'Sleeping in a cave' in a hundred-year-old ancient stone village on Cao Bang

Khuoi Ky stone village is located in Dam Thuy commune, Trung Khanh district, Cao Bang province, more than 80km from the center of Cao Bang city, about 2km from Ban Gioc Waterfall. In recent years, the ancient village of the Tay people has attracted many tourists thanks to its unique architecture and traditional culture. Locals have taken advantage of hundred-year-old stilt houses, built entirely of stone, roofed with traditional yin and yang tiles to make homestays to welcome guests.  Ms. Ly Thi Diep is a Tay ethnic woman, a pioneer in tourism in Khuoi Ky. In 2016, she began to take advantage of her family's house to welcome the first delegations. Up to now, the couple has built a second homestay with 5 bungalows, 8 private rooms, a stilt house that can accommodate 25-30 guests in the collective. The homestay area has a unique terrain, backed by towering limestone mountains, and the façade faces the gentle Ky stream. Taking advantage of the unique terrain, Ms. Diep came up with the idea of making a room close to the rocky cliff, named "cave room". One side of the room is an undulating limestone cliff, the other side is built of stone, with windows overlooking the common courtyard and garden. The room is fully equipped such as a closed toilet, air conditioning... at a cost of 1 million VND/night. "This room is very popular with international guests because of its uniqueness, novelty, and uniqueness. They come here to experience what it will be like to sleep in a cave," Ms. Diep said. This homestay receives a 4.5/5 star rating on Google, which links well with popular booking platforms around the world. Ms. Diep's family's homestay is often full on weekends. Ms. Nguyen Kim Phuong, the owner of another homestay in Khuoi Ky stone village, shared that in order to attract more and more tourists, people gradually focus on organizing, enriching and diversifying services such as taking guests to experience transplanting, harvesting, picking vegetables, catching fish, shrimp, etc cooking, soaking herbal feet, jumping stalls, lighting campfires, performing, and exchanging ethnic arts. Sports activities are also included to serve guests such as hiking to conquer high mountains, motorbike trips to explore Cao Bang, boating to enjoy the scenery of the Quy Son River. Khuoi Ky village is named after the cool clear stream right at the entrance to the village. The walls and paths are paved with stone. Legend has it that the village was built around the sixteenth century. 100% of the population in the village is Tay, gathered in 14 traditional stone roofs, spreading about 10,000m2. In 2018, Khuoi Ky was selected as a community tourism experience point in the tourist route "Experience indigenous culture in wonderland" of Cao Bang Non Nuoc Geopark. Chongqing district in particular and Cao Bang province in general have had many communication activities to spread the image of Khuoi Ky rock village to domestic and foreign tourists. Cao Bang is favored by nature to bestow many famous beautiful landscapes, along with rich cultural features, imbued with national identity. Promoting the advantages of this abundant natural and humanistic resource, Cao Bang has been making efforts to gradually affirm its position as a tourist center of the northern mountainous midland region. Source: VNN