|
Ba Be Lake, Vietnam - Overview:
Ba Bể Lake (Vietnamese: Hồ Ba Bể; Ba means Three, Bể is from the Tay language word pé, meaning "lake") is the largest natural lake in Vietnam. It is located in Nam Mẫu commune, Bắc Kạn district, Bắc Kạn province, in the northeastern region of the country.
Having been formed approximately 200 million years ago, the lake is surrounded by limestone cliffs, which in turn are covered by primary forests. The lake comprises three zones named Pé Lầm, Pé Lù, and Pé Lèng. Three rivers, named Năng, Tả Han, and Nam Cường, are the main inflows of the lake. The Năng river enters the lake through a large waterfall called Đầu Đẳng. In the lake there are also three islands, named Án Mã, Khẩu Cúm, and Po Gia Mải (literally "Widow's Island").
Ba Bể Lake is a featured geographical science and is a biodiversity reservoir. It is a part of the Ba Be National Park.
Travelers to Ba Be Lake can boat on the lake or visit nearby tourist places in the national park such as Tien  Pond, Po Gia Mai Island, Puong Cave and Dau Dang Waterfall. If they visit at the time of Long Tong Festival on the 10th and 11th days of the first lunar month, they can see traditional games, performances of martial arts, and the horn dance of Tay, Dao, Mong, Nung and Kinh tribal groups.
In 1995, at the world freshwater lake conference in the United States, Ba Be Lake was recognized as one of 20 special freshwater lakes in the world that should be protected. In September, 2005, the Vietnamese Government had its officials apply for world natural heritage site recognition for the lake.
(Source: Saigon Times)
For more scientific information, click to:http://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/957/
Getting there
Transportation
Bac Kan Town is 166km from Hanoi. It is located on the Hanoi - Cao Bang inter-provincial No. 3.
Bac Can province
Area: 4857.2 sq. km.
Population: 296,200 habitants (2004).
Capital: Bac Kan Town.
Districts: Ba Be, Ngan Son, Cho Don, Na Ri, Cho Moi, Bach Thong, Pac Nam.
Ethnic groups: Viet (Kinh), Tay, H’Mong, Dao...
Geography
Bac Kan is a mountainous province, sharing its border with Cao Bang Province to the north, Tuyen Quang Province to the west, Lang Son Province to the south-east, and Thai Nguyen Province to the south. The topography is mainly midland, mountainous. The province has a complex network of rivers and springs.
Climate:
There are two seasons: dry and cold lasts from April to October and hot and rainy from November to December. The cold season lasts longer in the north region. The annual average temperature is 25ºC. The annual rainfall is about 1,400mm – 1,800mm. The weather has drizzling rain and high humidity in March, April and August.
Tourism and Economy
Bac Kan has natural of mineral and forest, especially primitive forests with rich of flora and faune. Aside that, natural gives the province many interesting sights such as Ba Be National Park, Dau Dang Waterfall, Ba Be Lake, Puong Cave. Bac Kan used to be a cradle of Vietnam revolution so it has many revolutionary relics as ATK in there.
Bac Kan is famous for Ba Be Lake Spring Festival with many rituals and activities as boat racing, wrestling, dancing, nem con (con throwing)… The festival attracts a lot of people arround the region.
|
