Travel Guide

A small villa offers a superb view of this pristine landscape

Hue May be famous as the last royal citadel and Vietnamese hosts the festival Hue, but neighbors Bach Ma National Park has perhaps more to offer the explorers of the road less traveled.

Ambling: tourists visit Bach Ma national park to discover the beauty brute.
Phong Lan house has seven bedrooms and sleeps 30. The rooms in the villa are separated by thick stone walls up to 40 cm. From my attic of arcs, a panoramic view of the valley greet my eyes. Tuan, who quadruple as manager, receptionist, concierge and manager, directs this old structure french overgrown with moss.

Long ago, there were more than 139 villas Phong Lan as scattered through Bach Ma National Park and deeper into the forest, cabins nestled among tall trees and lush vegetation. But that was long ago and only four remain: Does Quyen, Cam Tu, Phong Lan and Morin.

According to Tuan, Bach Ma (White Horse) took its name from a fairy tale: Once upon a time, several geniuses gathered to play Chinese chess while their horses grazing below. As the horses returned, their masters had ascended into heaven. Grief-stricken, horses transformed shaped white clouds.

History Lesson
First attracted the attention of conservatives in 1925 when a project to create a national park on the protection of pheasant Edward was presented to the French colonial authorities.

In 1932, the summit plateau has been chosen by the chief engineer french Girard to become a hill station of the colonial administration. In subsequent years, including a village of 139 villas has been created, which quickly became famous for the beauty.

Bach Ma is located 40 km south of Hue, about 700 km from Hanoi and 1,000 km from Ho Chi Minh City. The national park covers an area of about 22000ha in the districts of Phu Loc and Nam Dong.

The road to Bach Ma ridge is narrow and about 20 kilometers long. The peak is in the middle of the forest at equal distance from the East Sea and Vietnam-Laos border. The peak is the highest point in the park at 1450m above sea level.

Here, the temperature is always 7-10 degrees Celsius lower than its surroundings and its climate is more humid in the country. With rugged mountains and dense forests of this region is home to a wide variety of 1493 animal species and 2147 plant species.

There are some trails in Bach Ma: Tri Sao trail, travellers to take Tri Sao water, natural habitat for many birds tri sao; Do Quyen trail leads to the summit of the 300m-Quyen water where quyen (water-rail) Flower in spring, Thac Ngu Ho waterfall trail past five beautiful lakes and most popular trail is Vong Dai Hai, which is an octagonal shape and lead at the top of Bach Ma

Spirit guide
The road to Bach Ma has been updated in 1997 after three years of hard work, but warn those responsible for the park, it can still be dangerous.

Bach Ma park is relatively easy access of Hue (40km), Da Nang (65 km) and Hoi An (90 km). From the national highway 1A, the first stop is the small town of Cau Hai. From there, passengers are usually 15-seat bus to Do Quyen villa. This one-way road is about 18 km and to avoid the collision, the bus has to teeter dangerously on the edge of the cliff.

According to Tuan, few tourists come to Bach Ma and perhaps spend a day and night. On rare occasions, couples on honeymoon on the mountain. In winter, Bach Ma is virtually deserted.

Last year, however, Bach Ma has seen a resurgence as Buddhists from all over the country began to make pilgrimages to the point. Last June, a statue of Buddha and the remnant of an ancient pagoda of the foundation were discovered during a field visit by the director of the park Huynh Van Keo, monk and Quang Tri. Accordingly, a new name Bach Van Tu pagoda was built by pilgrims from all over the country.

My impression Bach Festival 2008 was held by the Thua Thien Hue from the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism during the national holiday between April 30 and May 1, which has attracted many pilgrims. “Other ceremonies will be held from July 16-20,” said Huynh Van Keo.

The director also revealed that a VND55-billion project was approved by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to invest in a 20 km road-Cau Hai Bach Ma Peak. Until then, the intrepid travelers will face the narrow roads.

Beautiful music
Truong Cam is 40 years. He is the head of Forest Protection Station 1 in the park. He was coming to trek through the forest since the age of 13 with his father. When waiting for birds to be snared by his traps, he finds himself under a tree and listen to the music of birdcalls.

After years of this, Cam is now able to distinguish between more than 100 of the 158 species of birds that call Bach Ma National Park home. It can imitate the sounds of 70 different species, and includes their languages. He knows when they fight for sovereignty, flirt or ask herd. It can even distinguish between men and women sounds.

Cam capacity is always applauded when he performs, especially in extra-curricular activities for children. He said he performs, not show, but to raise awareness of the need to protect the environment.

“Bach Ma is beautiful because it is virtually untouched by man,” said Cam.
Perhaps what makes Bach Ma so beautiful is the fact that it fell into oblivion, and evokes echoes vaguely recall a past in which man was at one with the natural world. How long can the primitive beauty of Bach My last, now that it is again attracting our attention? Anyway, Cam said he is here to stay.

(Source: Viet Nam News)