If you are a patient person who loves nature and are looking for an experience that includes a large, open space with blue sky, emerging waterways filled by green plants and where you can hear songs of thousands of birds, then one of the places in Viet Nam you should explore is Tram Chim National Park in Tam Nong District, Dong Thap Province in the Mekong Delta.
Tram Chim National Park is located 19 kilometers to the east of the Mekong River, at an elevation of about one meter. There are 231 types of birds at the park, of which 13 are rare. The World Wildlife Fund is funding Tram Chim National Park to develop ecosystems as well as preserve rare species of birds, including grus antigone, or red-headed crane.
Nature in Tram Chim is various of indigo and reed forests, casuarina, lotuses, water lilies,... and animals such as: boas, turtles, eels, snakes, fishes and many water-birds of storks, herons, mallards... and especial is red-headed, bare-necked cranes. This rare bird species backs to Tram Chim annually in the dry season to resident.
Visitors will have chance to see many crowded flocks of red-headed cranes eating and gathering with other birds. Cranes are very big, about 1.7 m in height, smooth gray feather, high neck, red head, and broad wings while flying. This bird species is very faithful, always dancing in couple and very close to human. To Vietnamese people, red-headed cranes also known as a symbol of strength, longevity and faith. In Viet Nam, bronze cranes are set at places of worship in temples, pagodas, and at many families’ altars.
December to May is the most beautiful time in the park, when many birds come. Both short and long tours are available to visit this 7,600-hectare park. The short tour with a powered boat can carry up to 16 people. However, the noise from the engine scares away many of the birds. To see all the birds and enjoy the scenery in silence, tourists should hire boats with oars. It is easily found Sarus cranes, White egret, Black-headed ibis, Purple heron, Plain-backed sparrow, Lesser adjutant, Bengal florican... In the marsh fully covered with polygonum tomentosum, lotuses, water-lilies, there are species of Black-crowned night heron, Ruddy-breasted crake, Eurasian marsh harrier, Little grebe, Common teal...
Reasonably priced accommodation is available for overnight stays at the park. Visitors can stay in a three-bedroom with air-conditioner or alternatively a four-bedroom with a fan. Tourists are allowed to sleep at rest-stops inside the park but the facilities are minimal and typically only researchers like this tour. For a longer stay in the area, small hotels are available in Tram Chim Town, about 1.5 kilometers far from the park.
What visitors may remember most about the tour is the typical image of the Mekong Delta area in Viet Nam; the lovely nature from the vivid images of birds dancing on the immense mangrove fields. A boat glides on water filled with green cajuput, small white water-lilies, and pink lotuses as the gentle winds stir the cane-brake and birds wake from their sleep and fly up to the sky.
Come and enjoy it with your own way.
How to get there:
To reach the park, visitors can travel 171 km by bus from HCMC to Cao Lanh City in Dong Thap Province and then change to another bus to travel about 22 km from Cao Lanh to Thanh Binh District, where is 18 km from Tram Chim Town in Tam Nong District. Tram Chim National Park is 1.5 km from the center of Tram Chim Town. This part of the journey from Thanh Binh District to Tram Chim National Park, visitors can hire a motorbike taxi (xe om).
The infrastructure and road to Tram Chim is upgraded well. However, another convenient, interesting way to Tram Chim and being chosen by many visitors is waterway. Tourists can take a pleasure-boat from Bach Dang Wharf (HCM City), up to Vam Co Tay River to the northwest passing Long An Province to Dong Thap Province, then take a small boat to Tram Chim.
Phuong Anh (Edited)
(Source: SGT/TITC)
