Pumat National Park - The potential of biodiversity research and ecotourism development

Pu Mat National Park is the flagship park on the northern massif of the Truong Son Mountains along the Vietnamese-Lao border. The area contains some of the world’s most threatened species. Here, in these steep forested mountain slopes of the Vu Quang Nature Reserve and in the neighboring protected area of Pu Mat National Park, a team of Vietnamese and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) scientist recently discovered a new genus of large mammal, the sao la (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis).

Visitors taking Highway 7 from coastal Vinh to Pu Mat meander west through pure, rustic beauty towards the border. The park headquarters are near Con Cuong, a small “wild west” town perched on the banks of the huge and slumbering Ca River, which is itself nestled amongst precipitous karsts peaks.

Pu Mat true wilderness with spectacular features such as the Kem Waterfall is accessible only to well-organized expeditions. However, the reached buffer zone shares the park’s beauty. Park staff can direct visitors traveling on foot or b motorbike to ethnic Thai or Dan Lai (Tho) village and can even help arrange for stay in the villager’s stilt houses in the luscious, forested river valleys. Here, visitors can experience the park’s extraordinary diversity, although they wont’s glimpse the more magnificent wild animals, such as Asian elephants, tiger, sao la, Asian black bears, or yellow-cheeked gibbons.

Those who stop to rest or swim in the shimmering rivers may catch a glimpse of rare, giant black squirrels jumping through the forest canopy and might hear the crested argus, a beautiful pheasant with one of the world’s longest sets of tail feather. The buffer zone is the perfect place to see local people living together with the forest. Elderly Thai women search for gold, using stick to balance themselves in the rivers. Young men and women build large wooden waterwheels to irrigate their small fields. Local villagers will guide visitors through labyrinths of karsts caves during nighttime bat surveys. Many caves are over ten kilometers long. Surveys have shown that these caves may contain the greatest diversity of bat species in Viet Nam. Habitat destruction and hunting threaten the park’s animals and plant, which deserve the highest global priority for conservation. The Pu Mat National Park staff is working hard to save this jewel for future generations.

This is a primitive forest with area over 91.000 ha. In the present, Nghe An Tourist Industry is laid down the policies and plan for devloping this forest area and surroundings. Coming to visit Pu Mat National Park, tourists will have an opportunity to take part in many fascinating activities: pleasure-boat on Giang River, cool bath, recreations at Kem Waterfall,  visit  museum of animal gene, trade village of brocades and enjoy the other things: bamboo-tube rice  and Lam dance…

Besides, this tourist area has the typical vestiges:
Location: Located in three districts of Anh Son, Con Cuong and Tuong Duong in Nghe An Province
Vestige: Cay Da - Con Chua (Mon Son)
Attraction: Kem Waterfall, Giang River, Pu Mat National Park
Specialty: Mat Fish - Giang River
Trade village: Luc Da, Mon Son Make brocade

Pu Mat National Park (Vietnamese: Vườn quốc gia Pù Mát) is a national park in Nghệ An Province, in Vietnam's North Central Coast region. It is part of the Western Nghe An Biosphere reserve. Pu Mat National Park, orignally the project of Pu Mat Social Forestry and Nature Conservation in Nghe An province funded by the EU, was approved by the Prime Minister at the Decision No. 876/QĐ-TTg dated November 21, 1996. 

In the Thai language, Pù Mát means "high slope" This park was established by Decision 174/2001/QĐ-TTg, dated November 8, 2001, by the Prime Minister of Vietnam on upgrading Pu Mat Preservation Zone. This park is situated from N 18°46′to 19°12′and from E 104°24′to 104°56′. The park covers an area of 94,804 ha, spreading in three districts of Tương Dương, Con Cuông and Anh Sơn of Nghệ An Province. Of the total area, the strictly protected area comprises 89.517 ha, and the ecological recovery area comprises 1.596 ha. A buffer area covers 86.000 ha.

Pu Mat National Park, orignally the project of Pu Mat Social Forestry and Nature Conservation in Nghe An province funded by the EU, was approved by the Prime Minister at the Decision No. 876/QĐ-TTg dated November 21, 1996. Pu Mat National Park is located on the Northwest of Nghe An, on the Eastern slope of Truong Son range, in the districts of Anh Son, Con Cuong and Tuong Duong. The Park shares a 61 km border with Laos, and it is contiguous to Bolykhamxay province (Laos). The total area of the Park is 94.804,4 hectares and about 100.000 hectares of buffer zone. At present, Pu Mat National Park is one of 3 core areas of Western Nghe An Biosphere Reserve which was officially recognized as the world biosphere reserve zone by UNESCO on September 2007. Therefore, developing and reserving Pu Mat National Park will contribute to improving and reserving Western Nghe An Biosphere Reserve in order to serve scientific researches and ecotourism development.

The potential of research, biodiversity conservation, Pu Mat National Park is the house of 2.494 vascular plant species including 69 threaten species in the Viet Nam Red Book (RBD 2007) accounting for 2.73% of total of system’s species; 1.121 animal species consisting of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish; 1.084 insect species and 78 ant species. Component and number of rare animals in Pu Mat are quite high; at least 88 animal species and 70 plant species are recorded in Viet Nam Red Book and the IUCN Red List. In the field of conservation species, Pu Mat reaches not only Vietnam national status but also be valuable to both Laos and Indochina. It is noted that populations of some endangered animal species in Viet Nam and in the world such as tigers, elephants, Sao La,   Truong Son Mutjae... are still able to preserve in Pu Mat National Park. Currently, Pu Mat National Park is determined as a priority protection area for populations of tigers and elephants of Viet Nam.

Over the years, the Park has focused on preserving natural resources and on protecting the integrity of biodiversity resources. Conservation activities have been implemented widely and effectively on all aspects: propaganda and awareness raising, scientific researches, law enforcement or livelihood development in buffer zones in order to minimize the negative impacts on forests in Pu Mat. Conservation activities of Pu Mat National Park are not only to protect scope of the Park but also to contribute to managing and protecting natural resources of Western Nghe An Biosphere Reserve in particularly and  of the country in generally which are appreciated by domestic and foreign organizations on this field. To further promote conservation activities, Pu Mat National Park has also incessantly implemented cooperative programs for capacity building for the staff of the Park and taking advantage of partners’ existing conditions. Specific activities were implemented including cooperating with agencies, organizations, such as Vinh University, the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Missouri Botanical Garden (United States), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Conservation International (CI), Tiger Conservation (India), FFI, IUCN… on operating researches, management and conservation in Pu Mat National Park and training to enhance the staff’s specialty. Cooperating with National Commission for Man and Biosphere (MAB) to build a profile for recognization of Western Nghe An Biosphere Reserve.

Thanks to those activities, not only is the Park known by biodiversity values, abundant natural resources, but it is also one of national parks which always gains remarkable achievements in conversation and is the typical and leading unit in forest management and protection and  biodiversity conservation in Viet Nam.

The ecotourism potential, based on elements on natural conditions, terrain, natural resources and population distribution, ethnic groups in buffer zone, over the years the Park has been investigating and exploiting some kinds of tourism; many attractive tours emerged, especially population tourism route in administrative area (ecotourism and environmental education center; wildlife rescue center; botanical garden; arboretum; Pu Lang Am; administrative and office areas...); population of tourism sites in Mon Son (Con Chua banyan tree, Pha Lai dam, Giang river, Khang ravine, Yen village waterfall...); Yen Thanh brocade waving trade village (Luc Da); Tra Lan rampart, Ma Nhai tombstone, Ong Trang cave (Con Cuong town); Nuoc Moc ravine, Tham Nang Man cave, Oc cave (Yen Khe – Con Cuong); population of Kem fall site (Khe Kem waterfall, Khe Kem peak, Po Mu peak...); Sang Le forest, caves in Tam Dinh (Tuong Duong); Khe Thoi peak, Pu Mat peak in Tam Quang (Tuong Duong)... Moreover, there are many tourism potentials which have not been exploited or exploited improperly their values, such as: adventure tourism for conquering Po Mo peak, Pu Mat peak or discovery the biggest Sa mu oil tree in Viet Nam...

Tourism potential of Pu Mat is known not only by natural landscapes or biodiversity resources but also be attracting tourists by special culture of ethnic groups, heritages linked to history of building and defending the country of Vietnamese generations. Buffer zone of Pu Mat National Park is known as a population of ethnic groups living peacefully including Thai, Dan Lai, H’ Mong, Tay, Poong… Each ethnic group has a distinct character and a special culture  making tourists want to discover, find out about people and landscape here. Coming to Pu Mat, tourists will gaze with veneration and study special customs and habits, cultural points shown on traditional products or in dances, such as Khap dance, Lam dance, Xen festival, Xang Khan festival of Thai minority people; discovery mysteries or study the historical establishment and development of Dan Lai people community - a minority ethnic group only in Con Cuong or visit historical sites containing spirit of national heroes of famous Tra Lan rampart “bamboo into pieces, ashes into the air” or Ma Nhai epitaph in the cliff which records glorious victories of army and people in the Tran dynasty… The blend between landscape and people gives Pu Mat fascinating differences both poetic, majestic, neglected and mysterious. It is hard to find this attraction in anywhere else in Viet Nam.

For the time being, the Park has exploited some human cultural tourism sites serving ecotourism development. Although cultural potentials in buffer zone are abundant and diversified, until now they are still the potentials, have not been invested to preserve and develop appropriately in order to bring high effectiveness in economy and society. To exploit and develop the tourism potentials effectively and correspondingly to the existing potentials, Pu Mat National Park needs a cooperative mechanism between partners in the process of building and developing ecotourism, investment capital, management capacity or a clearer ecotourism development model, more professional tourism activities to make Pu Mat be one of attracting tourism sites for domestic and foreign tourists.

Biodiversity values
2,461 plant species have been confirmed to occur at Pu Mat, some of which may be new to science; taxonomic work is currently underway to confirm this. The most widespread vegetation type in the national park is lowland evergreen forest.

Pu Mat is probably one of the most important sites for mammal conservation in Vietnam. The Social Forestry and Nature Conservation in Nghe An Province (SFNC) surveys and research have confirmed the presence of five mammals endemic to Indochina: Northern White-cheeked Gibbon, Red-shanked Douc, Saola, Truong Son Muntjac and Annamite Striped Rabbit. The SFNC studies also confirmed the continued occurrence a number of other globally threatened mammals at Pu Mat, including Assamese Macaque, Dhole, Indochinese Tiger and Asian Elephant.

A "substantial" population of 455 critically endangered northern white-cheeked crested gibbons (Nomascus leucogenys) have been recently found living in the Pu Mat National Park in Nghe An province, northern Vietnam, near the border with Laos. Conservation International report they are living at high altitudes, and far from human settlements. This population, representing two thirds of the total known in Vietnam are, apparently, the "only confirmed viable population" of this variety in the world.

Oftentimes, visitors encounter the mischievous monkeys, jumping from branch to branch like circus. Along the waterfront are colorful salamanders, geckos chasing each other. In the morning or at sunset, hundreds of species of birds ‘sing out loud’ leaving the forest so merry.

What is most interesting is rafting fishing on the river then roasting them on a brazier, which really makes your mouth water. Which can be more enjoyable than eating grilled spring fish nibbled with wine and watching the sun go down among the splendid vista?

We bumped into this review the other day from Mr Kevin - one of our customers “Had a wonderful tour to Pu Mat national park with these guys: super friendly and helpful tour guides, comfortable van taking us there and back, great meals especially the one prepared on an elevated wooden platform, scenic boat rides, memorable cold swim under the waterfall, and the incredibly soothing sounds of the rainforestcoming from the streams and animals around. I would do the same tour again in a heartbeat”

Feel like our effort deserves. Backpack on and join us for more moments of life.