Khe Kèm Waterfall: Location, Entry Fee & Best Time to Visit

Khe Kèm Waterfall, located in the core area of the Pu Mat National Park in Con Cuong district, Nghe An province, has been hailed by scientists as the most primitive waterfall in Vietnam. The waterfall is an ideal place for visitors to swim and enjoy delicious specialties of Thai ethnic groups, including sticky rice, grilled fish, and barbequed chicken.

• Location: Lục Dạ, Con Cuông District, Nghe An Province
• Entrance Fee: 30.000 VND/Person/Ticket

1. Information of Khe Kèm Waterfall:

Crashing down from a great height over moss-covered sheer rock, Khe Kèm Waterfall cuts a silver strip in the otherwise lush, green jungle covering the steep slopes of Pù Mát National Park, near the border of Vietnam and Laos. Indeed, the local Thái ethnic minority name for the falls apparently translates as ‘white silk strip’, which is an apt and poetic description. Khe Kèm is located in Con Cuông District, about halfway between the coast and the Lao border crossing, in Nghệ An, the largest province in Vietnam. The water falls have been popular with locals for decades, but it’s only in the last few years that Khe Kèm has started to attract domestic tourists from ather parts of the country.

Accessed via a paved lane (entrance price: 30,000vnd), visitors can choose to walk or take an electric buggy (cost 20,000vnd) up to the falls. A short circuit leads around the waterfall, including viewing platforms from above and below, a raised walkway beneath the cascade, and a footbridge across the stream. It’s very pretty, pleasant, and tastefully laid out. There’s a bathroom and changing rooms, and life jackets for rent if you want to bathe in the pool at the bottom of the falls. In one of the rock pools is a sign for ‘fish foot massage’, where you can dip your feet into the water as tiny fish nibble at them. Even though the waterfall has become quite popular with local tourists in recent years, trash is kept under control. Trash cans are provided and there are many notices about littering.

2. What Food to Eat in Khe Kem Waterfall:

There are a few very good rustic-style eateries near the entrance to Khe Kem Waterfall. These serve classic mountain dishes, such as thịt nướng (grilled meats) with cơm lam (sticky rice cooked inside a length of bamboo) and cá suối (freshwater fish from the streams). Seating is on long wooden benches or mats on the floor beneath a thatched-roof on the banks of the river. It’s very atmospheric. My favourite place was Nhà Hàng Hòang Hà, which is located on the road a couple of kilometres before reaching Khe Kèm Waterfall. There are snack kiosks and drinks shacks by the entrance, too.

Alternatively, you could buy a picnic from Con Cuông town to take with you to the waterfall, perhaps stopping by the river on the road to eat it. Con Cuông has a local market and supermarket to buy supplies. There are also several good restaurants in Con Cuông, including the riverside Châu Liên 2, and an excellent grilled chicken (gà nướng) restaurant at nearby Khe Nước Mọc. Con Cuông has street food in the evenings near the market and a few local rice eateries (quán cơm). The food is excellent at all of the above.

3. Where to Stay in Khe Kèm Waterfall:

Although there’s no accommodation to stay in the immediate vicinity of Khe Kèm Waterfall, but there are a few choices scattered around the general area. Con Cuông town has several local standard guesthouses along the main street and the incongruous, high-rise Mường Thanh Hotel, which offers mid-range rooms, a swimming pool and excellent views of the surrounding landscape, even though it has very little character.

However, the most atmospheric places to stay are in the local homestays outside the town. There are some homestay clusters in Khe Rạn village, just across the bridge from Con Cuông town, Yên Khe village, and Môn Sơn village. Hanh Chiến homestay and Qúy Thỏa Ecolodge are the good choices. If you’re planning to sleep at any of these homestays, don’t just show up in the evening: get there in advance, because otherwise you may find they are not open or not accepting guest at short notice.

4. Best Time to Visit Khe Kem Falls:

Khe Kèm Waterfall can get very busy and noisy during weekends and Vietnam National Public Holidays, but if you visit during the middle of the day on a weekday, it should be fairly quite and empty. Any time of year is good, but you may prefer the warmer, greener spring and summer months: April-August.

5. Directions and How to Get to Khe Kèm:

Khe Kèm Waterfall is 20km due south of Con Cuông town via pretty, paved lanes passing through ethnic minority hamlets, jungle, bamboo forests, rice paddies and bamboo waterwheels. The best way to get to the falls in by motorbike or bicycle. Ideally, a visit to Khe Kèm Waterfall should be part of a wider independent road trip, especially the Mường Lống Loop. However, the falls are also a fairly easy detour west of the Ho Chi Minh Road (55km) or from Highway QL1A near Vinh (130km). You can also get a bus from Vinh to Con Cuông, but you still have to travel the last 20km to Khe Kèm Waterfall by hired motorbike or taxi. The roads are all in reasonably good condition and the scenery is very attractive.

Adventure Journey

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