Tân Hóa village
Provincial tourism area · Quảng Trị, Vietnam
Floating houses, wild caves: Kim Phú
A village that lifts its houses on rafts when the flood comes, the Tú Làn caves, a lake from Kong: Skull Island, and the valleys of the Rục people. In the limestone mountains along the Hồ Chí Minh road, a few hours from the coast.
Plan by season
When are you coming?
Tap the month you plan to visit.
Floodwater at Hung Tru
Heavy rain cannot drain through the mountains fast enough: Hung Tru (Hung Trâu) valley becomes a lake and about 2 km of the road to the hamlet goes under. Boats run along the road; visitors kayak in to Yên Hợp. Caves close in September and reopen from October.
- DoKayak or paddleboard across Hung Tru, photograph cliffs reflected in the water, sleep in a Tân Hóa floating house
- CavesClosed in September, reopening from October; some routes may close when water is high
- SafetyAlways wear a life jacket, go with a local, ask the commune about water levels first
Only in Kim Phú
Three stories
Story 1 · Tân Hóa villageThe village that floats with the flood
Nowhere else has a whole village that lives with floods in floating houses. After the 12-metre flood of 2010, Tân Hóa's families lashed oil drums into rafts and built their homes on top: however high the water rises, the house rises with it. Tonight you can sleep in one.
Read the story →
Story 2 · The Rục of Yên HợpThe people who lived with the deep forest
For generations the Rục lived under rock shelters in the forest: they struck stone for fire, slept sitting by the hearth to keep watch for animals, drank from forest vines, made salt from burnt grass and took only half a honeycomb so the forest would give again. They left the caves in 1959. Today their grandchildren grow rice and pineapple in the valley.
Read the story →
Story 3 · Family kitchensA meal gathered from rock, stream and forest
Pồi pounded before dawn, snails that only come out on the cliffs after rain, a palm wine that ferments in hours and is never distilled. Dishes on no restaurant menu, only in Kim Phú's family kitchens.
Read the story →Where to go
Nine places in Kim Phú
Mountains, caves, lakes, streams and valleys here form one landscape, and along the Hồ Chí Minh Road stand war sites of the Trường Sơn trail ranked as special national relics. Phong Nha is where you go deep underground; Kim Phú is where you take in the whole wilderness, above ground, below it and with the people who live there. Kim Phú is in Quảng Trị province; older guides call the area Minh Hóa, Quảng Bình. The commune covers more than 550 km²; about 329 km² of it, with some 50 caves, became a provincial tourism area on 12 June 2026.
Tân HóaTân Hóa Floating Village
Vietnam's floating village of the Nguồn people, a UN Tourism Best Tourism Village 2023. Sleep in a floating house, cycle the Rào Nan.
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Tân HóaTú Làn cave system
25+ surveyed caves. Wade rivers and swim underground; Rat Cave was a Kong: Skull Island set. Licensed tours only.
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Yên PhúYên Phú lake
A still lake ringed by peaks, where the Kong crew built a set in 2016. Camp for dawn mist and sunset.
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Yên PhúRục Mòn cave
About 2.9 km, ceilings over 50 m, one branch to swim and one packed with formations.
Read more →Yên Hợp – Phú NhiêuYên Hợp and the Rục people
Home of the Rục: from rock shelters to rice paddies and pineapple fields in just over sixty years.
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Yên Hợp – Phú NhiêuHung Tru valley
“Hung” means valley. In the flood season about 2 km of the road sinks; reach the hamlet by boat or kayak.
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Yên Hợp – Phú NhiêuPhú Nhiêu – Mò Rọo caves
Dozens of wild caves; a British team surveyed Mò Rọo in 2026. No regular tours yet.
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Special national relicĐá Đẽo Pass
A choke point of Route 15A, bombed from 1965 to 1972. A memorial stone stands at the summit among the Trường Sơn mountains.
Read more →Special national relicKhe Rinh Ford
A key crossing on Route 15A where convoys carried arms south under bombing. Today Khe Rinh bridge carries the Hồ Chí Minh Road.
Read more →Stay the night
Sleep in a floating house
11 family homestays in Tân Hóa village, listed and verified by the commune. Most hosts speak little English: message us on WhatsApp and we will book for you.
Guide prices
Updated 29 October 2026- Floating-house homestay
- 1,000,000 VND (~US$40) per room per night, 1–2 guests
- Home-cooked meal
- 200,000 VND (~US$8) per person
- Car from Phong Nha (4 seats, one way)
- about 600,000–700,000 VND (~US$24–28) per car
- Tú Làn 1-day cave tour (Oxalis)
- 2,000,000 VND (~US$75) per person →
- Rục Mòn 1-day cave tour (Greenland)
- from US$74 per person →
Homestay and meal prices are set by the commune. Car prices are a guide and vary. Tour prices from Oxalis and Greenland, October 2026.
Getting here
Four ways in
70 km. A Tú Làn day tour with hotel pickup, or a night in a floating house.
Day trip or overnight →By motorbike on the Hồ Chí Minh RoadKim Phú sits right on the road. Stops, fuel, a GPX file and where to sleep.
Riders’ guide →From Đồng Hới, Huế or Hà NộiFly or take the train to Đồng Hới, then 115 km by car. No public bus.
Getting here →Cave expeditionsTú Làn day tours and multi-day expeditions with Oxalis, best booked in advance.
Tú Làn caves →Over the Đá Đẽo pass. Oxalis picks up tour guests at Phong Nha hotels at 7:00.
Daily direct flights from Hà Nội and Hồ Chí Minh City.
On the North–South railway.