Hiking and Camping at Bach Ma National Park

All my research said it was not possible to camp in Vietnam, nor was it possible to hike to the summit of Bach Ma National Park, but being the stubborn fools that we are, and being determined to get some use out of the tent that we’ve carried from England for three months in our backpacks, Ric and I managed to do both.

Bach Ma National Park is located on National Highway 1, 60km north of Da Nang, 40km south of Hue. Home to 300 species of birds and thousands of species of plants, it seemed like the perfect place for us to get off the beaten track for a few days and chill with nature. Unfortunately it didn’t go quite so smoothly.

In Hue we were finding it difficult to get any straightforward information about the park. The problem with being a tourist is that we don’t speak Vietnamese, and the only people who speak English are those working for tour agencies and hotels, who want you to pay to go on their tours, use their buses and line their pockets with a nice commission. Thank Buddha for the Internet.

We arrived at the town of Cau Hai on National Highway 1 and walked 3km through quiet, rural streets to Bach Ma National Park’s entrance and visitor information centre where we were issued a map and warned against hiking up to the summit as it was too hot. We didn’t take the park ranger’s advice (like I said, we are stubborn), and refused the park’s transport up the mountain. The only transport permitted to use the park road is the employees private vehicles and the park’s own tourist car service. The car costs $30/£18 each way for the 17km journey, extortionate by Vietnam standards.

So we set off walking…

What we didn’t realise at the time was that Bach Ma National Park is not designed for hikes to the summit. The only way up is along a winding concrete road with almost no shade from the blistering tropical sun. After 5km climbing steadily at a 10% incline we were gasping, dripping with sweat and kicking ourselves for not listening to the park ranger’s advice.

View of the summit from the road.

We took a trail off the road down to ‘Pheasant Falls’ a stunning natural waterfall with deep, clear pools where we swam, ate lunch and rested in the shade. The only downside to this little patch of heaven was that it took us 1.5km down the mountainside, so we had to climb all the way back up again to resume our route to the summit.

Cooling down in one of the pools at Pheasant Falls.

The 14km from the park entrance to our campsite offered us some stunning views of the coastline and the surrounding mountains, however, it was difficult to enjoy in the 37 degree heat. We stopped and crouched under every tiny inch of shade and tried to catch our breath. During the seven hours it took us the reach the top we saw only five people, all of whom were driving down the mountain on motorbikes. As there are no shops or restaurants along the road we had to climb up trickling waterfalls and fill our water bottles in order to keep hydrated. Not for the faint hearted!

Just as the sun had disappeared behind the mountains we saw the first restaurant and guest house, 14km from the entrance, 1,400m meters above sea level. The staff there were really kind to us, letting us camp for free, use the restaurant bathroom to freshen up, even allowing us to use their kitchen to heat up our packed lunch! As we sat eating dinner the sky all around us flashed with an impressive lightning storm. Fortunately, the storm never reached our altitude and we slept under a star-filled clear sky.

Our well traveled tent.

After a fitful sleep on the cold ground (my roll mat was stolen in Cambodia), we got up at 5am and completed our hike to the summit, a further 3.5km uphill. The panoramic view from the top was certainly beautiful in the early morning haze and there was even a massive bell for me to give a celebratory dong! After a light breakfast of what little food we had left, we hot footed it back down the mountain hoping to get down before the heat of the sun made it slow torture like the previous day.

During our time in the national park we saw some really weird bugs that I can’t begin to identify: the fluorescent green flying thing the size of a sparrow that preceded us down to the waterfall; the enormous praying mantis that slept on the roof of our tent (on the outside, thankfully); the hundreds of tiny spiders with really long legs that made the forest floor seem alive; as well as several types of birds I’ve never seen before.

We made it back to the park entrance too tired and aching to walk the extra three kilometres to the road and so asked the man in the visitor centre to call us a taxi. Clearly spotting an opportunity, he took us on the back of his motorbike, completely ripping us off in the process. After a 40km round trip hike we had very little bargaining power and no energy to argue, and so handed over the cash and made a hasty getaway on the local bus.

The horrid road up mountain in the foreground. Cau Hai Lagoon in the distance and the South China Sea on the horizon.

The hike was certainly an achievement for the both of us; the heat made it so difficult. When even ever-encouraging Ric started to question whether or not we’d make it to the top I began to worry, but once again it was proof of what incredible things we can achieve if we push ourselves beyond our limits. The next day descending in the shadows of the mountain before the sun had fully risen we made it down in just 3.5 hours, half the time it took us to climb up.

Although the views were lovely and insect and plant life was very interesting, it really wasn’t a pleasant walk up the concrete road and the cost of the transport up to the summit isn’t justified. But at least we got to use our tent!

Dawn at the summit.

How to get to…

Bach Ma National Park:

-          Local buses going between Hue and Da Nang will drop you at Cau Hai market for approx 60,000VND ($3/£1.80). Buses depart from Hue at the southern bus terminal at the end of Huong Vong. In Cau Hai there’s no shortage of moto-taxi offering their services to take you to the park entrance for around 20,000VND ($1/£0.60), or you can walk.

-          Tourist buses (Sinh Tourist, Han Café, etc.) will drop you at the end of Duong Bach Ma (road) which leads directly to the park entrance. They depart from the city centre and are well worth paying the extra dollar for the AC and additional comfort compared to the local buses.

-          Private taxis from Hue cost in excess of £40/£24. Moto-taxis cost approx. $30/£18.

We stayed at…

We camped in front of Bo Quyen Villa, the first guest house you arrive at on the road to the summit. We camped for free but rooms there are expensive, starting at $35/£21.

Vinh Long and Ben Tre, Vietnam's Mekong Delta

Leaving the luxury of Holiday One Hotel in Can Tho, we took the local bus to Vinh Long, about 45km east. For once, the bus dropped us in the central bus station. Usually we get dropped in the middle of nowhere, without a map, and have to rely on over-charging moto-taxi drivers to take us to the centre (we ask for the market which tends to be the central hub of any town). It made a nice change to be able to walk away from the bus station and find our way around but the downside of walking to your own choice of hotel is that the heat of the day is unforgiving when you're carrying 15kg on your back. 

Eventually we found a hotel, showered and explored the small riverside town. The market was a chaotic hive of activity with stalls spilling out down the narrow lanes surrounding it, selling everything from roast duck heads to rice tacos. To cool down we stopped for an ice coffee at a riverside cafe.

No other country in the world (that I have visited) has such a coffee culture as Vietnam. From road side stalls to expansive elegant gardens, Vietnamese coffee is everywhere. Coffee cafes (selling only coffee, as the name suggests) are everywhere, they outnumber restaurants by at least ten to one and are always packed with people no matter what the time of day. Vietnam is the second biggest exporter of coffee after Brasil and its brew is served strong, sweet and black. It comes in a metal filter, hot, along with a tankard of ice so you can cool it down once it has completely filtered through. If you ask for milk you get a dense slug of condensed milk at the bottom of your glass. The combination of strong coffee and sickly sweet milk is as delicious as it is addictive.

Ca Phe Sua - Vietnamese coffee with sweet milk.

 We booked on to a tour of the river islands and floating market for the next day. Private boats were $25 or a group tour was $6 per person. We went for the cheap option but when it came to get on the boat in the morning we found we were the only people booked on the tour! We got a private tour for the price of a group tour. We set off along the river and stopped at a local market for breakfast where for about 40p we got a meat baguette and some coconut milk rice cakes. 

The produce at the local market couldn't get much fresher!

We crossed the Mekong and passed floating excavators that were removing sand from the bottom of the river. The sand is used for building and even for cooking as a substitute for oil.

Next, we went around Cai Be floating market. It wasn't as busy or as touristy as Cai Rang floating market in Can Tho and felt more authentic. The boats sold wholesale fruit and vegetables which are sold on at the local markets in the surrounding towns.

Boat selling a variety of fruit.

Cai Be floating market, Vinh Long.

After the market we stopped at some factories to learn about the production of local products including coconut caramels, rice paper, rice wine and popped rice crackers. It was interesting to see how no material is wasted; even the flesh from the coconuts and the husks from the rice are dried and burned as fuel. At the factory we saw the rice wine that Ric got drunk on at Mui Nai beach in Ha Tien. It's made from dried sticky rice and bananas and is flavoured with different fruits or snakes! We tried some rice wine with fermented poisonous snakes, yummy! 

Snake wine.

 We made the most of the free samples of all the delicacies, walked through the village and then boarded our boat once again for a relaxing cruise through the canals to a river island where we stopped to have lunch at a homestay set in tropical gardens and fruit orchards.

Ric enjoying the boat trip.

 The people at the homestay dropped us off at the local bus stop and we caught a local bus to the next town in the delta, Ben Tre.

Arriving in Ben Tre was a little bit more complicated than our arrival in Vinh Long. The bus took us to an intercity bus station in the middle of nowhere, they must have thought we were catching the bus straight to Saigon as no tourists ever visit Ben Tre, least of all on the local bus! Following quite a kerfuffle in the bus station, where nobody spoke English, we eventually got back on another bus and got off in the middle of town. Our problems didn't end there; once we got to the centre we couldn't find a hotel anywhere and the only person we could find who spoke English was a very pushy tout for a local homestay, who wanted to charge us the equivalent of two days budget for a one night stay. 

One hour and several litres of sweat later, we found a bed for the night and set off to explore the town. The waterfront was alive with a vibrant night market selling clothes, shoes and accessories. It really felt like we were off the tourist trail as people in the streets would stop and stare at us. 

We later found out that there are several hotels around a small lake just two blocks back from the river, too bad there wasn't anybody around able to tell us that when we were roaming the streets asking for a hotel!

Ben Tre's small lake, fringed with hotels and coffee cafes.

After nine nights in the Mekong Delta region we were ready to move on to the bright lights of Saigon. We'd crossed into Vietnam at Ha Tien, then stopped at Chau Doc, Can Tho, Vinh Long and Ben Tre. In some places we felt like we were the only tourists in town, in the last two places I'm certain that we were. It's been nice meandering slowly through the rivers and canals of the delta, we've enjoyed the laid back pace of life in the small towns and have been blown away by the kindness and welcoming attitude of the locals, even in the absence of a common language to communicate in. We've traveled on local transport as the high-priced tourist buses don't run much further south than Ho Chi Min City (Saigon). It's been a fun, cheap, sweaty, uncomfortable and interesting experience. On the bus between Chau Doc and Can Tho, for example, the driver and several of the passengers chain smoked for most of the three hour journey, whilst incense burned en masse on the dash; and we shared the back seat of the bus to Ben Tre with a drunk man asleep between us, who flopped alternately onto our shoulders every time we rounded a bend.