Ba Be National Park Leisure Travel

Ba Be National Park Leisure Travel

Ba Be Lake – a getaway cannot get any better
It is not often that we go on a back-packing trip with no outside support whatsoever. In fact, we had never really done it, but summer was coming to a close and we wanted a weekend getaway that was perfect as we could get.
Ba Be Lake in the morning
Tour code: BB36E

After considering several options and collecting several opinions we zeroed in Ba Be Lake. Picturesque landscapes, limestone caves and a diverse ecosystem home to rare animals like the Black Gibbon – sounded just right to our city-weary ears.

We learnt that Ba Be Lake is “Vietnam’s largest natural lake and now the centerpiece of an extensive national park which is situated in a region of limestone topography that features lakes, waterfalls, caves and many unusual rock formations.
“It is covered by tropical and semi-tropical evergreen forest with rich bio-diversity – 50 animal species, over 400 plants and many species of insects, reptiles and birds. It is also home to ten seriously endangered animals, including two primates, the Black Gibbon and the Tonkinese ‘snub-nosed’ monkey.”
Since we’d decided to get to the lake on our own, we prepared everything very carefully for our first “phượt” – backpacking tour – with all the essentials including three good motorbikes, a map, clothes, medicine and other important things.
We set off right after finishing work at 5 p.m. on Friday. Following National Road No. 3, we passed Thai Nguyen Province before stopping at Bac Kan Town for the first night. By then we had done some 164 kilometers from Hanoi and there were only some 70 kilometers left before we reached Ba Be. The next morning, after consulting with our host about two routes to Ba Be, we decided to take the 75-km Bac Kan-Bang Lung-Ba Be route which is 5 kilometers farther than the Bac Kan-Phu Thong-Cho Ra-Ba Be route, because the former offers more quiet roads and a more scenic drive.
We were all pleased with our choice. It took us a whole morning to make our way along the quiet roads because we stopped many times to take photographs of the scenery on offer.
We arrived at Ba Be Lake at noon. It did not take us long to find a home-stay in Bo Lu Village. Local residents here mostly belong to the Tay, Nung Red Dao and White H’mong ethnic minority groups. Besides Bo Lu, you can also find good home-stay options in nearby villages like Pac Ngoi or Coc Tai. An alternative is the park’s guesthouse which provides basic accommodation, but visitors usually prefer a home-stay.

HOW TO GET THERE

Ba Be can only be reached by road and it usually takes between six and eight hours by car or motorbike. The road gets rough along the latter part of the drive, but the scenery compensates for the bumpy ride.
Visitors from Hanoi can also take a shuttle bus from My Dinh Station to Bac Kan City. Then take another coach to Cho Ra. From here there are two options – take a xe om or a boat to the lake, which is just 15 kilometers away.
After “checking-in” and having a bath, we were invited to a wonderful lunch of some local specialties, including corn wine, braised pork with tram fruit, boiled chicken and bo khai vegetable. Every dish was fresh and delicious. Our hosts also gave us some useful advice and information on how to explore Ba Be National Park and we skipped our regular nap to set off right after lunch.
We hired a boat at BA BE CENTER TOURISM ( Office at Ba Be lake-shore) and rowed into the lake. This was my first visit here and everything was more wonderful than I had expected.
Ba Be Lake is formed by three small lakes: Pe Lam, Pe Lu and Pe Leng, which all run through the Nang River. It’s about seven kilometers long and one kilometer wide at the widest point, and contains around fifty species of freshwater fish. The surface of the lake was calm, and our trip was a peaceful experience.
It can take a full day or two or even more to explore all the beautiful spots, including the caves, waterfalls, ponds and some small islets as well as checking out the life of people who live around this lake. But since we did not have that luxury, we could only stop at the Dau Dang Waterfall, which is 50 meters tall, the Tien (Fairy) Pond on the top of a mountain, and some beautiful caves including Puong, Na Phong and Pac Chan.
We also spent sometime at Cam Village, on the banks of the Nang River. Local people here earn their living by growing rice and fishing. They travel around on a thuyen doc moc - a small wooden boat which has become a iconic image of Ba Be Lake.
When the sun began to fall gradually on the peaceful lake, we turned our boat back to the wharf and returned to our weekend home. The quiet stilt-houses were soon covered in darkness and atmosphere was unbelievably serene.
Dinner was prepared with many good dishes but I loved the baked fish the most. It ranks among the best dishes I’ve ever eaten. Our host told us that he was a fisherman and had caught the fish in Ba Be Lake. I told him sincerely that he was not only a good fisherman, he also a talented cook.
When we finished our dinner and gathered to chat with the many neighbors here, I discovered that our host was also one of the best singers in the village. He played the tinh (a local musical instrument) and sang then (a type of local folk songs) really well.
To get so close to an authentic ethnic minority lifestyle and have a host who could cook, play music and sing really well – it was a trip that was better than we hoped for when we started out – and we had already set the bar very high.

Luong Quoc Chien Mr | The B Tourist sale manager

P: (+84) 1695435091 | Sky: chien tourguide

E: tours@thebtourist.com 

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Home-stay, How To Go And Over Night

Home-stay, How To Go And Over Night

People who travel to other countries may not want to spend their time with a tour guide provided by the tourist authority, and they may not want to stay in a chain hotel. In some countries, this desire to experience the "real" culture can be accomplished through a home-stay. A home-stay means that the traveler lives with a family for at least part of his or her trip. This enables a traveler to experience life as it is lived day to day in the host country. A home-stay can often be arranged through a travel agent, or through Web sites that specialize in matching families and travelers.

Tour code: BB37E

 A traveler looking for a homestay should first apprise the travel agent of his or her personal

preferences. Is he a smoker, for instance? Is he vegetarian? An observant Jew? Allergic to animals or certain foods? Traits such as these should be taken into consideration when matching a host family and a guest. The traveler should also remember that he is visiting the country to absorb some of its culture, and so should expect to try new things in his hosts' home.
A homestay can be a great experience if the traveler follows a few simple guidelines. First, he needs to acquaint himself with the customs of the country he is visiting. Most host families will be tolerant of some faux pas, but the traveler should make sure he is aware of basic courtesy, such as removing one's shoes before entering a home in Japan. Politeness in every country is a key to making the stay a happy one.
Second, a traveler should never arrive at a homestay without some gift for the hosts. A bottle of wine or a gift of chocolates is welcome, as are mementos from the visitor's country, such as postcards, or pens and mugs with his state's or company's name on them, for instance.
Third, a traveler should remember that this is a home, not a hotel. Room service is not provided. He should make his own bed each morning, offer to help with the dishes or the laundry, and so on. Depending on the country, the hosts may refuse to allow him to help, but they will appreciate the offer. Insofar as possible, a traveler should also participate in the family activities. Insofar as possible, he should never be a hindrance to the hosts' usual routine.

Students often have the opportunity to participate in a homestay as part of an academic program, and these are usually memorable. A homestay opens a window into another culture as few other experiences can. It is a win-win situation in which everyone learns something new.
Come to Ba Be is not difficult for you to find a homestay, if you are a guest to travel freely you should book a homestay at
BA BE CENTER TOURISM ( An Office at Ba Be Lakeshore, BO LU Village )to set yourself a room as desired, in addition to other services such as yachts and local foods, along with free travel information, or if you want to have a local guide, people can speaking English and French to help you understand more about the Ba Be and visiting other villages on the high areas.

Luong Quoc Chien Mr | The B Tourist sale manager

P: (+84) 1695435091 | Sky: chien tourguide

E: tours@thebtourist.com 

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Ba Be Lake Volunteer Tour, Should Be Worke

Ba Be Lake Volunteer Tour, Should Be Worked

BaBe National Park is a large tract of land that surrounds the largest natural lake in Vietnam. It is not a huge lake, nor does it have much wildlife, but we did enjoy our time there.
Tour code: BB38E
The Vietnamese eat everything that moves and much that doesn't. As a result, there are no longer shorebirds, ducks, gibbons, monkeys, squirrels, snakes, or most small mammals. But there is an effort to teach local populations how to live in ways that affect the environment less.

The Tay, Dzao, and Hmong people all live in BaBe. There are actually 3000 people living in villages on park land. We stayed at the guest house at the headquarters and on the first day, took a boat across the lake and then hiked about 15km. The best and most interesting people experience happened to us that day. We stopped at a village school and visited the teacher's quarters with books and pencils, etc. I met a woman teacher and we connected pretty much instantly. She had no English but it didn't matter a bit. She is 44 years and teaches 25 students. She lives (as do the other 7 teachers) apart from her husband in order to teach there. She was assigned to this village but everyone who is assigned to these places says they volunteered to serve there. I am not sure what they mean. (Remember when Khanh said there was no conscription in Ho's army? Well later on he said that everyone had to volunteer their children, except for the last boy. Not conscription? sounds like it to me)
Anyway, she has taught there for 7 years and sees her husband once a month. There were 8 teachers altogether and they live in a plank building, one room each. Dirt floors. They grow a garden and raise chickens. She wanted us to stay for lunch and we accepted. In the end, we spent 3 hours there, and learned a tremendous amount about each other. She had only ever had contact with one westerner before. It was in Hanoi. First she taught for a few years, but when her children were small, it was too hard to be away from them. So instead she returned to Hanoi and sold stuff from a pushcart. Her only contact with a foreigner was when a Spanish woman followed her all day long once. She presumes the woman wanted to learn how she earned a living but since neither could speak to one another, she wasn't sure. Having Khanh to translate was a wonderful thing for her and us and the rest of the teachers. The men teachers took Toby off to drink rice liquor and the women and I cooked or rather I watched her cook. She sang to me in a lovely voice.
Many times, I will hear a beautiful voice singing. A woman or a man will sing to themselves as they work on the rice paddy, it is captivating.
She served rice, a sausage her father had made her during the TET celebrations, some greens and a sauteed fruit from the forest that tasted like a cross between an olive and a mushroom. It was heavenly. The camera came out and everyone in the village had their photos taken, they had never had any photos of anyone taken before and when they get them in the mail, they will be thrilled, I am sure. One girl got her wedding dress on for the photo, a traditional Dzao outfit of reds and greens that was stunning.

The photo sessions took an hour and eventually we had to leave. All of the teachers walked with us for an hour and a half so that they could go visit another group of teachers for the afternoon. Their school only had morning sessions so the kids could work in the fields in the afternoon. On the way, we talked and talked and she sang and taught me the refrain for the Vietnamese national anthem.
Towards the end of our time together, she asked me about the war. She said that she was born in 1961 and her mother dug holes in the dirt for her to hide in when the bombs came. She has a vivid memory of the bombing of the north and even mimiced the gun sounds and the noise of the planes as they approached. It was chilling. Most of our exposure so far has been with veterans who all come up and talk to Toby, recognising him as being roughly the right age. We had not spoken before (or at least it was never mentioned) to people who were children during the heavy bombing of 1971. She was not a fan of Richard Nixon and mentioned that but also was quick to say that neither she, nor any of the Vietnamese people hold individual Americans responsiblegovernments are different than people. And certainly here that is as true as it is at home. Moving a government in a different direction is like trying to climb Mount Everest. The government here is largely ignored, people are just trying to scratch out the best life they can.
Rather than risk another power outage, I am sending now.
Much love to you all, Barb

Luong Quoc Chien Mr | The B Tourist sale manager

P: (+84) 1695435091 | Sky: chien tourguide

E: tours@thebtourist.com 

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Ba Be Lake – A Haven Of Serenity

Ba Be Lake – A Haven Of Serenity
After departing from the capital city, the passenger car took me to Bac Kan Town on Road 3. Viewing the passing hamlets in the car, I was sunk in divergent legends of Ba Be Lake.
Tour code: BB39E
One legend says that this area used to be a very large valley sheltering the Nam Mau Village. Each year,

the villagers gathered to hold an offering ceremony for Buddha. One year, a leprous old woman came to the ceremony but was neglected and asked to keep away from the others. Luckily, a widow welcomed her and gave her food. The old woman, who later turned out to be a fairy mother, paid respect by granting the widow a handful of ash and a seed of rice. The next day a monsoon overwhelmed the valley but the hoof the widow was somehow raised above the water line and protected. Following the fairy mother’s words, the widow scattered the handful of ash around the hand water could not flow into her house; she threw the cover of the rice seed into the water, and it turned into a dug-out canoe which helped her float. After that, the flooded valley turned into three lakes which today form Ba Be Lake. Ba Be, meaning three lakes, was created by the confluence of river tributaries Pe Lam, Pe Lu and Pe Leng (Pe means Lake in Tay language) after earthquakes tens of millions of years ago.

Passing through the reed grasses, downstream from the serene Nang River, I saw many dug-out canoes like the kind mentioned in the legend. For local people living along the Nang River and Ba Be Lake, they are popular means of transportation. A dug-out canoe looks like the cover of rice seed. It's dedicated and long. It can glide fast and even downstream without energy-consumption, and it never leaks. Dug-out canoes are indispensable when people want to catch small fish in the lake.

The canoe drifts through the bends of the river and past scenic high cliffs through Lung Nham Mountain to reachPuong Cave. Inside the cave with the poor light there exist many stalactites in different shapes overhead. Ba Be Lake is surrounded by many ancient trees, from which several varieties of precious wood are obtained. Up to 30 animal species such as wild pigs, bears, panthers, monkeys, and birds inhabit the area. Scenic high limestone cliffs around the lake with the height of several thousands of meters look like skyscrapers amidst the city. Along the two riverbanks lie many hamlets of the Tay, Red Dao and White H’mong ethnic minorities.

Riverside trees swayed in the wind to welcome me back to the crossroads between the Nang River and the way to Ba Be. I turned right into the tributary of light blue water and then headed for Ba Be Lake which is 4km from the cave. The 8km long and 3km wide lake covers an area of 650 hectares. According to scientific research, Ba Be Lake was formed approximately 200 million years ago due to geological constitution. The lake, located 145m above sea level, is surrounded by limestone cliffs. This biodiversity reservoir is the habitat for fauna and flora thousands of years old. The surface of the lake is so tranquil that people can see even see the lake bed. It is home to 106 fish species and is surrounded by many ancient trees.

After having taken a tour around the lake, I went to visit a temple on An Ma Island to offer incense. On the way back, I stopped to enjoy wine and fried fishes made by local women at a tent at the Ba Be lakeside. With its original and unspoiled landscape, Ba Be still offers a haven of peace and tranquility away from the bustle of city life. In addition to the river and lake tour, visitors can trek to local villages where Tay and Mong peoples live and keep their traditions.

Have a great Journey!

Luong Quoc Chien Mr | The B Tourist sale manager

P: (+84) 1695435091 | Sky: chien tourguide

E: tours@thebtourist.com 

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Ba Be Lake – The Great Lake In The Mysterious North Of Vietnam

Ba Be Lake – The Great Lake In The Mysterious North Of Vietnam

The road from Thai Nguyen to Bac Kan is in pretty good condition and meanders through some very scenic areas, especially the bowl-shaped tea hills.
Tour code: BB40E
Among all of the regions where you can find green tea plants for domestic use and export in Vietnam, Thai Nguyen is the best. The tea from that region is called “Thai tea” and sometimes visitors to Vietnam think that the people of Vietnam prefer foreign tea as they keep talking about the excellent “Thai tea”.

The best place to visit in Bac Kan is Ba Be Lakes. It is situated 250km from Hanoi and 50km to the Northwest of Bac Kan town. “Ba Be” means “three seas”, an ornate-expression when one considers that in this context it means the three big lakes. There are several kilometers between the Ba Be Guesthouse and the Main Wharf. There you can rent a boat and row along the Nang River. The river trip is a marvel. There are two flows on the river as you proceed; a clear flow of water and a muddy flow of water, which incredibly do not mix. You can either jump in the clear water for a swim or simply lay in the boat and contemplate the wonderful untouched surrounding landscape with its bamboo clusters, lianas and flowers along the riverbed. You can also watch the fishermen in their piraguas. After 3km you will reach Puong Cave, a mysterious sight with twilight full stalactites and stalagmites, which seems to signify that you are at the end of the river. But if you proceed by boat some 300m inside the cave, you will open once more unto the river as you move out and away from the cave. From that point it will take you an hour or so to reach Dau Dang Waterfall that is quite spectacular and worth a visit. To

reach the lakes you must go upstream from Dau Dang, turning right then proceed for another 1km.. The Lake Zone is 8km long and 3km wide. It is set in a picturesque national park and made up of three lakes surrounded by vertical walls of rock, from which many water currents fall into the lakes with all sorts of creepers clinging to the walls and a wild forest where many species of birds abound.
If you have time, you can also visit a village-on-stilts. Take a boat at the Main Wharf and turn left this time. Go for 4km till you reach the small village’s watering place and there you will be able to experience a typical working day of farmers and fishermen from the village

Have a great Journey!

Luong Quoc Chien Mr | The B Tourist sale manager

P: (+84) 1695435091 | Sky: chien tourguide

E: tours@thebtourist.com 

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Isolated Ethnic People Of Ba Be Lake Nurture The Old Way Of Life

Isolated Ethnic People Of Ba Be Lake Nurture The Old Way Of Life

The picturesque magnificence of Ba Be Lake within Ba Be National Park attracts a large number of visitors every year.
Tour code: BB41E

Awakened by the sounds of birds and frogs in the early morning after escaping from the rapid pace of city life, Istarted my new day in Ba Be National Park, a massive nature reserve in the northern province of Bac Kan and home to magnificent Ba Be Lake. Located some 250km from Ha Noi, the park has been well-known for years for its unique beauty.

My three-day visit to the park exceeded my expectations and fed an intense curiosity about the area, as well as letting me enjoy fresh air which can't be found in the city.
On the first two days, local guide Nguyen Tuan Linh led me to discover such special landscapes in the park as Ba Be Lake, the Nang River, Puong Cave, and Dau Dang Waterfall.
"Ba Be National Park is not only famous for its scenery but also for its daily lifestyle," Linh said. "It's impossible to experience all the interesting traditions and cultures here in only three days."
What he said was true. The final day of my visit broadened my horizons and left an impression of the daily lives of the ethnic minority people who are allowed to reside in the park as unique from any others I have encountered across the country.
I was lucky to be taken to one of the villages that border the lake called Bo Lu. The Tay ethnic village, with about 80 households, is remarkable for its traditional stilt houses built on stable mountain cliffs.
On the way to the village, Linh told me a great deal about Tay cultures and traditions.
"Most of clothes here are handmade," said Linh. "The locals continue to use looms to create fabrics. The most popular is 2m long and 80cm wide. They also plant and harvest their own cotton before dying and weaving it to create the finished fabrics.

Delicacy: Charcoal-grilled muong fish is the most delicious food in the region." Tay people used to hunt and trap forest animals, but now they have moved closer to the lake to catch fish. Fishing is their daily work apart from farming and raising cattle."

We reached the village when the sky was getting dark. I found that half of the households in Bo Lu offered home stays. I chose the house of Nguyen Thi Duyen, to stay the night at a cost of US$4. By 10pm, all of the people were asleep.
My deep sleep was broken at the crack of dawn by the tour guide. It was 5am, and we quickly had a breakfast of bread and fresh milk and continued our journey. Amazingly, we saw many local fishermen already out fishing along the bank of the Nang River
Their method of catching was different from any I have ever seen. They throw nets while wading in the water, which is too shallow to fish by boat. The nets are designed very uniquely and are a bit tricky to get ahold of, but the fishermen bring in a haul of various kinds.
Fisherman Tran Trong Kien, 54, satisfied my curiosity about the fishing methods by asking me to jump into the river. He guided me to use the nets, and the cool water motivated me to get familiar with the unusual way of working. I caught five small and medium fishes in my first throw. We stopped fishing at 6am with 15kg of fish.
"Usually I can sell this much fish for VND200,000 ($10)," Kien said. "It's rainy season, so there is a lot of fish as the lake builds up in size. In the winter, when there's less rain, there's less fish."
Muong fish, according to Kien, is the most delicious food in the park. The people often muong fish, clean them, then bind them between two pieces of wood and cook them over hot coals for about 10 minutes, turning them a couple of times.
We ate our fish, which was soft and flavorful, and chased it down with maize wine. We sat around a wooden table and sang some of the songs of the ethnic group with poetic and thoughtful lyrics, leaving us with a feeling of the colorful lifestyle of the place and a sense of pride in the country's valuable traditions and cultures.


Have a great Journey!

Luong Quoc Chien Mr | The B Tourist sale manager

P: (+84) 1695435091 | Sky: chien tourguide

E: tours@thebtourist.com 

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