Ham Ho

The name originated from a unique phenomenon that occurs here in the dry season. In a drought year when people wanted rain, there were many strange sounds like people screaming and praying at this bend of the river. The local people began to call this place Ham Ho, or ‘Yelling Cellar’. This part of the Kut River is only 1km, but is a lush green all year long with cool streaming waters. Along the river banks are a dense forest mixed with high cliffs, dotted by a number of marble outcroppings with varied strange shapes. There are several stone places that are of particular interest to visitors, such as Chess Stone, Flying Fish Stone, and the Gates of Life and Death, which are also known as the Giant’s Feet.
Photo: viettravel.com 

Ham Ho is also famous because it draws a considerable number of fish, especially in the flood season. The local people say that this time of year is the Contest of Fishes organized by the Dragon King (the God that governs lakes, rivers and the ocean). The fish that wins the contest will turn into a dragon, and so Ham Ho is also named Vu Mon, or ‘(what does this mean in Vietnamese? Ed.)’. In addition, fish that come to Ham Ho always swim against the river’s flow and get pushed into the air like flying fish, so that this particular part of the river is also called The Flying Fish.

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