Ba Bể National Park ( vi, Vườn Quốc Gia Ba Bể) is a reserve in Bắc Kạn Province,

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

region of

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

, set up to protect a very murky lake (Ba Bể Lake) along with surrounding

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

and highland nevergreen forests. It is located about 240 kilometers northwest of the capital city

Hanoi Hanoi or Ha Noi ( or ; vi, Hà Nội ) is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. It covers an area of . It consists of 12 urban districts, one district-leveled town and 17 rural districts. Located within the Red River Delta, Hanoi is ...

Location

Ba Bể National Park is located in Bắc Kạn Province, about 240 kilometers north of

, about 70 km northwest of the provincial capital Bắc Kạn, and about 14 km west of the town of Cho Ra.

Ba Bể Lake

Ba Bể Lake ( vi, Hồ Ba Bể, Ba Bể meaning "Three Lakes" in the local Tay language) is the largest natural fresh water lake, stretching about 8 kilometers in the north-south direction. The surface area of the lake fluctuates between 3 and 5 km² between dry and wet season. Unlike many lakes in Karst

areas, Ba Bể Lake never falls dry. Its average depth varies between 17 and 23 meters, the maximum depth is 35 meters. The lake lies about 150 meters above sea level, making it also Vietnam's highest lake. The name "Three Lakes" refers to the three parts of the lake named Pe Leng, Pe Lu, and Pe Lam. All these three parts are connected into a single continuous body of water, however. The Ta Han, Bo Lu, and Leng Rivers feed into the lake from the south and the west. During the dry season, water is drained from the lake northwards into the Nang River. During high floods in the wet season, the latter flow is reversed however, and the lake takes up water from the Nang River thereby acting as a buffer regulating flooding.

Flora and fauna

The vegetation in Ba Bể National Park mainly consists of limestone and evergreen forest. The former covers steep mountain slopes on which the soil cover is thin. The latter depends on thicker soil cover and has a higher species diversity. The dominating tree species of the limestone forest are Burretiodendron hsienmu (

Tiliaceae Tiliaceae () is a family of flowering plants. It is not a part of the APG, APG II and APG III classifications, being sunk in Malvaceae mostly as the subfamilies Tilioideae, Brownlowioideae and Grewioideae, but has an extensive historical record o ...

) and Streblus tonkinensis (

Moraceae The Moraceae — often called the mulberry family or fig family — are a family of flowering plants comprising about 38 genera and over 1100 species. Most are widespread in tropical and subtropical regions, less so in temperate climates; however ...

). Climbing bamboo (

Ampelocalamus ''Ampelocalamus'' is a genus of Asian bamboo in the grass family). It is found mostly in Southern China South China () is a geographical and cultural region that covers the southernmost part of China. Its precise meaning varies with context ...

) is a regional endemic plant common on the hill slopes near the lake shore. 65 mammal species have been recorded in the park, among them:

Chinese pangolin The Chinese pangolin (''Manis pentadactyla'') is a pangolin native to the northern Indian subcontinent, northern parts of Southeast Asia and southern China. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2014, as the ...

(''Manis pentadactyla''),

slow loris Slow lorises are a group of several species of nocturnal strepsirrhine primates that make up the genus ''Nycticebus''. Found in Southeast Asia and bordering areas, they range from Bangladesh and Northeast India in the west to the Sulu Archip ...

(''Nycticebus coucang''),

rhesus macaque The rhesus macaque (''Macaca mulatta''), colloquially rhesus monkey, is a species of Old World monkey. There are between six and nine recognised subspecies that are split between two groups, the Chinese-derived and the Indian-derived. Generally ...

, stump-tailed macaque,

François' langur François' langur (''Trachypithecus francoisi''), also known as Francois' leaf monkey, the Tonkin leaf monkey, or the white side-burned black langur is a species of lutung and the type species of its species group. It is one of the least studied ...

, Asian black bear,

European otter The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia. The most widely distributed member of the otter subfamily (Lutrinae) of th ...

Owston's palm civet Owston's palm civet (''Chrotogale owstoni'') is a civet native to Vietnam, Laos and southern China. It is listed as Endangered by IUCN because of an ongoing population decline, estimated to be more than 50% over the last three generations, inferr ...

, Asian golden cat,

mainland serow The mainland serow (''Capricornis sumatraensis'') is a serow species native to the Himalayas, Southeast Asia and China. The mainland serow is related closely to the red serow, Himalayan serow, Sumatran serow, and the Chinese serow (''C. milneed ...

red giant flying squirrel The red giant flying squirrel or common giant flying squirrel (''Petaurista petaurista'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae (squirrels). It is found in a wide variety of forest–types, plantations and more open habitats with scatter ...

particolored flying squirrel The particolored flying squirrel (''Hylopetes alboniger'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam. Its natural habitat is subtropical ...

(''Hylopetes alboniger''), hairy-footed flying squirrel as well as 27

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...

species. Furthermore, 233 bird species, 43 reptile and amphibian species among them the king cobra and the Vietnamese salamander (''Paramesotriton deloustali''), have been recorded. In Ba Be lake, 106 fish species from 61 genera, 17 families, and 5 orders have been recorded. The park is also noteworthy for its diversity in butterflies for which 354 species have been recorded.

Scenic landscape features

Puong Cave is a large cave in the north of the park through which the Nang River flows. The main cave is up to 50 meters high and about 300 meters long. It is inhabited by a population of 5 to 10 000 bats belonging to 18 species. The "Fairy Pond" is rock basin filled with clear water which seeps through the surrounding limestone rock. The Dau Dang Waterfall is formed by the Nang River. It consist of a sequence of rapids which stretch over a length of almost one kilometer. Widow Island is a small, cone-shaped islet near the center of the southern lake. According to the local legend, the islet was once the home of an old widow who was spared from a flood through divine intervention.

National park and infrastructure

Ba Bể National Park was established in 1992, it covers an area of 100.48 km². Facilities include an information center, guest houses, a lake management station, and an ecological research station opened in 2004.

Researches

External links

Bắc Kạn province official siteVietnam National Parks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ba Be National Park National parks of Vietnam Geography of Bắc Kạn province Protected areas established in 1992 Tourist attractions in Bắc Kạn province ASEAN heritage parks Ramsar sites in Vietnam