If you have been to Hai Ha District and were impressed by Truc Bai Son Lake, be sure to visit Doi Waterfall in Tai Chi Village. Doi Waterfall in Quang Ninh is a romantic love song amidst the mountains and an eternal symbol of love.
Fascinating Doi Waterfall in Quang Ninh – The Legend of a Beautiful Love Story
Doi Waterfall in Quang Ninh is located about 15km from the center of Quang Son Commune. Travelers must travel 14km to Quang Son Commune, and then continue another 14km to Tai Chi Village. To reach Doi Waterfall, visitors need to follow local guides who know the area well. Since there is currently no paved road to the waterfall and you must take shortcuts across streams or forest trails, visitors should wear specialized footwear or trekking sandals.
The twin waterfall splits into two before converging into a lake. Photo: Quang Ninh Newspaper.
There are two routes to Doi Waterfall. One can be traveled by motorbike along hills of wild rose myrtle; in May, the rose myrtle flowers bloom profusely, and by July, the ripe purple berries blanket the rolling hills.
Many large boulders surround the waterfall. Photo: Quang Ninh Newspaper.
The other route to Doi Waterfall is a walking trail. This is a shortcut crossing stream beds and primary forests, allowing you to admire completely natural scenery with large and small boulders of all shapes and sizes.
Primary forest around the waterfall. Photo: Quang Ninh Newspaper.
The forest features ancient timber trees as well as numerous species of herbs and precious medicinal plants. Wild phrynium leaves (la dong) flourish in abundance across large swathes of the forest, serving as a source of leaves for locals to wrap chung cakes during the Lunar New Year, while wild banana groves flower and bear fruit beside the streams.
The rugged trail to the waterfall. Photo: Quang Ninh Newspaper.
Surrounding Doi Waterfall is the primary watershed protection forest of Hai Ha District. These primeval forests retain water for the two rivers, Ha Coi and Tai Chi, which serve as the main water source for the agricultural communes in the district.
After trekking through about 3km of forest trail, you will arrive at the waterfall. Standing 10m high, the cascading stream divides into two before pouring into a wide lake with clear, emerald water where you can see all the way to the bottom. Doi Waterfall originates from Cao Ba Lanh Mountain, flows through Tai Chi Village, and then cascades down along the Ha Coi River. The waterfall provides water for thousands of hectares of forests and farmland belonging to the locals.
The beauty of the green forest. Photo: Hai Ha District.
The legend of Doi Waterfall in Quang Ninh has been passed down through generations of locals: Long ago, a young Dao man and woman fell deeply in love. The girl was as beautiful as the full moon, captivating a demon deity who plotted to capture her as his wife. The young couple discovered this and fled together, running through streams until their feet were bloodied. Then one day, the demon deity chased them all the way to the Tai Chi River.
Bathing in the waterfall. Photo: Hai Ha District.
The couple leaped into the river. The demon deity hurled rocks to block the flow of the river. The young lovers transformed into two streams of waterfalls, surging over the massive boulder into a torrent that submerged the demon deity. The story tells of water streams that, though split in two, reunite into a single lake—just like true love that, despite occasional separations, always finds its way back together.
Photo: Long Vu.
Exploring Doi Waterfall in Quang Ninh also offers visitors the opportunity to discover the culture of the Dao ethnic community. The villagers still preserve many unique traditional cultural features of the Dao people from ancient times, carrying a longstanding identity.
In Ly Quang Village, Mrs. Dieng Chong Senh was awarded the title of "Vietnam Folk Artisan" by the Vietnam Folk Arts Association in 2013. Mrs. Senh has made significant contributions to passing down the craft of traditional costume embroidery to women throughout the commune.
Dao people in Hai Ha District. Photo: Quang Ninh Newspaper.
In this village, there is also Mr. Chiu Sang Hi, who is renowned as the best traditional Dao horn player in Hai Ha District. He can play all 18 funeral horn tunes and 12 wedding horn tunes of the Dao people. Remarkably, Mr. Hy can also craft the horns by hand, a craft that was traditionally passed down from father to son among master artisans.
Vibrant traditional costumes of the Dao Thanh Phan people. Photo: Hai Ha District.
Additionally, Hai Ha District boasts verdant green tea hills, the pristine and poetic natural landscapes of Cai Chien island commune, the fresh dynamism of Bac Phong Sinh border economic zone, and the picturesque beauty of model gardens and model hamlets... These are all wonderful destinations that travelers can visit alongside Doi Waterfall in Quang Ninh.
