It is also an extremely interesting destination for those who love adventure and nature.
It takes only 45 minutes on a high-speed boat from Cai Rong wharf inVan Don district to Ba Mun Island. The first impression tourists havewhen arriving at the island is pristine natural landscape with greenforests embraced entirely by blue sea.
The east of theisland (known locally as the “exterior”) is pummeled by strong waveswith water spray launching tens of metres high, while the west (the“interior”) features tranquil scenery and calm water that ripplesagainst the side of boats.
Ba Mun covers an area of about1,800 hectares with diverse flora and fauna including rare and valuablespecies. The most prominent plants are Tram Do (Syzygium zeylanicum), aswell as Lim (Erythrophleum fordii), Sen (Madhuca pasquieri) and Tau(Vatica fleuryana Tardieu).
It is notable thatthe Lan hai orchid (Cypripedioideae), which was mistakenly thought to beextinct a few years ago, still exists here. At present, this orchidspecies is found only in Lao Cai and Ba Mun.
Ba Mun hasseveral rare species of animals, including the golden deer, which isstill quite populous and the only population in northeast Vietnam.Golden deer often search for food at night. Therefore, it is hard tospot them during the day but visitors can see their footprints.
There are a lot of other species of animals such as antelope,monkeys, langurs and more, as well as sea and migratory birds. With itsdiverse fauna, Ba Mun Island is the largest wild animal reserve in thesoutheast region. For this reason, locals often call it “ AnimalIsland”.
On Ba Mun Island, there are seven large streamswith unique names such as O Lon To (big pigsty) and O Lon Con (smallpigsty), as well as Mieu Danh, Van Lau, Cao Lo streams, and Che flume.The water runs all year round and is very clean thanks to large coverageof the forest. This is a valuable source of fresh water amidst the vastsea.
Travelling to Ba Mun, tourists can explore on theirown, following some natural trails on the island or patrol routesserving forest management. It takes at least 3 days to complete a tourof Ba Mun Island and 5 hours if going around the island by motorboat.
The island has a wildlife rescue centre belonging to the BaiTu Long National Park. Tourists can contact the centre in case they needany support.-VNA