Tra Que: cycling to the herb village

A gentle ride across rice fields to a farming village whose fragrant herbs end up in every bowl of cao lau and mi Quang in town.

Area

Hoi An countryside & coast

Start from

Hoi An

Distance

about 3–4 km each way

Time needed

half a day

Best season

All year; mornings from February to August are best

Difficulty

Easy

Transport

Bicycle

Tickets & rules

Small entrance fee to the village garden area in some years; check locally

Why go

The ride itself is the first reward. Leave the old town on any of the small roads heading north toward An Bang and within minutes you are among rice paddies, buffalo and egrets. In the early morning, mist hangs over the fields and farmers in conical hats are already at work. It is flat, quiet and easy on a borrowed bicycle.

Tra Que is a vegetable village tucked between a lagoon and the fields. Its neat green beds are planted with basil, mint, coriander, lettuce, morning glory and herbs with names you won’t know in English. Farmers walk between the beds with two watering cans hanging from a shoulder pole, swinging them in an easy rhythm.

Some families welcome visitors for a farming morning: preparing the beds, planting a row of seedlings, and then a cooking lesson and lunch with the herbs you have just touched. It is gentle and a little staged, but the farmers are real, and you learn why the herbs in Hoi An taste so strong.

The story

The village has grown vegetables for around three centuries, supplying Hoi An’s kitchens since the port’s busiest years. Its name comes from the cinnamon (que) and tea (tra) that some say once grew here, though locals tell several versions.

The secret of Tra Que, the farmers say, is the seaweed. They fertilise the soil with a kind of algae raked from the nearby lagoon, which gives the herbs their sharp, aromatic taste. No chemicals are used on the best beds, and the soil is turned by hand. Visitors who have tried to grow the same herbs at home from Tra Que seeds report that they never taste quite the same.

Village life still follows the seasons. In the dry months, the farmers water twice a day, early morning and late afternoon. In the autumn floods the lagoon can rise over the beds, and families shift to growing on higher ground. Every few years a bad storm wipes out a crop, and they replant within weeks.

Tra Que is also a small lesson in how tourism and farming can coexist. Many families earn extra income from cooking classes or by selling herbs directly to restaurants, which helps young people stay in the village instead of moving to Da Nang for work.

Getting there

Cycle north from the old town on Hai Ba Trung street toward An Bang beach, and look for the turning to Tra Que on the left after about 2–3 km. Signposts are clear. Many guesthouses lend bicycles for free or for a small fee.

It is easy to combine with An Bang beach, which is another 2–3 km further on the same road.

A suggested plan

1. 6:30Ride out through the rice fields while it is still cool.
2. 7:30Walk the paths between the herb beds as farmers water them.
3. 8:30Optional farming and cooking session with a village family.
4. 10:30Continue to An Bang beach for a swim, or return to town before the heat.

Where to stay

Stay in Hoi An, or in one of the homestays along the rice fields between the old town and An Bang beach, where you wake up to birdsong and the smell of wet earth.

Good to know

• Ask before photographing farmers at close range.
• Buy a bunch of herbs or a drink from a village stall; it supports the families directly.
• Wear shoes you don’t mind getting muddy.
• Combine with breakfast on the way out: there are noodle stalls along the main road.