Get Back to Nature: Visit ASEAN Heritage Garden in Tay Ninh Province

Recognised as an ASEAN Heritage Garden in October 2019, Lo Go - Xa Mat National Park has become one of 10 ASEAN Heritage Parks in the country. Photo: Nguyen Thanh Tuan

Situated around 30 kilometers to the northwest of Tay Ninh City, Lo Go - Xa Mat National Park is home to an abundance of rare fauna and flora. It has also been better protected thanks to a boost in local eco-tourism, according to VNA.

There are 934 different species of plants, along with 42 species of mammals, 203 bird species and 53 reptile species that have been recorded across the park’s area of 30,000 hectares.

It is also in the Lo Go - Xa Mat National Park that scientists found the nepenthes thorelii, or Thorel pitcher plant, which was thought to have been extinct for 100 years and is now classified as an endemic species.

The park also saw a rare flock of more than 1,000 storks migrate to the forest last summer. There haven't been many flocks of this size that stayed at the park for an extended period of time.

Asian openbill, scientifically known as Anatomus oscitans, is listed in Vietnam's Red Data Book as an endangered species facing high threat of extinction.

The national park has requested its forest protection team to increase surveillance and do all possible to keep the birds safe. For tourists who want to see the storks with their own eyes, the team will guide them to park from afar, move in small groups, and do not make noise.

Lo Go - Xa Mat National Park has a strictly protected area of more than 8,198ha. Photo: Nguyen Thanh Tuan

To protect this rare flock of storks, the park’s management board has closely monitored the situation and arranged patrols and provide guidance to minimise noise and negative effects on the birds, said Pham Xuan Thanh, director of the park’s Centre for Education and Forest Environment Services.

The Asian openbills have been spotted in Lo Go – Xa Mat since around the end of May and they normally remained here for no more than a month.

Several other rare animals residing in Lo Go - Xa Mat National Park include the black-shanked douc langur, the Indochinese silver langur, the sun bear, the red wolf, and the small loris, as well as the stump-tailed macaque, the lesser adjutant, the grey-cheeked tit-babbler, among others.

In addition to wildlife rescue, the park’s Department of Conservation Science and International Cooperation also takes care of several pheasants and Indian peafowls for research and educational purposes.

Visitors can walk or ride a bicycle through the forest – the route length is 24km. Photo: Portal of Lo Go - Xa Mat National Park

Thanh told Nong nghiep (Agriculture) newspaper that “We are not only working to conserve the existing species but also receive rescued wildlife, taking care of them and releasing them back to nature at Lo Go - Xa Mat.”

The national park also offers a wide range of activities for visitors, including sightseeing around the signature forest habitats, cycling along a 24km route through the woods, and learning about the wartime Central Office for South Vietnam, which was based in the forest area.

Thuy, one of the 30-people group travelling to Lo Go - Xa Mat said, “Life is full of hustle and bustle, so being in the forest calms us down and lets us immerse ourselves in nature.”

Having walked through 10km in the national park, Bich Hong is still full of energy and excited about the experience.

“This is the first time I've visited Lo Go - Xa Mat National Park. It's an eco-tourism spot that still keeps its natural values. I hope that the park’s staff will always maintain these natural characteristics,” she shared.

Photo: Portal of Lo Go - Xa Mat National Park

According to Au Phuoc Quy, chief of the local forest rangers, the national park is better protected thanks to tourism activities.

“Forest rangers are always on patrol even without eco-tourism. But in addition to law enforcers, the daily presence of dozens of visitors also discourages potential criminals and helps detect wrongdoings,” he said.

Since the locality boosted tourism to the national park in 2016, forest violations have witnessed a significant decrease and are not as alarming as in the past.

The People’s Committee of Tay Ninh province has also approved two projects on eco-tourism and on developing the buffer zone of Lo Go - Xa Mat National Park in the 2023-30 period.

The objective is to invest and effectively utilise the tourism potential of the area, while also preserving its natural values and ecological environment.

More than 1,000 Asian openbills, an endangered species in Vietnam, are gathering at a savanna called Ta Not inside the Lo Go – Xa Mat National Park in the southeastern province of Tay Ninh. Photo: Portal of Lo Go - Xa Mat National Park

Photo: Portal of Lo Go - Xa Mat National Park

Bordering Cambodia to the north and the west, the park covers a total area of over 30,000ha in the communes of Tan Lap, Tan Binh, Hoa Hiep, Thanh Tay, Thanh Bac, and Thanh Binh in Tan Bien district.

The forest was formerly home to a resistance base and the headquarters of the revolution in the south during resistance wars against French and American aggressors and boasts famous sites such as the Central Office for South Vietnam and a tunnel network.

Lo Go - Xa Mat National Park expects to welcome 40,000 visitors per year by 2023, which is estimated to bring in VND 52 billion (USD 2.2 million) in annual revenue.

Located in the southern key economic region with a 240km-long border with Cambodia, Tay Ninh has 16 border gates, including two international border gates of Moc Bai and Xa Mat that directly connect Ho Chi Minh City with Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh.

Tay Ninh is also located on the Trans-Asia route, which is an important lifeline in organising tours between Vietnam and ASEAN countries.

An observation tower to spot fires at the Lo Go-Xa Mat National Park in the southern province of Tay Ninh. Photo: Nguyen Thanh Tuan

For tourism in this border region to develop sustainably, in the immediate future, the tourism industry will develop synchronously, connect and effectively exploit "return to the source" tours. In which, connecting the Central Base of the Southern Department with the relic of Tay Ninh Provincial Party Committee Base at Boi Loi, An Thoi Tunnels, Kim Quang Cave Base, the Junction City Victory historical relic site, Loi Thuan tunnel, and Hiep Ninh communal house.

In addition, the province's tourism industry also develops eco-tourism and historical, cultural tourism associated with the Lo Go - Xa Mat ASEAN Heritage Park. Promoting strengths such as trips along Vam Co Dong river, combined with Lam Thon dance exchange of Khmer ethnic people, will be a great highlight of experience tourism; encouraging accommodation business establishments to invest in and upgrade their facilities and services.

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