With the slogan “Conservation of historic preservation country soul”, Xeo Quyt Relic Area is a great place to learn about the resistance against America through the base and a small museum. Xeo Quyt is also known as the small Dong Thap, with a large number of species of wild animals and plants, cajuput jungles, a system of rivers and channels, dining area providing specialty foods, lotus and water lily ponds.
Xeo Quyt Relic Area is one of the top tourist attractions in Dong Thap Province – the kingdom of lotus in Mekong Delta. Besides learning less-known stories and seeing resistance base against the U.S. in Vietnam War, tourists have great opportunities to immerse the unique local life, enjoy great local dishes and buy many souvenirs and specialty foods to bring home.
General Information
Location: No. 458, Hamlet 4, My Hiep Commune, Cao Lanh District, Dong Thap Province. CLICK HERE to see the location of the area. Xeo Quyt is 147 km from Ho Chi Minh City and 1,862 km from Hanoi.
Tel: +84 673 910 297 | +84 673 910 397
Website: www.xeoquyt.vn
Email: [email protected]
Admission fee: VND 20,000/adult, free for child under 1.4 m
Wedding photo service: VND 200,000/couple
Fishing: VND 200,000/fishing rod
Opening hours: 7:30 – 18:00
How to reach Xeo Quyt?
If tourists start from North or Central Vietnam, they should reach Ho Chi Minh City by bus/air/train. From Ho Chi Minh City, tourists can choose to go to Dong Thap by private car/taxi/bus/motorbike.
By private car: the most comfortable choice but expensive; contact +84 90919024 to book the car.
By taxi:
Mai Linh: 02773 68 6868; Vinasun: 02773 86 6666; Sen Hong: 02773 99 5577.
By bus:
Phuong Trang: 19006067 (HCMC) – 0277 3876850 (Cao Lanh City);
Quoc Hoang: 0903 353494 (HCMC) – 0277 3854588 (Cao Lanh City);
Hung Cuong: 028 39556844 (HCMC) – 0277 3829468 (Tam Nong District);
From Cao Lanh City or Tam Nong District, tourists should take a taxi or motorbike taxi to Xeo Quyt. Cao Lanh is about 8 km from Xeo Quyt.
Name of Xeo Quyt
The name Xẻo Quýt contains two words: xẻo and quýt. Xẻo refers to a narrow waterway, which is similar to canals in Mekong Delta, but it is narrow, usually zigzag and has a low water level. Perhaps Xeo Quyt Area has lots of xẻo so that it is called Xẻo Quýt.
Quýt literally means mandarin in Vietnamese. However, their is no any relation with an area with jungle forests where there are not mandarin trees. Vietnamese people usually call quốc (Cuculus poliocephalus) – a species of bird quýt. In Xeo Quyt forests, these birds are abundant, so that the area is named Xẻo cuốc or Xẻo quýt.
History – craggy terrain & resistance base of Viet Cong Soldier
Xeo Quyt is known as the Dong Thap people’s heart base in wartime. From 1960 to 1975, the provincial party committee of Kien Phong (former name of Dong Thap) stand fast to lead the military and local people to implement successfully the resistance against America.
Why could Xeo Quyt be able to protect Vietcong from the enemy? It has an interlacing ditches system in flooded cajuput forests, connecting bunkers, fortifications, field house and many others of the cadres and soldiers in wartime. With craggy terrain and the protection of Dong Thap people and Vietcong soldiers, the enemy could not attack directly but only drop bombs and artillery. So that Xeo Quyt base was always kept secret and safe.
On 9th April 1992, the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) decide to recognize Xeo Quyt as the Historic National Culture, a “red address” to teach the traditional revolution for this generation and future generations.
Map of Xeo Quyt Relic
In order to help tourists to learn more about the resistance base, Dong Thap’s government and tourism have mark positions of defense work, minefields, replicate working and living places of Viet Cong in cajuput forests, build a unique trail and dig waterways so that tourists can explore Xeo Quyt Base at its best. Read more about Xeo Quyt Relic Area – Military base for the Viet Cong.
Check out all photos of places including houses, offices, defense works, fish pond in the sightseeing map HERE.
Cajuput Forests, Interlacing Ditches Systems, Plants & Wild Animals
In recent, Xeo Quyt is known as not only a historic site but also a nature reserve place of Dong Thap Muoi. Coming to this place, visitors not only learn more about the heart-broken war but also enjoy the fresh air and unspoil natural beauty. Nowadays, the area has over 170 species of plants and over 200 species of wild animals. There are 7 species of family Ranidae (frogs, toads), 22 members of class Reptilia, 73 species of fishes, 91 species of birds, 7 species of mammals. Xeo Quyt houses 13 species in Vietnam Red Book: Burmese python (trăn mốc), Ptyas mucosa (Rắn hổ trâu), Tourists can walk in the cajuput forests to creep and immerse in the wild nature. When the sun is going down, birds return to the forests, sing beautiful songs which win the heart of most people.
Walking or By Boat
Tourists can choose to explore the military base by boat or walking. In fact, the trail and the waterway are parallel.
By boat
It takes 30-45 to explore the base by boat. The boat registration fee is VND 15,000/person. A boat hosts 3-4 persons.
Pros:
- Enjoy cruising narrow and zigzag canal under the shade of green trees and vines in cajuput jungle is a memorable experience. The boat is called “xuồng ba lá” which literally means three-leaf boat or three-piece boat because the small boat is made from three pieces of wood.
- Each boat is riden by a friendly local female guide in black Ao ba ba top and bottom set. She does not only ride the boat but also introduce to tourists remarkable stops on the boat route, tell them interesting and hidden stories about the Vietnam War.
- Tourists do not walk for about 1 km in order to see the base. This choice is better for the elderly and family with babies.
Cons:
- Tourists must pay the extra boat registration fee which is VND 15,000/person.
- As you can see on the vestige sightseeing map, the thin blue line depicts the boat route. Tourists will miss some places on the trail.
By walking
Pros:
- No fee for walking choice;
- Beautiful trail with lots of things to see;
- Tourists can choose to end the tour soon if they turn left at the crossroad, the total length is about 1 km. They will see the same places as on boat tour;
- If tourists do not turn left but go straight, they will see more places, the total length of the route is about 1.5 km.
Cons:
- Walking 1-1.5 km for about 45 minutes is sometimes not a good choice if tourists have walked so much on previous days of their trip.
- Old people and families with babies do not prefer the trail to the boat tour.
- Xeo Quyt is usually the last stop on designed Dong Thap full day tour. Tourists often get tired at this attraction and prefer the boats.
Gallery of Xeo Quyt Relic’s History
Walking or crusing in Xeo Quyt base, tourists learn about rugged terrains, positions and models of defense works, office and residences of comrades. Hundreds of artifacts in the Gallery of Xeo Quyt Relic’s History are evidence of the past, gives them an insider’s view of the heroic fight against the strong enemy. Read more about Gallery of Xeo Quyt Relic’s History.
Learn about other displaying artifact in the Gallery of Xeo Quyt Relic’s History HERE.
Restaurant & Drink Stall – What to eat and drink?
The restaurant offers a spacious dining area and a wide range of specialty foods. The top dishes include grilled snakehead fish with spring lotus leaf, chicken boiled with vinegar leaf, steamed snail with pepper, rice dragon blood lotus leaf package, perch warehouse clay pot and other great dishes will definitely bring to tourists the new discoveries on unique culinary flavors of pink lotus Dong Thap hometown. Ingredients include lively hemibagrus, loach, eel, frogs, shrimps, snakehead, banana flower and fresh lotus seeds, bitter melon, roselle. Specialty drinks include Lotus seed milk and Lotus wine. Prices range between VND 20,000 and 250,000. Another highlight of Xeo Quyt Restaurant is the spacious and eco-friendly restaurants with shelters made of leaf, wood and bamboo. There is a shelter above a large water lily pond with beautiful flowers and nice birds walking and hunting for foods on the leaves. Learn more about list of dishes and prices, photos of the beautiful restaurant HERE.
Souvenir Store – What to buy?
Stuffed lotus – the symbol of Dong Thap tourism, honey in cajuput forests, hyacinth hats, Hong Ngu checkered scarfs, dried lotus seeds, lotus seed core tea, stuffed lotus babies. Read more about top things to buy in Xeo Quyt Area, Dong Thap.
Experience the lives of Dong Thap Muoi people and camping
There is a wide range of activities for tourists to experience the lives of Dong Thap Muoi people such as:
- unloading branches to catch fishes, netting, fishing;
- watching traditional performances trade including crafting products from hyacinth;
- participating in folk games: racing dinghy, catching ducks on the river, passing monkey bridge, catching fishes by baskets;
- communicating with local artists and enjoying Vietnamese traditional music.
- drinking lotus heart tea;
- eating extractor rice dotted with sesame salt.
In addition, Xeo Quyt has channels, lotus and water lily ponds, exhibition of tools used by Dong Thap people for earning their living by farming and catching fishes.
Xeo Quyt has a picnic and camping area with monkey bridge, rope, giant ball, ponds, canal, stage for the above activities.
Exhibition of traditional rice production and fishing equipment in Mekong Delta
Traditional rice production and fishing equipment in Mekong Delta displayed in the area helps tourists learn more about the local life in the past when most of Dong Thap people earn their living by fishing and cultivating rice.
Bicycle Rent
What to bring with you on the trip to Xeo Quyt Relic?
On Xeo Quyt trips, tourists should bring the following things:
- Coat, hat (or cap), mask, sunscreen in dry season from November to the ends in April/early May with late February to May;
- Raincoat, umbrella, rain shoes in rainy season May to early November with the months from June to August receiving the highest rainfall of the year.
- Insect repellent;
Regulation at Xeo Quyt Relic Area
- Please do not pick flowers, break branches at the tourist sightseeing destinations;
- Please preserve the Cultural Heritage;
- Ensuring food safety is to contribute to responsible tourism development;
- No dirty writing and drawing is culture;
- Please keep the environment green, clean, beautiful;
- Complying correctly with the rules at the sightseeing destination is civilized
- Your idea contributions – Dong Thap’s tourism improvement;
- To behave culturally – to act civilly;
- Build a responsible tourism environment together with us.