- People and Cultures
- The Last Frontiers
- Memories of War
- Ancient Civilizations
- Natural Heritage
Treasurable peoples and ethnic cultures that characterize some of South East Asia's unknown regions.
The Sadets
The proto-Indochinese populations, also called the “Montagnards of Indochina,” were the first inhabitants of the area we now know as Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. In the distant past, these powerful, independent ethnic groups lived isolated in their villages, protected from the outside world by high mountains and impenetrable jungles.
The Katu
The Katu ethnic group in Laos mainly inhabit the Xekong Province along the Upper Xekong River. Part of the “Katuic” ethnolinguistic group, these populations usually live at a distance from the modern world, in mountainous districts, glades, jungle copses, or small villages along a water source.
The Black Lolo
Upper Xekong is located in southern Laos, in an Annamese cordillera occidental meander constituted of rugged landscape, long southward oriented mountain ridges, profound valleys, impetuous rivers, uninhabitable forests and mythical groves: a wild land forming a natural obstacle to the world uncertain influences.
The Raglai
Become acquainted with the legendary Raglaï tribe, a matriarchal ethnic group located in the provinces of Khanh Hoa, Binh Thuân and Ninh Thuân on Vietnam’s south-central coast. Also known as Rac Laï, Orang Glaï, or Roglaï, the approximately 110,000 Raglaï are Austronesian and speak a language that belongs to Malayo-Polynesian language family.
An ensemble of legendary massifs, isolated wilderness and primeval forests, silent guardians of ancestral times and occasionally haven of rare ethnic groups that have been explored and studied by Secret Indochina in the last 30 years.
Ngoc Linh Mount
The Ngoc Linh is the highest point of the Annamese Cordillera (2598 m). Although close to Danang, the Ngoc Linh is a legendary and wild massif, one of the remotest in Vietnam and peninsular Indochina. Called the Devil’s Triangle during the Vietnam War, the massif is object of local superstitions.
Upper Xekong
Upper Xekong is located in southern Laos, in an Annamese cordillera occidental meander constituted of rugged landscapes, long southward oriented mountain ridges, profound valleys, impetuous rivers, uninhabitable forests and mythical groves.
The Indochinese Woodsman
Myths and superstitions often manifest themselves in the form of anthropomorphic deities, such as Lissu ogresses, Hmong werewolves, Silla tiger-women, Jarai forest girls, Raglai flower-women, or Maa’ river nymphs. Despite the disappearance of the great forest, one myth persists: the Nguoi Rung, or the Woodsman.
The Domain
Only two hundred fifty kilometers north of Saigon and paradoxically impenetrable, impalpable and uncontrollable, the region is locally known as Nggar Maa’, Nggar Yaang, literally means the Domain of the Maa’, Domain of the genies.
The Phu Sang
Located in the northern Laotian province of Phongsaly, the Phu Sang mountain range is home to mysterious Tibetan-Burmese subgroups belonging to the Akha (Iko) group, literally the intermediate or in-between people. Also known as the Elephant Range, the Phu Sang extends a distance of 100 kilometers long and 40 kilometers wide on a north-south axis parallel to the Nam Ou River. Rising to an altitude of 1,300 meters, it is distinguished by its unique human richness; within a relatively small area.
The depth of Cardamom Mountains
Phnom Samkor are granite formations which cover a large portion of southwestern Cambodia. The area is one of the largest wilderness in mainland Southeast Asia and home to a remarkable number of endangered species, including rare elephants, tigers and Malaysian bears inhabiting the jungle's deepest parts.
The Nam Kaa
The swamps of Dac Lac province are located in the mystical region of Vietnam’s Central Highlands. Surrounded by the Krong Ana (mother river) and Krong Bong (father river), the southern Dac Lac swamp in ancient times was a region of savannas, low forests, lakes and marshes, its terrain unstable and vaporous.
Padaran Mountains
Located in southern province of Ninh Thuan and its capital Phan Rang, the Padaran Mountains are among the most amazing maritime massifs of south-central Vietnam, along with the Nui Chua.
Forgotten memories about the Indochina Wars, from Cao Bang battle, Vietnam War, to the Secret War in Laos and Polpotism.
The battle of the Route Coloniale 4
October 2020 marks the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Route Coloniale 4 (RC4), a major defeat for the French Expeditionary Force in Indochina along with Dien Bien Phu. Secret Indochina has been developing programs in the area of the former RC4 between Cao Bang and Ha Giang for some time, and to mark the anniversary
Pol Pot Airport
Kept secret for many years, the Khmer Rouge airport is located near Kampong Chhnang and Tonle Sap Lake in a green valley bordered in the west by Cambodia’s Cardamom Mountains. Now abandoned, the airport site covers 300 hectares and features two massive 2.4 km-long runways flanked by two giant moats, a control tower, administrative buildings, a quarry, a former prison camp, seven enormous cisterns, and tunnel-prisons.
A Luoi District
Discover the A Luoi District, sandwiched between the western part of Central Vietnam’s mountainous Ashau Valley and the Laotian border (Saravane and Sekong Provinces), and gain insight into some of the strategic focal points during the Vietnam War.
Phu Pha Thi
The mythical Phu Pha Thi mountain, also known as Lima Site 85 or The Rock. Located in the Houaphanh Province of northeastern Laos, Phu Pha Thi reaches a height of 1,786 meters, appearing as a giant monolith extending from the heart of the Nam Et massif.
About the antique civilizations of the Indochinese Peninsular, from the Proto-Khmers to the Cham and their ancient indigenous confederations.
The Plain of Jars
Upper Laos – Northeastern Laos, Houaphan and Xieng Khouang provinces – is one of the most mysterious regions in Indochinese Peninsula, known for the ancient megalithic civilization that has left a treasure trove of jars, funeral stones, monoliths and menhirs scattered across the land, as well as the mysteries surrounding certain episodes of the American Secret War in Laos.
Bal Hanön
Reportedly built by King Po Kathit of the Kramuka lineage (the Areca clan), the ancient citadel of Bal Hanön was the last capital-citadel of the Cham and one of the first capitals of Panduranga, the southernmost Cham kingdom that today occupies the center of Binh Thuan province in southern Vietnam.
The Oc Eo Legacy
In 150 AD, the Roman geographer and mathematician Ptolemy plotted a map of the ancient world in his influential work Geography, pinpointing the port of Kattigara east of the Golden Chersonese (Malay Peninsula) located in Magnus Signus (the Gulf of Siam). Kattigara – located in modern-day Ba The Mount, a small mountain range of rugged granite formations in An Giang province, Vietnam – is widely accepted by scholars as the archaeological site of Oc Eo.
Champa Treasure
For centuries, the South China Sea was known by navigators throughout Asia as the Champa Sea, named for the ancient Kingdom of Champa – an enduring power that lasted over 1,500 years in central and southern Vietnam.
A collection of anecdotes and research about the natural heritage indigenous to the Indochinese Peninsular, from mythical creatures to centennial trees.
Daknong Unesco geopark
Dak Nong Global Geopark is located in Dak Nong province, in the southwestern part of Vietnam’s Central Highlands at the meridional edge of the Truong Son mountain range (the Annamite Range). On July 7, 2020, it was recognized by UNESCO as Vietnam’s third global geopark.
The Asian Black Bear
The Asian black bear (Ursus thibetanus) – also known as the Himalayan, Tibetan, or moon bear – is found in Southeast Asia, the Himalayas, and parts of eastern Asia, including Japan. This medium-sized bear, distinguished by the unusual white crest on its chest, is native to Asia and largely adapted to arboreal life.
The Saola
The Saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) – also known as siola, spindlehorn, Asian Unicorn, or the Vu Quang bovid – is one of the world’s rarest large mammals, a forest-dwelling bovine found only in the Annamite range of Laos and Vietnam.
The Kingdom of a Million Elephants
The present-day Lao People’s Democratic Republic traces its historic and cultural identity to one of Southeast Asia’s largest kingdoms – Lan Xang Hom Khao, also known as the Land of a Million Elephants and the White Parasol.
