Ben Tre: Coconut Paradise, Fruit Haven

Ben Tre: Coconut Paradise, Fruit Haven

The Mekong Delta Province of Ben Tre is known for its traditional craft products and folk culture. But most of all, tourists flock to the area because of a fruit it is especially abundant in, coconuts.
Travelling to Ben Tre itself is a road paved with coconuts as one passes through shades of coconut trees, fruit orchards and coconut gardens along the way. Ben Tre can be found in the lowest part of the Mekong River basin, about 85 kilometers south of Ho Chi Minh City. It is composed of three primary islands: Ten Giang River to the north; Co Chien River to the south; Ham Luong River in the middle. The three rivers are “offshoots” of the Mekong as it separates into several channels before flowing into the South Asian Sea.
Ben Tre has always prided itself in its cultivation of rice and fruits. And although visitors started to discover the place and explored other things like wandering through the markets, drinking coffee in cafes, taking boat trips and visiting local museums, the province has been able to retain its slow and traditional life.
How coconuts became a symbol of Ben Tre traces back to the time of war wherein the southern part of the country was the first to reclaim its land. During that time, coconuts were used to make coconut oil as a substitute for kerosene. Wars are economically difficult times, among others, and the people of Ben Tre then had to cut down coconut trees to be able to survive. But over time, they replanted the trees since coconut was their main source of living and to date, the province has almost 36,000 hectares of coconut plantations, producing about 242 million coconuts every year.
Aside from the fruit itself, coconut can be transformed into handicrafts such as baskets, furniture, dolls, sandals, bed lamps, vases, among others. Coconut candy is especially popular among tourists who have the privilege of visiting the local coconut candy factories, actually see the confectionary being made, and take it home as souvenir or gift to family and friends.
As if being a coconut paradise is not enough, Ben Tre is also known as the “king” of specialty fruit with 41,000 hectares of orchards producing 375,000 tons of fruit annually. Out of these fruits, the province offer their own brand of delicacies such as milky yellow-fleshed and stoneless durians, green-skinned pomelos, Cai Mon mangosteens, high-qulaity “Four Season” mangoes, and one-of-a-kind oranges.
Coconut paradise. Fruit haven. Ben Tre is definitely blessed by nature.