Ben En National Park, Thanh Hoa, Central Vietnam

About 45km to the South West of Thanh Hoa city, belongs to the area of Nhu Xuan anh Nhu Thanh districts, Ben En national park system (established in 1920) is known as the ecological complex of mountain, river, lake with more than 16,000ha of area and the plentiful plants and animals system. This is the homeland of the famous green ironwood in Vietnam.

Ben En is the residence of many rare and precious animals and plants. According to the statistics of the scientists, there are more than 1000 types of animals, 68 types of fish, 210 types of birds, 31 types of frog, etc. There are many animals in the Red Books like elephants, bull, horse bear, fire cheetah, red face monkey, etc.

Coming to Ben En, visitors would feel like being in the fairy land with the illusory sky, mountain, and river, and with the romantic scene of Song Muc Lake. Being created by four springs and the Muc River, the lake is green all year round, and it is quiet and contains mysterious legends. It is said that when the earth and heaven were chaotic, there was a giant squid, which was the child of the King of the Sea coming here and played until she forgot about time. When the water receded, the squid tried to get out but she was trapped and the left point is available until now. Place of the dead squid created the Lake Muc Ben En and the tentacle of the squid are the springs around. That is why the lake is named Song Muc with 4,000ha wide, tens of meters deep, with 21 islands to created the fascinating landscape. Being in the middle of the nature complex with mountain, river, forest and lake, Ben En has pulled back the visitors and they would love to have more time to discover and enjoy the subtle beauty of a “Halong on Mountain”/

Being on the boat on the lake to see the beauty of natural creation which was said to be the “miniature Halong” with impressive names: Me island, Island of Love, Future Island, etc, many peninsulas of mixed forest, the rocks with strange shapes creating an nice combining of water and mountain. Visitors can choose among 8 routes of tour to visit the islands in which the shortest one is 1.5km and the longest is 8.5km. They can visit the island of fauna, island of flora, scenic caves with strange shapes, which are arranged by the hand of the Creator, etc.

Coming to Ben En, tourists could come to the land of traditions and festivals of the ethnic Tho, Muong, Thai etc that are enclosed to the temples as Phu Sung, Khe Rong, Phu Na, etc. All the beauty of nature and people here have given Ben En and Nhu Thanh in general a unique natural ecosystem that can be offered by few placed. Wild beauty of Ben En has captivated people’s hearts, leaving a deep impression in the visitors.

Ben En national Park has a wide and diverse system of lakes, caves, mountains and forest that is utilized to develop ecotourism. The two biggest lakes here are Ben En Lake and Muc Lake. While Ben En Lake has a tranquil feel with cool and fresh air, Muc Lake is a somehow-more-exciting destination for the many types of animals like fish and bird that populate the caves and islets of the lake.  Forests in Ben En are rich with a vast number of valuable woods such as green ironwood and mahogany.

In addition, Ben En has a limestone mountain with a beautiful and diverse system of primary caves. Among the caves, Ngoc cave is the more outstanding with its complex structure and bigger size. The inside of this cave is sparkling with rosin, and there is a giant rosin rock that resembles a pearl. The cave is named after this rock, as “Ngoc” literally means “pearl” in Vietnamese. Next to Ngoc Cave lies Can Cave, where the visitors can see all of Ben En area from the top.

Ben En National Park is located in Nhu Xuan district, Thanh Hoa province and 36 km away from Thanh Hoa city to the Southwest. It covers a total area of 16.634 ha, of which 8.544 ha is primitive forest with a complex of mountains, rivers, streams, lakes with many names and legends about destinations.

Ben En National Park is the home to many rare species of plants and animals. According to statistics of scientists, the park has 177 families, 216 genera and 1.000 species of animals including 91 species of mammals, 201 species of birds, 54 species of reptiles, 31 species of amphibians, 68 species fish, 499 species of insects. There are many animals listed in in the Red Book such as elephant, gayals, Asian golden cats, bear macaque, nomascus leucogenys… Coming to Ben En, visitors will live in fairy world with vaporous rivers, poetic scene of Muc River lake. Constituted by 4 streams and Muc river, the lake is always green and calm all the year and associated with thrilling legends.

It is said that very long time ago, when the earth was chaotic, son of Long Vuong (Dragon King), a giant squid was stranded on this place because of being immersed in visiting the beautiful places on earth. The death of the squid formed Ben En lake, its feelers created the streams. Therefore, the lake is called Song Muc (Squid River). The lake has area of 4.000 ha, tens of meters deep, with 21 large and small islands creating fascinating scenery. In Ben En, visitors can immerge in nature and admire a tourism complex of mountains, rivers, rivers, lakes, and caves. For this reason, many tourists always wish to spend more time to explore mysterious beauty of “Ha Long on mountain”.

Taking a boat tour around the lake to contemplate all the natural beauties of Ben En National Park with lovely names such as: Mother island, Love island, Future island…. Tourists could select one of eight high-speed boat tour to visit the islands, of which the shortest route is 1.5 km, the longest is 8.5 km. Tourists could explore flora and fauna on the islands or admire the caves with strange forms constituted by the Creator. One of not to be ignored destination in Ben En is Suoi Tien cave, an interesting diverse tourism complex storing plenty of historical-cultural valuables. It easily impresses tourists with pristine beauty. It is said that the fairies often came here to have fun and bathe. In Hai Van rocky mountain range, depart from beautiful Ngoc cave cluster, there is also Lo Cao cave historical relic associated with Professor Tran Dai Nghia in resistance war against French colonist. Under his leadership, the cast iron weapons were produced, contributing to Dien Bien Phu vitocry .

This place is perfect for outdoor activities such as camping, picnic, fishing…. In addition, visitors could enjoy local specialties. Ben En is the land of traditions and customs, festival of Tho, Muong, Thai ethnic minorities. It is also associated with the temples like Phu Sung, Khe Rong, Phu na…. Nature and people in Ben En in particular and Nhu Thanh in general are a unique ecosystem that hardly could be sought in anywhere else.

Ben En National Park is located in the two districts of Nhu Xuan and Nhu Thanh, 45km southwest of Thanh Hoa Province . It is not only the place preserving sources of rare and precious varieties of fauna and flora in service of scientific research but also an ideal tourist attraction.

Surrounded by hills and mountains, Ben En naitional park has a total natural area of over 16,000ha plus 30,000ha of buffer zone forest and is affected by the tropical monsoon, creating an average annual temperature of about 230C.

The flora in the Park is plentiful with 462 varieties and 125 orders. According to Le Duc Giang, Director of Ben En National Park, it is the distribution centre of Lim xanh (Erythrophloeum fordii Oliv), a famous common variety in Vietnam with some hundred-year-old trees with a diameter of 3m.

Also there are other trees as Cho chi (Parashorea chinensis Wang Hsie.), Vu huong(Cinnamomum balansae), Sen mat (Madhuca pasquieri), Vang tam (Manglietia fordiana ), Lim xet (Peltophorum tonkinensis), Lat hoa (Chukrasia tabularis A. Juss), etc.; groups of herbaceous plants such as Song (Calamus poilanei Conrard), rattan, bamboo; family Dipterocarpaceae such as Trau (Vernicia foridii), Sen (Sapotaceae) Mang tang (Litsea cubeba) and over 300 species of rare medicinal herbs.

The Park boasts a diverse fauna because it is a favourable living environment for many groups of insects, birds, rodents, animals with hooves, and carnivore. Many surveys and investigations show that the Park has 50 orders, 177 families, 216 varieties and over 1,000 species of animals, including 91 species of animals, 201 species of birds, 54 species of reptiles, 31 species of amphibians, 68 species of fish and 499 species of insects.

Many of them are listed in the Red Book, such as elephants, gayals, Bao lua (Fel ursi), Khi mat do( Macaca arctoides), Vuon bac ma (Hylobates concolor leucogienis), etc.

In recent years, with scientific research projects such as “Preserving the gene source of some rare and precious plants in Ben En National Park” and “Research on forest restoration after slash and burn farming in Ben En National Park”, the Park has attracted hundreds of domestic and foreign researchers and scientists.

A special gem in the Park is Song Muc Lake with a total area of 4,000ha, tens of metres in depth. The Lake is divided into two small lakes: the upper covering over 3,000ha and the lower covering 800ha. There are about 24 islands on the lake with wonderful caves that create a romantic landscape. On the islands, some species of birds and animals feed under the watchful eyes of researchers.

Le Duc Giang said that at present the Park is devising a project on promoting eco-tourism of international standards. With its advantages and existing tourism potentials, such as lakes, islands, forests, rivers, springs, caves and grottos, the Park will become an ideal eco-tourist area.