Ta Kou Nature Reserve

About 30km south of the coastal city of Phan Thiet is Ta Kou Nature Reserve - Ham Thuan Nam District, Binh Thuan. Bung Thi - an area with many interesting things in this reserve - is our destination on a motorbike trip to explore the landscape here.

 

Winding through the small road gradually leaving the residential areas, passing through the dragon fruit fields in bloom, the forest was already green before our eyes. Bung Thi, the name of this forest area originally came from the fact that there were many banyan trees growing among the white sand dunes stretching next to the large brackish water swamp (bung) system near the foot of Ta Kou mountain. There are four main sand dunes, long and narrow, winding around the swamp system in the middle of Ta Kou forest, looking down from above like giant rows of potatoes in the middle of a field. The sand dunes are slightly raised in the middle, on which grow dense thorny bushes - a characteristic of the savanna ecosystem. Along both edges of the sand dunes, the land is slightly sunken, consisting of a strip of dry dipterocarp forest. On the banks of the swamp are tangled vines of all kinds: fern, pitcher plant, morning glory… and on the surface of the swamp grow tall grass with yellow flowers, swaying in the wind, dancing wildly. It is a strange forest because there are 3 adjacent ecosystems: savanna - dipterocarp forest - brackish swamp.

We carefully crossed the sandy trail for about 2km to reach the Bung Thi ranger post. This is the campsite and overnight stop in the forest. There is a small stream of fresh, cool, and clear water running along the edge of the lagoon. In this area, people also discovered a source of hot mineral water in 1997. When the geological survey team drilled an exploratory well, hot water kept gushing out from that well until today.

 

Next to the water source, a small artificial lake containing hot water has been created for visitors to soak and relax. In addition, there are a few hot foot bath spots for visitors. We set up a tent, stretched a hammock under a large banyan tree near the hot water lake and lit a fire to grill chicken. The forest was deserted, only the two of us and "Tang" - my little dog - were by the fire. We took turns tending the fire and diving into the hot mineral pool in the middle of the sky. Another strange thing was that in the middle of the hot and brackish mineral water underground, people had drilled a well of fresh and cool water. After soaking in the hot mineral water 3 times and rinsing our bodies with fresh and cool water, we enjoyed dinner in the wild and quiet space of the mountains and forests.

Heritage Magazine