08/01/2022
Thung Nham Bird Garden (BG) ecotourist area is roughly 12km East of Ninh Bình City and fully nested within the core of Tràng An Natural Compound near the iconic Tam Cốc - Bích Động area. Thung Nham is also respectably known as the realm of birds and thus an appealing ecotourist area.
Spanning a total area of 334,2 ha, Thung Nham BG was restored and modeled in ecotourist architecture, including a fishing area, orchard tourist area, mangrove tours, primordial forests, caves, wild BGs and hiking services. The most notable spot is Thung Nham Bird Reserve. The Garden is a habitat for a number of species, including stork, crane, common starling, magpies, Eurasian teals and phoenix or flamingo, all of which are classified in Red List.
Should time not matter, visitors may drop in other spots of Thung Nham BG, including Vái Giời Grotto, Buddha Cave, Mermaid Grotto, orchards, water palace grotto, the moving banyan, the millennium old toothbrush tree or valley of love…
At the Thung Nham Bird Reserve, visitors can explore nature and watch birds fly in the sky
Vái Giời Grotto is perched atop mountains, spanning around 5,000 sqm and hosting numerous mystic stalactites. The Grotto is layered into three realms of the Mundane World, Heaven and Hell. Visitors to Thung Nham BG duly visit this Grotto to pray for a smooth journey.
The moving banyan is a perennial banyan tree spanning a thousand years. This banyan tree has moved three times around an ancient pagoda and was said to have taken over 300 years to complete the move by researchers and archeologists.
The orchards span over 80,000 sqm for a variety of fruits, including apples, guavas, star fruits, mangoes, persimmons, litchis or sugar apples… Here visitors should feel free to get closer to nature, relish fine fruits and get engaged in farming like genuine farmers.
Buddha Cave is a natural cave stretching 500 m in Thung Nham BG. The Cave hosts an ossified stalactite of the Buddha sitting by a subterranean river. The cave is dark without lighting system. Visitors are required to bring torches to facilitate the visit.
Thung Nham BG ecotourist area also is fully equipped with accommodation and catering services, including communal stilt houses, private stilt houses, a dining hall, meeting hall, karaoke room, swimming pool, huts around the lake to rest and drink... that prove well suited for visitors and guests.
The foods at Thung Nham BG are also big plus as they are rustic and well preserved, notably delicacies of the former citadel such as scorched rice, goat meat, grilled fish, steamed fish, chicken and organic vegetables and fruits. More specifically, all foods are subsistent at the complex, so visitors should be comfortable with their hygiene and sanitation and overall quality.
Minh Thu - Xuân Thang
(Source: Vietnam Environment Administration Magazine, English Edition IV-2021)