Thung Nham Bird Park: Discover The Land of A Thousand Birds

Thung Nham Bird Park is about 12 km east of Ninh Binh city center, located in the core area of Trang An scenic complex, and next to the famous tourist area Tam Coc - Bich Dong. This place is the home to many famous and rare types of birds in Vietnam. With the wilderness, unspoiled and unique beauty, Thung Nam has been an attractive tourist destination for both domestic and foreign visitors.

Charlotte Pho

October 20, 2022 | 06:07

Driving about 4km from Bich Dong Pagoda, you will arrive at Thung Nham Bird Park – the home of thousands of birds. Thung Nham is the contiguous place between Hoa Lu district and Gia Vien, Nho Quan, and Tam Diep city districts, which all belong to Ninh Binh. It is home to 46 bird species with about 50,000 individuals, popularly storks, herons, silver teals, white-rumped shamas, etc. Many of these are recorded in Viet Nam Red Book, a list of Vietnam's most rarest creatures.

Photo: @thungnhamecotourismzone

Thung Nham is also home to 109 species of plants, and 150 species of animals, including 58 species of fish, 7 species of frogs, 10 species of mammals, etc, which need to be preserved and developed.

The name “Thung Nham” originates from the topographical features of this place, in which “Thung” means valley, and “Nham” is lava, rocky mountain, or also the name of Hai Nham village, which is located in Ninh Hai commune.

You can visit Thung Nham Bird Park at anytime or season during the year. However, autumn is said to be the perfect moment to see this place, as the weather is cool and comfortable enough to travel around, and watch the birds fly in the blue sky.

Photo: @thungnhamecotourismzone

There are two moments for you to see the flock of birds flying in the early morning when they leave the nest to feed, and in the late afternoon, when the birds return to rest.

Visit Bird Park, you should go around 5 pm when birds come back to their nests after finding food. The season has the biggest amount of birds here is autumn ( from July to September). However, if you do not have enough time, you still can visit here from 2 – 3 pm to come back to Hanoi before evening.

How to visit Thung Nham Bird Park

Photo: Hanoi Explore Travel

From Hanoi, you can travel by either bus, motorbike, or personal vehicle. With a distance of about 112 km, it will not be difficult to drive here, and the road is safe and convenient.

If you travel by bus or train, you can catch a taxi to Ninh Binh through the Highway. From Ninh Binh, it will only take you about a few hours to drive to Thung Nham Bird Park, which is about 12 km.

As for those who love backpacking, you can ride a motorbike from Hanoi along National Highway 1A to Ninh Binh.

Photo: @thungnhamecotourismzone

What to prepare before visiting Thung Nham Bird Park

Bring enough drinks and snacks to boost your energy while traveling.

Do not forget your anti-bug spray. Because of the climate there, there will be a lot of insects and bugs.

Bring your hat, raincoat, or umbrella in case the weather changes.

Wear light clothes and sports shoes, so it will be easy for you to move around and walk long ways.

You will also need a map to find the way around Thung Nham Bird Park, so you can freely explore the place without getting lost.

What to do in Thung Nham?

Photo: Ninh Binh Motorbike

As an ecological tourist area spreading over 334 hectares, Thung Nham bird park has many beautiful poetic places that you cannot ignore. If you do not have much time, you should go to at least 3 locations as follows.

Buddha Cave

The cave is a natural rock cave 500m long in the Thung Nham bird tourism site. In the cave, there is a Buddha-shaped rock on the river which is very beautiful. Buddha Cave is dark and there is no lighting system, so you will have to take a flashlight.

Vai Gioi Cave

Vai Gioi is a cave located on a high mountain, about 5000 m2 wide with 3 floors divided into “World, Hell, and Paradise”, containing many stalactites and stalagmites. It is said that this is the place where occurred the sacrifices of the ancient people for the rain, for good weather, and for bumper harvests. Visitors who join in Ninh Binh tour to Thung Nham bird park almost visit this site to wish for a pleasant trip.

After going through the gate 500m, you will turn right to the cave. If you have overcome 439 steps of challenging stairs, you will reach the door of the cave.

Bird garden

Photo: Northern Vietnam

This is definitely the most important destination of Thung Nham bird sanctuary in Ninh Binh Vietnam. A bird garden is a living space for many birds such as storks, herons, mallards, forktails, etc. Especially, there are also two rare species in the Red Data Book, flamingo, and Phoenix. The monumental limestone mountains reflected on the blue water with the flock of birds create a rarely peaceful and poetic scenery.

The best time to visit the bird garden is in the autumn when the weather is cold, about 5 pm when the birds find food. However, if you cannot arrange the time, you can come between 5 am and 7 am or between 4 pm and 6 pm to see birds flying.

Photo: Camnhi

If you have more time, you should visit the full list of other places at Thung Nham Bird Park, such as Tien Ca Cave, Garden area, Thuy Cung Cave, Trees moving, Valley of love, etc.

In the Thung Nham tourist area, there are full of catering and accommodation services including the stilt house (single room, the double room with closed toilet, full facilities), dining area, conference room, karaoke, swimming pool, and huts around the lake to sit and drink.