Bạch Mã National Park
A central Vietnamese park with rich biodiversity and historic hill station ruins.
Nestled in central Vietnam between Huế and Danang, Bạch Mã National Park spans 220 square kilometers. Its layout includes a strictly protected core, an administrative zone, and a buffer area. Visitors can reach the park on foot, by moped, or using a guide’s vehicle.
Quick Facts
- Location
- Central Vietnam
- Nearest city
- Huế
- Established
- 1986
Facts from the source article.
History
In 1932, French engineer Girard selected the summit of Bạch Mã for a hill station serving the colonial administration of Hue. A village of 139 villas and hotels was built, along with a post office, market, and hospital, to avoid the steep 19 km commute. By 1937 it was called the "Dalat of central Vietnam" and hosted high-ranking French VIPs. The area saw fighting in the early 1950s. After independence, the villas were abandoned and are now in total ruin, with only a few stone walls remaining. The area was first protected as forest reserves in 1937, declared a protected area by South Vietnam in 1962, and established as a national park in 1986. Its forests suffered from defoliants like Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. In 2004, expansion was considered to create a corridor from the Laos border to the sea.
Environment
Bạch Mã National Park lies in the Annamite Mountains, one of the wettest places in Vietnam, with steep granite topography. Its position on the biogeographical border between northern and southern Vietnam, plus habitats from coast to high mountains, yields high biodiversity. The park is a center of plant diversity, with moist evergreen and montane forest, plus scrub and grassland where human disturbance is high. Mammals are not well known but historically included Asian elephant, white-cheeked gibbon, and red-shanked douc langur. Important bird species include Vietnamese endemics such as the Vietnamese crested argus, Annam partridge, and Edwards's pheasant, once thought extinct. The park is an Important Bird Area.
More in National Parks of Vietnam
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