The first time I learned about Bu Gia Map from a program on VTV2, I just found the name funny. But many years later, I set foot here and fell in love with this land. Bu Gia Map, it is not clear where the name comes from. Some people say it is a mispronunciation of the Stieng language, which often has the words Bu Gia and Gia Mac. There is also information that Bu means "village", and Gia Map is a proper name.
Bu Gia Map National Park is located in Binh Phuoc province, nearly 200 km north of Ho Chi Minh City, sharing part of the forest area with neighboring Dak Nong province and separated from the Cambodian border by the Border Patrol Road, running parallel to the natural border of the Dak Huyt River.
Streams, waterfalls and rich flora and fauna
With an area of about 26,000 hectares, Bu Gia Map's "specialties" are its breathtaking streams and waterfalls. Perhaps thanks to the forest's many large ancient trees and many layers of vegetation, it helps retain the natural water for the forest to use all year round - a valuable feature of tropical evergreen forests. Hundreds of kilometers of streams meander throughout the forest, creating an interesting new path while avoiding the hungry leeches waiting under the layers of dry leaves on the ground.
Do you know why walking in a stream is more interesting than walking on land? If you ignore the cool feeling of the water, walking underwater is definitely more attractive, making me walk all day in the stream and still not feel bored. Walking in water, you can't see what your next step will encounter, it could be a deep puddle, a slippery moss patch, a rotten tree or a sharp stone. Because you don't know what's ahead, you have to walk very slowly and steadily. That feeling is like you are practicing meditation, putting all your consciousness into each step and always being ready to accept a challenge ahead.
Bu Gia Map is also a conservation area for many endangered species of flora and fauna such as the five-colored langur, the yellow-cheeked gibbon, and rare orchids of Vietnam and Asia. According to biodiversity statistics in 2012, Bu Gia Map National Park has more than 1,100 species of plants along with more than 100 species of mammals, 240 species of birds, and 270 species of insects. Among them, there are endemic species named after this National Park such asCyrtodactylus bugiamapensis, Camellia bugiamapensis…
Misty dawns, night hunts
You can choose a much higher position to see this rich forest from above, in the early morning with the cool mist and the clear call of the langurs, enjoy a cup of hot tea and breathe the fresh air. There is no phone signal, no Internet, leaving behind the hustle and bustle of the city. Your five senses seem to blend in this primitive space.
At night, without electricity, we took a few flashlights and walked along the road near the ranger station to “hunt for night animals”, or more precisely, hunt with our eyes because no one brought a camera. Just look, to feel the life that still happens strongly and colorfully at night.
Meal in the forest of the Stieng people
Coming to Bu Gia Map is also an opportunity to enjoy the special dishes of the Stieng people such as thut soup, cooked by putting ingredients into bamboo tubes and using the thut stick many times to mix the ingredients together. Bamboo tubes are used to cook soup and other dishes, while bamboo is used to cook delicious sticky rice. This sticky rice dish is often eaten with grilled pork or chicken, which is equally special with a crispy golden skin. Or you can also save a portion of sticky rice for the next day's forest trip to eat with peanut salt, after a few dozen kilometers through the forest, it is truly heavenly.
Bu Gia Map is like a hospitable and generous host, giving away all its precious products to visitors from afar. The friendly forest rangers and the simple, gentle Stieng people make each return trip promise another trip, together being embraced by Mother Nature.
More information
To visit Bu Gia Map National Park, you can contact the Park Management Board office in Bu Gia Map commune, Phuoc Long district, Binh Phuoc province.
Popular waterfalls: Luu Ly Waterfall, Dak Manh Waterfall, Dak Bo Waterfall
