The ironwood forest is surrounded by three hamlets, namely Suoi Man, Nghe Man and Da Huc which are resided by 100 percent of Cao Lan ethnic people. Moreover, the forest is home to the ancient communal house Da Huc.

The path to Da Huc hamlet.

According to To Van Thanh, Head of Da Huc hamlet, the green ironwood forest has presented for a long time, covering over 6 hectares with nearly 200 green ironwood trees and several types of other precious wood. 

Da Huc ancient communal house.

For years, the locals have well protected and preserved the forest. Though no competent agency has ever defined the age of the ironwood forest, To Van Quang (85 years old) said he has seen the forest since he was a little boy.

Many centennial green ironwood trees.

The local elder persons considered that the ironwood trees in front of the communal house have lived for about 100 to 200 years with the height of dozens of meters. 

A person fails to hold the trunk of the ironwood tree entirely.

Even, several people can not hold the trunks of some trees entirely. Here, the visitor will have a chance to admire the centennial trees and enjoy the fresh and cool air of the primitive forest.

The canopy of Centennial ironwood tree widely spreads in the forest.

The locals still preserve the secret stories around the ancient communal house. To Van Thanh said in 2003 a group of illegal loggers fail to bargain with the head of the hamlet to buy the forest several times. Finally, they contrived to saw the root of the old trees so as to easily exploit the wood. In the middle of New Year’s Eve, the locals found they were sawing the root of the biggest ironwood tree then their leader ran away. Later on, the families of several members in the group were unhappy and they must return to Da Huc communal house for repentance.

Many ironwood trees are high at dozens of meters.

The green ironwood in Da Huc hamlet and the ancient communal house are the attractive sightseeing destinations as well as luring spiritual and ecotourism site.

Duy Lap