Private tailor-made journeys of a life time
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Private tailor-made journeys of a life time
Jul 15, 2023
By Ms. Minh Thu
Ba Be Lake Bac Kan belongs to Ba Be National Park in Nam Mau commune, Ba Be district, Bac Kan province. About 220 km from Hanoi, this place is an interesting stop for tourists when experiencing the wild, immense and fanciful nature. Visiting Ba Be Lake, visitors can not only admire the charming landscape, but also dive into the rich culture of this region. Let Vietnam Escape Tours accompany you in the adventure exploring this interesting place!
Once upon a time, in Nam Mau commune, Bac Kan province, there was a custom to hold a festival to pray for Buddha at the beginning of the year. One day, there was an old woman dressed in rags and stinking while begging for food, but everyone chased her away. Only a mother and a daughter took the old woman home, fed her and accommodated her.
That night, the mother and daughter saw the place where the old woman was lying lit up, and a dragon appeared. They were too scared to lie still. The next morning, the old woman left. Before leaving, she gave the mother a packet of ashes, telling her to sprinkle them around the house when there was a flood and the two halves of rice husks to be used for charity. Then she disappeared. The mother brought the story to the villagers, but no one believed it.
Sure enough, a strange column of water sprayed up from the ground, flooding the whole area, only the mother and daughter's house stood tall and dry. They dropped the two halves of the rice husks into the water and they turned into boats, saving many villagers. When the water receded, the collapsed land turned into Ba Be lake, and the mother and daughter's house became a floating mound among tigers, which is called Ba Goa mound.
Private vehicles
To travel a long distance of up to 150 km from Hanoi to Bac Kan by motorbike or private car, Bac Kan tourists can choose to go through the direction of National Highway 3 through Thai Nguyen. Previously, to get to Bac Kan, visitors had to go through a narrow road, sometimes it took more than 5 hours to get there. However, when the new highway Hanoi - Thai Nguyen - Cho Moi was put into use, it shortened the time to about 2 hours. Visitors can now spend more time visiting Bac Kan's beautiful scenery instead of spending half a day just moving.
Public transport
From My Dinh bus station in Hanoi, you can easily catch a high-quality bus to Bac Kan at a reasonable price. You can choose to take the route to Cao Bang because these buses also often go through famous landmarks of Bac Kan.
Take a tour of Ba Be Lake
Another more leisurely way, without having to worry about how to go, or where to catch the car, is to take the Ba Be Lake tour. Choosing a tour agency such as Vietnam Escape Tours, you will be taken care of by the travel company from the shuttle bus (depending on the number of guests, there will be a suitable car), the cost of the hotel, the main meal, ... to the tickets to visit the sights. The weekend duration of 3 days and 2 nights is quite enough to explore and "relieve stress" in this fresh land.
Mua Ha Cave
Ba Be Lake in Bac Kan is endowed with many beautiful caves by nature. One of the most beautiful and famous caves here is Mua Ha. Mua Ha Cave owns a system of beautiful limestone stalactites with all shapes and different colors that will surely make you feel extremely excited.
Mua Ha Cave
Puong Cave
Another beautiful cave in Ba Be that you should explore is Puong Cave. This cave has a length of about 300m and is open at both ends. Puong cave is more than 30 m high with steep cliffs and beautiful limestone stalactites. The deeper you go inside, the more mysterious and attractive this cave will be. Above the ceiling of the cave are thousands of bats living.
Puong Cave
Boat ride on Ba Be Lake
Traveling to Ba Be Lake, you should not miss the opportunity to take a boat ride on the lake and enjoy the wonderful beauty of Ba Be Lake. If you go in a small group, you can rent a private boat for only about 200 to 350k. The feeling of sitting on a boat floating on the calm lake, watching the peaceful surroundings and breathing the fresh air here is so wonderful.
Tourists experience boat ride in Ba Be Lake
Dau Dang Waterfall
Ba Be Lake is not only famous for magnificent grottoes but also many beautiful waterfalls, one of which is named Dau Dang waterfall. It is created by the Nang River, where the two provinces of Bac Kan and Tuyen Quang meet. The terrain here is not very flat, so conquering Dau Dang waterfall is not easy. However, in return, you will witness the majestic, wild, beautiful natural scenery of this waterfall.
Dau Dang Waterfall
Pac Ngoi village
Pac Ngoi is a small village of the Tay ethnic group located at the foot of the mountain, next to the Nang River. You can discover more about the distinctive traditions of the Tay ethnic group by visiting Pac Ngoi village.
The tranquility of Pac Ngoi Village
In addition to relaxing moments with the scenery while cruising on the lake, visitors can also learn about the cultural characteristics of the Tay people living on the lakeside, as well as enjoy local dishes.
Grilled fish, grilled shrimp
Grilled fish, grilled shrimp in Ba Be is a favorite dish of many tourists, although it is as small as a finger, the taste is fragrant and attractive. After being washed and preliminarily processed, fish and shrimp are clamped onto bamboo sticks, grilled on charcoal for about 15 minutes, waiting for them to turn golden. Shrimp and fish in Ba Be Lake are caught daily by local people. The quantity is not much but the quality is excellent because the fish meat is white, firm and has a sweet taste.
Delicious grilled fish, grilled shrimp
Sour shrimp
Sour shrimp is made from fresh shrimp from Ba Be lake, after being washed, mixed with cooked upland rice to cool, then incubated for about 4 to 5 days. When eaten, it is served with minced meat or used to dip meat, when eaten, it has a special sour and delicious taste.
Pork upstairs kitchen
Different from some other ethnic groups, the Tay people living around Ba Be Lake have a dish with a strong national identity, which is a dish of meat hanging from the kitchen and a dish of pork ribs. Meat after being marinated with salt, wine and ginger is hung in the kitchen attic. The ribs are made from finely chopped meat, marinated with spices of the highlands, then stuffed in young intestines. Smoke from the wood stove daily smoked up, making the meat yellow-black. When eaten, it has a very unique taste that cannot be found anywhere else.
Pork upstairs kitchen
Bamboo shoots
Coming to Ba Be Lake, visitors can enjoy many kinds of bamboo shoots. This is 100% clean food. In addition to enjoying fried, boiled or cooked fresh bamboo shoots, Bac Kan people mainly preserve bamboo shoots by drying them. This dish is like a precious gift to buy back after each visit to Ba Be.
Ngai cake
It is a kind of cake with a dark green color, rich in the flavor of Ba Be mountains and rivers that visitors do not forget to enjoy when traveling through this land. The cake is made from glutinous rice picked individually, wormwood leaves, peanut sugar filling, wrapped with green banana leaves. Making a Ngai cake requires elaborate, meticulous and skillful work from choosing rice, sugar, wormwood to sewing sticky rice, pounding cake…
Mouth-watering ngai cakes
Ba Be Lake is surrounded by majestic rocky mountains and dense primeval forests. Therefore, the atmosphere here is always cool and pleasant. In general, you can travel to Ba Be Lake at any time of the year. However, according to the experience of Vietnam Escape Tours, you should go in the summer. In addition, if you want to participate in exciting and bustling festivals, you can also come here on the 9th and 10th of the first lunar month every year.
Please remember to bring hats and umbrellas to protect you from the sun and rain.
We strongly advise wearing a life jacket whenever you are on a boat.
It may be dark inside the caves, you should bring with you a light for your discovery.
Ba Be Lake Bac Kan will be an interesting place in your upcoming trip to the North part of Vietnam. Come here to participate in new activities and unique culture. You will definitely have good memories here with your beloved ones.
