Central                        countryside welcome tourists
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                     The Truong Son route, known                      as the Ho Chi Minh Trail during the American war, is now a                      staple on many tourists' itineraries seeking access to some                      of the country's most authentic minority culture.                      
                                                           One such popular tour takes tourists along the legendary Truong                Son route, to visit historical sites such as Ro village, Giang wharf,                Kham Duc airport, Hoi village, Lo Xo hill, and Monique waterfall.              
             Tourists will also have a chance to visit and learn about the traditional                carnivals and customs of ethnic minorities who have settled along                the Truong Son route. Unique performances featuring "Cong Chieng"                gongs and bamboo instruments are particularly exciting.
             In Gung village, 80 km east of Da Nang city, tourists can visit                the village's Guoi house and listen to 80-year-old artist Ating                Veh lecture about the preservation of traditional art. He also plays                several of the traditional instruments for the audience.
             Arriving at Giang wharf and Ro village where Co Tu and Gie Trieng                people live, tourists are likely to be mesmerized by the dances                that ethnic girls will perform in their traditional dress.
             The people of Gie Trieng, Co Tu, and Ca Dong are well known for                their sacred offering ceremony marking a successful harvest in May                and the Cor people in Tra My district have their own ceremony in                which a buffalo is offered to the deity at the end of the harvest.              
             As well, the Bh'nong people in Kham Duc district participate in                a victory festival with the unique custom of "seizing husbands"                with pole decoration and a buffalo sacrifice as well.
             In addition, Nam Giang and Dong Giang districts offer original                Vietnamese food like "lam" rice cooked in bamboo, "ba kich" medicinal                wine, and "ta vat" wine fermented with "ta vat" fruit will intrigue                tourist's taste buds.
             With the imposing Truong Son Mountain in the background of the                newly launched Ho Chi Minh highway, tourist can make as many stopovers                as they like at other sites such as Lo Xo hill, Monique waterfall,                and several untouched forests.
             
              Compiled by An Dien