch fish, and taking boat trips through the forest. These activities offer different ways to experience the forest and freshwater environment.

The cuisine also reflects this connection with nature: Hương Tràm serves dishes made with ingredients from the freshwater ecosystem and local natural surroundings. U Minh Hạ National Park covers 8,256 hectares and is located in the communes of U Minh, Khánh An and Đá Bạc. Hương Tràm and the national park thus represent two different perspectives on the forest landscape: hands-on visitor activities on the one hand, and a large protected area on the other.

Thi Tuong Lagoon: Fishing and Local Cuisine

Thi Tuong Lagoon is the largest natural lagoon in the Mekong Delta. The Ca Mau Provincial People’s Committee has designated it as an ecological tourism area covering just under 2,000 hectares. At the lagoon, visitors can join fishermen in their daily lives, cast nets, watch fish at night, and catch crabs. Freshly caught local specialties prepared on site are also among the possible experiences.

Individual providers and the availability of these activities may change. If a particular experience is important to your stay, check in advance whether it is offered. Local specialties in Mũi Cà Mau include shrimp, sour soup with pangasius, grilled mudskipper, and fried sea snails with coconut. The selection may vary, but it still gives a concrete impression of the dishes associated with the region.

Historic Sites and Cultural Traditions

The Hòn Đá Bạc Historic Monument—the command center for the CM12 counterintelligence plan (1981–1984)—was recognized as a national historic monument on June 22, 2009. It is a destination for sightseeing, learning about revolutionary traditions, and tourism in Ca Mau Province. The Nghinh Ông Festival in Sông Đốc is also part of the region’s cultural heritage: it is recognized as national intangible cultural heritage.

The base of the Provincial Party Committee is located in Xeo Duoc and was recognized as a provincial historic monument on June 11, 2007. It was renovated and upgraded in 2016 with an investment of over VND 3 billion. The work included, among other things, the assembly hall, the Provincial Party Committee’s offices, the office of the provincial Party secretary, and the dining hall. On public holidays and during Tết, cadres, soldiers and residents—particularly trade union members, young people and students—return there to learn about the revolutionary tradition and the monument.

For orientation, the base is 16 km upriver from Cai Doi Vam Commune and about 40 km by road from the administrative center of Ca Mau Province. These figures refer to different distances and transport connections; check the current route before travelling.

Discover more destinations: U Minh, Năm Căn District, Cà Mau, Bắc Ninh, An Giang, Haiphong, Ninh Bình, Kon Tum.

For the broader travel overview: Vietnam.