Giang Dien Falls

At the foot of Giang Điền Falls, the rocks lie jagged and uneven, and the water runs down over them in three main falls and many small ones.

The falls are part of an eco-tourism area in Giang Điền. The place is in Trảng Bom, in Đồng Nai Province. The area lies about 48 to 50 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City. Yet once a visitor steps inside, the sounds of the city seem to fall away behind.

The park first opened on January 29, 2006. That was the first day of Tết, the Lunar New Year of Bính Tuất. Opening on a holiday says something about what the place is for: somewhere to go out, to play, and to sit together as a family without traveling far.

According to Đồng Nai's place-name records, the falls are also called Thác Tiên. They are about 8 meters high. Their water comes from the Buông River, on the Long Khánh side. It flows on toward Phước Tân and Long Thành.

Eight meters is not much beside the great waterfalls of the Central Highlands. But Giang Điền does not have to be grand to be worth a visit. Its value lies in being close. The rocks at the foot of the falls have natural shapes. The water running over them makes a familiar sound that people in the city seldom hear. And the air around is cool and green enough to make a weekend afternoon feel different.

The name Giang Điền belongs to the commune of Giang Điền. On the park's website there is a piece about the Buông River and a love story of local people, tied to the flowing water and the sound of the falls. It is a local folk tale, the kind of memory that people lay over a landscape to give it a soul. It is worth hearing, as long as it is remembered as legend and not as recorded history.

Over the years the park has added more eco-tourism services. Its official website describes an outdoor swimming pool called Mimosa, covering 1,500 square meters and able to hold more than 200 guests. There are also a camping area, a restaurant with several dining spaces, lodging, and outdoor games for groups.

In 2009, the falls were chosen as one of the ten most beautiful sights of Đồng Nai Province, again according to the province's place-name records. It is a small milestone. Still, it shows that this is more than a casual picnic spot. It is part of the landscape of the Đồng Nai region.

A visitor can sit down on the grass, or find a corner of the restaurant that looks out on the falls. There is little else to do but listen to the water running over the stones, and think of nothing but that afternoon.