Vam Ho Bird Sanctuary is home to 500,000 storks and various other bird species in Vinh Long. Not too far from Ho Chi Minh City, this is a favorite destination for animal lovers, especially bird watchers. So don’t forget to visit this sanctuary whenever you have a chance to visit Mekong Delta.
What is the specialty of Vam Ho Bird Sanctuary?
Located along the banks of the Ba Lai River, Vam Ho Bird Sanctuary is an attractive ecotourism site established in May 1986 due to bird migration. It covers over 40 ha of nipa and date palms, which are ideal for birds to live in, especially storks and night herons. The local people planted over 7 ha of mangroves. They dug canals to take water from the Ba Lai River to Vam Ho and divided the sanctuary into five parts. They also built an anti-forest-fire dam around the sanctuary to protect the birds.
According to many experts, there are 120 different bird species with nearly half a million inhabitants, including storks, night herons, great cormorants, grey herons, white-faced ibis, lesser whistling ducks, and many kinds of wild animals such as pythons, snakes, squirrels, foxes, bats, and lizards.
Vam Ho is a mangrove area, with an average height of 1.25 meters above sea level. Vam Ho’s vegetation includes nipa palms, dates, mangrove trees… which are ideal for resident birds, build nests, and reproduce.
Inside the bird sanctuary is a system of canals crisscrossed like a spider web, so there are a lot of shrimp and fish, mainly goby fish, crabs, crayfish… which are a rich source of food for the birds and storks here.
Here, visitors can walk through the forest or sit back on a boat and appreciate the beauty of nature. The most interesting thing is in the afternoon, when the sun is about to set, visitors will hear the interesting “symphony” of thousands of birds of all kinds flying from all over, chirping together after a day of flying to search for food in all directions, and the sound of the herd preparing to flap its wings to search for food at night.
To serve the growing number of tourists, the local government has developed a farm area next to the bird sanctuary, where a variety of tropical fruits are grown. This ideal allows visitors to better understand the agricultural life of the people of the Mekong Delta region and experience the unique cultural features of the local cuisine. There are some folk games you should try, such as crossing the monkey bridge, crossing the lake by rope, and riding a cyclo… promising to refresh yourself on a Vietnam holiday trip.
What is the best time to visit Vam Ho Bird Sanctuary?
From April to October (lunar months) each year is the best time to visit the sanctuary. During this time, many bird species come here to breed and raise their young.
The early morning and late afternoon are the most active times for bird watching. At sunrise, thousands of birds fly out to find food, returning to their nests at sunset.
How to reach the sanctuary?
From Ho Chi Minh City, you need to buy a ticket to Ben Tre Ward, Vinh Long from the Western Bus Station. After arriving in Ben Tre Ward, you have to rent a motorbike or taxi to Vam Ho, which takes about 1 hour to drive.
Another way is to book a private car to Vam Ho to visit the sanctuary, so you can combine a visit to Vam Ho Bird Sanctuary with other destinations along the way.
Source: collected by An
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