Viet Hai village-the forgotten village in Cat Ba national park

A Sleeping Beauty, it’s the phrase to imagine about Viet Hai village, a small community nestled in the thick jungles, surrounded by high mountains and vast ocean.

Located around 18 km from Cat Ba island, the village lies quietly in the midst of jungles in the center of Cat Ba national park of Hai Phong province. There are only 2 ways to approach this secret place, either trekking 8km through primary forest with sheer cliffs, deep gorges and muddy ponds or take a boat for around 1 hour from Beo pier of Cat Ba town.

Trekking through jungles to Viet Hai village

How things goes in the community

Being located in the middle of thick jungles, few years ago Viet Hai village stayed isolated from the outside world. Then one day, it was found and tourists started to visit the amazing place more and more. The village is now no longer isolated but it does not change the primitive life of local inhabitants. This is a really tiny community of around 80 roofs made of bamboo, wood, leaves and soil exactly the way their ancestors did centuries ago. Their food comes from fishing, farming and breeding and their life is still in bonding with the nature as if the modern world never touch the place.

Tiny houses made from natural materials

Being a “primitive” life, inhabitants here are all innocent humans so they don’t even lock doors when night falls. And, even if a house owner needs to leave for some days, he never has to care about locking the doors as there will be no one steals his belongings. The inhabitants are as close as a big family, whenever some one needs help, all hands of others’ will be given voluntarily. This may sound as a fairy tale but it’s true and right here in the jungles of Cat Ba national park. And for those reasons, despite being an undeveloped communes in the region, joy and happiness are never absent from this place. People here seems to be quite satisfied with what they have and how their life goes every day. Their innocence, sincerity, kindness and optimism are magnets to tourists and more and more “modern” humans are attracted by the weird place.

The isolated land in the ocean

Being hidden under the thick foliage of the ancient forest, it could not be said that Viet Hai is a place with amazing landscape to admire. However, the beauty of the place is not about it’s natural scenery but about its long standing age and the unique lifestyle of the past that could make you feel so peaceful. People said that if there’s chance to relocate to the community and live with the lovely local people for few days, we, the modern human from the civilized world can even take off all the anxious worries that the bustle world outside has imposed on us.