Passion on the land of Hau Giang

Besides famous tourist sites such as Nga Bay floating market, Uncle Ho’s Temple, Relic of Can Tho provincial party committee’s military base, Hoa Luu-Vi Thanh bushy area … there are two remarkable ecotourism resorts in Hau Giang province: Tay Do ecotourist entertainment resort, nature reserve of Ngoc Hoang swamp.

Tay Do entertainment ecotourist resort, locates next to the national highway number 61 in Tan Binh Commune, has been put into operation since 2001. In the resort there are houses with modern architecture including: restaurants, halls, popular homestays, homestays designed as communal houses of the Highland in fresh atmosphere.

Following the concrete path to the inner resort, you must pass the model of “My Thuan cable bridge” to penetrate “countryside culture”. The bridge is over a large lake, and cycling boats are drifting under it. The lake is connected to a labyrinth of zigzagging water ways leading to the shadowed banks: seasonal mulberry, coconut, hog plum, mangosteen, durian ect.

Travelling further, you will be at orchards of longans and local cherries. Under the shadow of orchards, you can have dreams when lying and taking a nap in a hammock swaying in breezes. If you like, you can sit in one-horse, or two-horse drawn carriages listening to the rattling sounds of horse steps arousing melancholy, or visiting cages raising Tibetan bears, Malayan bears, weasel bears, pythons, stream tortoise, common pheasants, varans, …

It’s convenient to go to Tay Do eco-resort thanks to the bus route from Can Tho City or Vi Thanh town in operation all day.

The place for real ecotourism in Hau Giang is Flooded Land Reserve of Ngoc Hoang swamp also in Phung Hiep district. Ngoc Hoang swamp covering an area of nearly 300,000 ha, from the west of Hau River to U Minh (Kien Giang province) is a flooded area regarded as very important to the environment, the “green lung” of the whole Mekong Delta. Ngoc Hoang swamp is still a vast, wild area in immense sky and water with dense rush and reed swamps.

Tourists can explore Ngoc Hoang swamp by boat along the canals and ditches viewing shady banks and welcomed by dark-purple corn-flowers. In the inner of the forrest, you will see huge melaleuca trunks as big as a round arm, rising up straightly to the sky and their foot soaking in water.

This is the habitat of many rare and precious creatures including over 300 types of plants and more than 200 animal species. There are 9 rare and precious bird species: great tit, swamp hen, snail stork, milky stork, pink stork, magpie, black-necked grebe, but most common of all is heron – each flock consists of thousands of individuals. There are 5 other rare and precious animals: otter, clawed otter, dog bat, black weasel, cat fox; 10 typical reptiles: bongar, krait, yellow tortoise, black-shell tortoise.

Additionally, there are 77 aquatic species. That is why Ngoc Hoang swamp has been famous for the greatest home of fishes, snakes, wild animals in the Mekong Delta. Climbing to the observatory in the middle of the forrest, you may have the feeling of living in the age before creation when viewing bird flying out to hunt in the morning or coming back in the evening.

Tourits can also sit in leaf- huts fishing pleasantly. You shall enjoy a delicious dish of countryside taste with your fish thanks to the clever cook.

With rare advantages, Ngoc Hoang swamp used to be given a special care of Ex-Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet. He directed the regenerating and embalancing the ecosystem to create attractive environment for tourism so that people can enjoy their holidays and entertainment. He also ordered scientists to study the place’s biodiversity to mangage and use the resort sustainably.

It is regretful that nothing has been done so far in Ngoc Hoang swamp except a smooth asphalt road was built through trees and canals to invite tourists.

(source: Can Tho newspaper)