Ba Be Lake - Natural "treasure" of Bac Kan mountains and forests

Ba Be Lake through the lens of Check in Vietnam

MC Duong Hong Phuc (Vietnam Television) and crew explore the beauty of Ba Be Lake

Having heard of Ba Be Lake for a long time, in early April, MC Duong Hong Phuc (Vietnam Television) and his crew decided to explore the largest freshwater lake in Vietnam through the episodes: Ba Be Colors of the Check in Vietnam program broadcast on VTV2 channel. As soon as he arrived at the lake, MC Hong Phuc took the opportunity to enjoy the atmosphere here. MC Hong Phuc said that nowhere has such beautiful natural scenery and a fresh environment as Ba Be Lake and he also feels the spiritual energy of heaven and earth always converging here. For MC Hong Phuc, Ba Be Lake is unique because it contains unique values ​​in terms of geomorphology, geology, cultural depth, history and even has an old legend that still exists, that is Ba Goa Island located in the middle of the vast waves.

On the deep blue lake, a dugout canoe stretched itself in the thin mist, the voice of female tour guide Dong Thi Hoa (Ba Be Tourist Area) gently told the story of Ba Be Lake. Part of the story is that, remembering the old beggar woman's advice, the mother and daughter took out two pieces of rice husks, and as soon as they placed them in the water, the rice husks turned into two large boats. So, despite the wind and rain, they rowed their boats everywhere, trying their best to rescue the victims. Later, the land that sank deeply became a large lake, which the locals called Slam Pé - meaning Ba Be (3 small lakes that make up the large Ba Be Lake are Pé Lam, Pé Lu, Pé Leng). The house where the widow and her daughter lived emerged in the middle of the lake into a small island, called Ba Goa Island.

The beauty of Ba Be Lake

Early summer morning, the peaceful lake surface reflects the towering limestone mountains, and the green forests full of life. The lake surface is like a giant mirror containing the history of the formation of the Southeast Asian continent at the end of the Cambrian period, which brought a giant body of water with a surface area of ​​approximately 5 million ^m2 and a thickness of more than 30 m to the limestone mountains, creating Ba Be Lake. This is the scientific perspective explaining the formation of Ba Be Lake. The vast lake surface with an area of ​​500 hectares, an average depth of 20 - 25 m, running more than 7 km long is home to many rare and unique aquatic species. The story of making a living by fishing, the traditional cultural features of the Tay and Nung people living along the lake add color to the ink painting. The sun rises, the gentle wind seems to soothe the emotions of the faraway traveler immersed in a dreamy scene.

Tour guide Dong Thi Hoa informed the crew that with its unique landscape and outstanding geological and geomorphological values, in 1995, Ba Be Lake was recognized by the World Freshwater Lake Conference held in the US as one of the 20 special freshwater lakes in the world that need to be protected. At the end of 2004, Ba Be National Park was recognized as an ASEAN Heritage Park. In 2011, Ba Be National Park was recognized as Vietnam's third Ramsar Site...

Cultural colors of the lakeside community

The smooth Then songs always resonate to serve tourists whenever they have the opportunity to visit Ba Be Lake.

Nestled under the majestic rocky mountains and reflecting on the poetic Ba Be Lake, Pac Ngoi village, Nam Mau commune (Ba Be) has created a charming landscape. Along with that, the unique features in the traditional cultural activities of the indigenous people have helped Pac Ngoi become an attractive destination for domestic and foreign tourists.

Despite the cultural exchange and the impact of tourism activities, many traditional cultural features of the Tay people in Pac Ngoi village, Coc Toc, Bo Lu... are still preserved as valuable assets. Ancient stilt houses that are several decades or even hundreds of years old are always preserved and restored as concrete evidence of the unique cultural features of the Tay people. The art troupes of the villages are always "on" to serve tourists as well as contribute to preserving the smooth, delicate then, sli, and luon songs that are imbued with the cultural identity of the highland ethnic groups.

Being simple and hospitable people, whenever tourists come to stay, Pac Ngoi people welcome them very attentively and openly. Tourists will be treated to local delicacies such as lake fish, sour shrimp, grilled corn, corn wine with yeast leaves by the host and will feel intoxicated by the warm affection of the people of the mountainous region when they gather around the fire of the stilt house to listen to interesting stories about Ba Be Lake or experience the colorful cultural and spiritual life of the local people. Thanks to the beautiful scenery bestowed by nature and the promotion of traditional cultural values, the number of tourists coming to Pac Ngoi is increasing day by day. This has helped the lives of the people here change every day.

If tourists liken Ba Be Lake to a “green pearl” in the mountains and forests of Viet Bac or a “treasure” of Bac Kan, it is well deserved. For every Bac Kan resident, Ba Be Lake is their own pride and therefore everyone is looking forward to Ba Be tourism “taking off” in the near future./.

Source: https://backan.gov.vn/Pages/ho-ba-be--bau-vat-thien-nhien-cua-nui-rung-bac-kan-f47d.aspx