The latter is one of the world’s rarest species and on the
brink of extinction. Flora and Fauna International is working with the park
authorities and other agencies to save this attractive creature. The lake
itself is really three lakes linked by wide channels. Overall, it’s about 7km
long and a kilometre across at its widest point, and contains around fifty
species of freshwater fish. The surface is nearly always calm, making a boat
trip a peaceful experience. In adddition, there are islands and caves to visit.
Within the park’s boundary there are a several small villages inhabited by
members of the Tay , Red Dao, Coin Dao and
White H’mong ethnic minorities. However, the colourful costumes typical of most
of these groups are seldom in evidence apart from performances and
demonstrations for tourists. Some of the villages offer basic, but reasonably
comfortable, homestays. An alternative is the park’s guesthouse, which provides
basic accommodation only. Elsewhere, there is limited local standard
accommodation in Cho Ra town, about 18km away outside the park. Ba Be can only
be reached by road - the 250km journey takes between six and eight hours. The
road gets rough along the latter part, but the excellent scenery compensates. An
interesting stop en-route is Thai Nguyen, a centre of heavy industry based on
steel manufacturing, and the unlikely home of the Museum
of Nationalities of Vietnam . It
provides an informative overview of the country’s many ethnic minorities,
particularly useful for visitors that haven"t already visited Hanoi "s excellent Ethnology Museum .
Further north is Cao Bang province, a remote area on the border with China . Cao Bang
is sparsely populated. It has very few large settlements but several ethnic
groups in villages hardly affected by tourism.The limestone ‘karst’ scenery is
attractive, unspoilt and fich in bio-diversity. Few visitors venture further north
than Ba Be, so Cao Bang vies with the remote northwest as one of the best
places to see truly authentic ethnic minority lifestyles. From Cao Bang, it’s
possible to loop round to the south via the border town of Lang
Son to Quang
Ninh Province
and Ha Long Bay.