Description
Khanh Son is located in the mountains to the west - southwest and south of Khanh Hoa, located in latitude 11o48'30" to 12o10'40" north latitude and 108o41' to 109o17' east longitude. As a large mountainous area, with an average height of 400m above sea level, there are many high peaks, so it is foggy and cool weather almost all year round.
According to local people, the source of Ta Gu waterfall is Hon Ba, Ta Gu waterfall flows to the To Hap river. To Hap River is one of the main rivers of Khanh Hoa, with an upper part 23km long, flowing in the territory of Khanh Hoa province and the lower part flowing in the territory of Ninh Thuan province. This is the only river of Khanh Hoa province that flows from East to West. Hon Ba is one of the high peaks of Khanh Hoa province, with a lot of rain, so perhaps because of that, the water at Ta Gu waterfall has never dried up, flowing all year round with a large flow, a strong waterfall. Hon Ba has many oak trees, To Hap, Orchid, Strawberry, Bird, Monkey...
Ta Gu Waterfall is located in the protection forest area of the top of Khanh Son pass of To Hap river. From Son Hiep Commune People's Committee, go through seven spillways, called Ta Gu spillway, to the scenic spot. These spills are usually only passable in the dry season from January to August, and in the rainy season, flood water from the waterfalls on the mountain slopes flows down over the spillway, sometimes washing away the spills. People cannot pass through, causing floods and local floods. Currently, Son Hiep commune has bridges over the spillways for people to pass through in the rainy season.
Ta Gu waterfall area generally has two planes, the first is at the bottom of the waterfall and the second is above the waterfall and has a way to go up but it is difficult to walk, you have to climb along the rocky banks and slopes.
Although it is considered as two planes, this is a place where the waterfall is located, so it is not really flat, but the road slopes up gradually and unevenly. This is a wild watershed area, not yet exploited for tourism, so the road to the waterfall must follow the rocky and slippery shore.
Below the waterfall: consists of three lakes, a small waterfall and the main waterfall, in order from the outside: lake one, lake "bottomless", small waterfall, lake "underground water", main waterfall (Ta Gu waterfall).
The first lake: walking from the outside about 50m we meet the first lake, but going into the waterfall we follow the rocks on the right to enter.
The "bottomless" lake is a deep lake, so locals are used to calling it that. The lake is about 50m from the waterfall. The lake bed is quite wide, so to enter the waterfall we have to follow the trail on the mountainside about 20m, then cut through the lake by walking on the rock sessions. The lake water is clear, cool and small fish can be seen swimming in the cool water. Under the lake, there are fresh water fish such as white fish, stone betel nut, pincerfish..., crab, forest frog... Stone betel nut is considered a specialty of Ta Gu. This fish is cooked with spinach leaves or Giang leaves into a sour soup that attracts diners from far away. The white fish is larger in size, but very difficult to catch.
Next is a small waterfall: the waterfall is only a few meters high, but the water is quite strong and the moss is easy to slide. The two sides of the waterfall have large, quite flat rocks, as if nature gave us a place to stop after a while climbing rocks and wading streams. For those who have never been to Ta Gu waterfall and have no one to show the way, they often stop here to bathe in streams and watch the falls.
Ta Gu Waterfall: can be considered as the highest waterfall of Khanh Hoa. To date, no one has accurately measured it, but it is estimated that it is about 40 meters high. The waterfall flows strongly in four seasons, especially in the rainy season, the waterfall rumbles and no one dares to approach the waterfall area. Looking at the white flowing waterfall looks like a tornado spewing white smoke.
Above the waterfall: follow the small path to the right of the waterfall, about 30 meters away, we go to the top of the second ground. If anyone has never been here and does not have a guide, they will not know the way to the top to explore more of the beauty of this unspoiled Ta Gu waterfall area.
Along the steep rocky shore, between the two sides of the rock is a rather narrow and deep ravine, with a small waterfall. We follow the path of the mountainside on the right to the second level. Going to the upper ground is very suitable for those who love to explore without being too adventurous. With a small, gentle path, you have to cling to vines as big as ropes, occasionally encounter mistletoe orchids, or a few wild butterflies playing in the golden sunshine.
The area above is about a few hundred meters wide. If you zoom out, you will see four undulating, blue mountains and forests, connected with the clear blue sky, with silvery white clouds. Around, sometimes meet small water holes like the beautiful baths of the fairies of the fairyland. On the right are the ancient trees that make us feel like we are lost in the pristine primeval forest that has not yet been imprinted with human footprints.
In addition to a small waterfall we meet when going up on the rocky shore, there are also two lakes and two small waterfalls and a murmuring stream with clear water. Under the small lakes, there are still schools of stream fish swimming around, proving that the environment here is very fresh for plants and animals to grow and thrive.
Although it is an area of forests, waterfalls, but here we can camp and have fun because the rocks are quite flat, easy to walk and there are shade trees. The second lake is quite large and is an ideal place to play in the water.
At the second waterfall, on the left side, there is a strange rocky outcrop, if suddenly encountering a forest rain, this is an ideal and romantic place to shelter from the rain. Then, the higher you go, the narrower the stream becomes, and the road becomes difficult to navigate.
Ta Gu waterfall scenic spot is valuable both in terms of history, culture and science. With the feature of being located in the mountainous area of Khanh Son mountainous district, the landscape is associated with the natural process of painting; associated with the history of development and existence of indigenous people, the Raglai ethnic group, who have lived and developed for many generations on this land. During that process, they had legends associated with Ta Gu waterfall in particular, Khanh Son land in general.
As a watershed protection forest area, Ta Gu waterfall has the meaning of providing daily-life water and food for the people of Khanh Son and Ninh Thuan to live and develop husbandry and cultivation... Besides, Ta Gu also contribute to balance the ecosystem, nurture and protect the flora and fauna of Khanh Son mountains and forests. On the other hand, along with nurturing and protecting biological species, it contributes to preserving research objects of scientists in geology, minerals, zoology, botany...
In the not too distant future, this will be a place to attract tourists who love to explore the mysteries of the rainforest, climb adventure, travel and relax because the scenery here is still very wild, but poetic, full of charm. ... of Khanh Son district in particular and Khanh Hoa province in general. Currently, there have been a number of tourism development and exploitation projects to attract tourists to Ta Gu - Khanh Son but have not been completed.
On December 18, 2009, the scenic Ta Gu waterfall was ranked by the People's Committee of Khanh Hoa province as a provincial historical and cultural relic, in Decision No. 3286/QD-UBND.