Given hot weather in Saigon, it would be perfect to travel to the forests of Bidoup Nui Ba National Park in the Central Highlands.
Two days and one night would be good for exploring the park. It is recommended that tourists form a group and ask rangers at the park to finish paperwork for visiting the park and guide the tour. Bidoup Nui Ba National Park covers parts of Dam Rong and Lac Duong districts in the province of Lam Dong. Established in 2004, the park is named after the two highest peaks of the Langbiang plateau, Bidoup at the height of 2,287 meters and Ba at 2,167 meters. After arriving in Dalat City in the morning, tourists should follow Provincial Road 723 to reach Klong Klanh ranger station. The natural atmosphere of trees and grass along the way will blow away tiredness and bring tourists back to nature.
Trekking along the way to the park, tourists will see diversified flora like Tenasserim pine, poisonous Gelsemium elegans with beautiful yellow flowers, and oak. They can even find yellow maple leaves. What can makes the trip more interesting is walnuts scattering on the ground. In high season, walnuts fall all over the forests, providing an abundant source of food for squirrels. Sometimes, tourists hear birds singing and wild boars roaring. If tourists visit the park in the right time, they can see a beautiful picture of rhododendron flowers blooming and turning the entire forest into a colorful painting. In case it rains, the journey will be tougher due to the wet ground and terrestrial leeches. Before approaching the peak, tourists will have to negotiate several passes.Tourists can ask the ranger tour guide to help set up the camp, and cook food to stay for the night in the park. Watching the sunrise in the forest is a thrilling experience, as the sun beams its first rays of the day through fresh canopies which are still wet due to the night dew, creating a breathtaking beauty which words cannot describe.
Local authorities are asking UNESCO to recognize Bidoup Nui Ba National Park as a world biosphere reserve. The park is now the place for conserving wild tropical forests, mountains and wild animals which are exotic in the region, contributing to the biological preservation of Dalat Plateau, the Central Highlands and south-central region. Walking down from the mountain, tourists can admire a Fokienia tree which is over 1,300 years old and more than 40 meters high. It needs more than three people to stretch arm-to-arm to wrap around its trunk. Keep going down, tourists will see the vast green pine forest, a perfect place for a break.
Coming to Bidoup Nui Ba National Park, tourists will also have the opportunity to explore the life of K’Ho ethnic community by the foot of the mountain next to Da Nhim Stream. There, tourists can taste the local food and try weaving brocade. The best time for visiting the park is from December to April. It is not recommended to come to the place between early September and late October as it is the rainy season.
