Pepper gardens and the Suoi Tranh stream

Walk between rows of pepper vines climbing tall wooden poles, taste the berries fresh off the plant, then cool off by a forest stream in the hills.

Area

East coast & interior

Start from

Duong Dong

Distance

about 10–15 km

Time needed

half a day

Best season

Pepper harvest roughly February – April; the stream flows best June – October

Difficulty

Easy

Transport

Taxi or scooter

Tickets & rules

Small entry fee at Suoi Tranh; farm visits usually free

Why go

Phu Quoc pepper is the island’s other great product, and the gardens are scattered all over the interior, often right behind ordinary houses. The vines climb poles two or three metres tall, planted in neat rows like a green colonnade, and in the harvest season you’ll see families on ladders picking clusters of berries into baskets, then spreading them to dry on mats in the yard.

Several farms near the roads between Duong Dong and the east coast welcome visitors. The owners will show you the green, red and black berries, explain the difference, and let you taste them. A fresh green peppercorn crushed between your teeth is a small shock: hot, citrusy and fragrant all at once.

Combine it with Suối Tranh, a short forest stream and small waterfall in the hills, and you have an easy, shady morning away from the sea.

The story

Pepper came to Phu Quoc with settlers from the mainland, probably in the nineteenth century, and found ideal conditions in the island’s red soils, high rainfall and sea breezes. By the early twentieth century, Phu Quoc pepper had a name in markets as far as Saigon, and families built their modest fortunes on a few hundred poles.

The difference between the colours is about timing and processing. Green pepper is picked unripe and used fresh; black pepper is the same berry, picked when mature and dried in the sun until it darkens and wrinkles; red pepper is fully ripe and more expensive; and white pepper is ripe pepper with the outer skin removed by soaking. Farmers will often roll a few of each in your palm so you can smell the difference.

The poles themselves matter. Many growers traditionally used wooden posts cut from hardwoods, while others train vines on living trees. A good vine can produce for many years if it is cared for, and older farmers talk about their best plants the way others talk about prize animals.

Suối Tranh is a modest stream that runs down from the hills of the interior through forest and boulders. It is lovely in the rainy season, when the water rushes over the rocks, and almost dry at the end of the dry season, which is worth knowing before you go.

Getting there

Many pepper farms lie along the roads from Duong Dong towards Ham Ninh and the east coast, and in the area around Cua Duong. Your driver or hotel can recommend one that welcomes visitors; there are often signs in English.

Suối Tranh is about a 20-minute drive from Duong Dong, off the road to Ham Ninh. From the entrance, a short path leads through the forest to the stream and the falls.

A suggested plan

1. 8:00Leave Duong Dong, stopping at a pepper farm while the light is soft and the yards are busy.
2. 8:30Walk the rows, taste the berries, ask about harvest and drying.
3. 9:30Drive on to Suối Tranh; walk the forest path to the stream and the small falls.
4. 10:30Paddle or rest by the water if it’s flowing; look for butterflies and birds.
5. 11:30Continue to Ham Ninh for a crab lunch, or return to town.

Where to stay

Duong Dong and Long Beach are fine bases. A few guesthouses and small resorts in the interior offer a quieter stay among gardens and forest.

Good to know

• Buy pepper directly from farms; ask to taste before you buy and check how it’s packed.
• Bring bug spray for the stream; there can be mosquitoes in the forest.
• In the dry season, ask whether there’s water at Suối Tranh before paying the entry fee.