Nui Cam (Forbidden Mountain) overlooks the Mekong Delta province and is steeped in legends, ancient relics and historic places.
To get to Nui Cam from the provincial capital of Long Xuyen, you just drive 70 kilometres along National Highway 91 westbound, then turn to Provincial Highway 948 and pretty soon find Nui Cam, or Thien Cam Son (Heaven’s Forbidden Mountain), in An Hao Commune in Tinh Bien district.
Many streams originate on the peak and flow into local canals, which form the main hydrological system in this part of the Mekong Delta.
Standing on top of the mountain, you can see a large valley surrounded by other smaller mountains belonging to Thien Cam Son such as Vo Dau, Vo Bo Hong and Vo Thien Tue.
Endowed with such spectacular mountainous terrain, Nui Cam is considered "Da Lat" of the Mekong Delta. Da Lat is a famous highland resort town in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong.
The Forbidden Mountain’s year-round cool climate contrasts with its natural sights associated with heart-warming legends and myths that lure an increasing number of holiday-makers.
Why is the peak called Forbidden Mountain? According to a folk tale, the rugged mountain was once the home of many ferocious beasts and only deities and invisible spirits lived there. The local people were too scared to climb it.
Another legend said a prince named Nguyen Anh, who later proclaimed himself the first emperor of the Nguyen Dynasty (1802-1945), sought refuge in the mountain from the Tay Son insurgents. Anh forbade anyone to come to the mountain, hence it was called "Forbidden Mountain".
With neither Anh nor ferocious beasts still hiding on the mountain, tourists can now visit it and the Nui Cam Nature Reserve, located nearby.
The reserve is home to 178 species of flora. Secondary and plantation forests are very common. The globally critically endangered tree specie Anquilaria crassna also grows in the reserve.
At the foot of Cam Mountain towards to east, the 100-hectare Lam Vien Nui Cam Tourism Park offers recreation facilities while Kaolin restaurant serves up specialties of the Bay Nui area to hungry visitors.
While trekking on the trail from the park up the mountain, don’t miss the poetic Thanh Long (Blue Dragon) stream. Afterwards, resume your trip until you reach a fork, which marks your arrival in the Forbidden Mountain area.
Turn right for about one kilometre to see the Vo Thien Tue peak, then go back to take the other path, which winds up to the Phat Lon (Great Buddha) pagoda. One the way there, you can rest at Thuy Liem cavern and Vo Bach Tuong, a giant white elephant-shaped rock.
Then you can continue your trip to reach the Great Buddha pagoda, Van Linh pagoda, a grand bull-shaped rock called Vo Bo Lon, and finally Vo Bo Hong, the highest point of Cam Mountain.
From there, you can see as far as the coastal region of Ha Tien in southwestern Kien Giang province if the weather is clear.