Return to "Southern Forest Land": Sweet scent of U Minh Ha forest

Kinhtedothi - U Minh Ha Forest is an ideal eco-tourism destination, very suitable for those who love exploring wild and adventurous nature. Coming to Ca Mau, visitors can join the trip to explore U Minh Ha National Park with many interesting and unforgettable experiences.

Kinhtedothi - U Minh Ha Forest is an ideal eco-tourism destination, very suitable for those who love exploring wild and adventurous nature. Coming to Ca Mau, visitors can join the trip to explore U Minh Ha National Park with many interesting and unforgettable experiences.

U Minh Ha National Park (photo of Ca Mau Electronic Information Center portal)

Rich forest products

U Minh Ha National Park with an area of ​​8,527.8 hectares, belongs to the administrative boundaries of 4 communes in 2 districts Tran Van Thoi and U Minh, Ca Mau province. Located in the west of the province, about 25km from Ca Mau city, it takes more than 30 minutes by car, visitors will reach U Minh Ha National Park.

U Minh Ha National Park is recognized by UNESCO as one of the three core areas of the Ca Mau Cape World Biosphere Reserve (photo by Hoang Nam)

Here, Ca Mau people are still preserving the inherent unique freshwater ecosystem intact. Notably, the Melaleuca forest ecosystem is formed in flooded and alum conditions. Beneath the soil layer is a layer of peat formed from vegetation hundreds of years ago, with melaleuca trees growing naturally on top. Melaleuca is considered a typical tree of the Mekong Delta region. U Minh Ha Forest is the natural green lungs of humans. On May 26, 2009, U Minh Ha National Park was recognized by UNESCO as one of the three core areas of the Cape Ca Mau World Biosphere Reserve.

U Minh Ha has an extremely rich and diverse flora and fauna system living in symbiosis: nearly 250 species of plants, 182 species of birds, 20 species of reptiles and amphibians, 40 species of mammals and many other insect species, in There are many species recorded in the red book of the International Organization for Conservation of Nature.

Le le, a type of bird that is good at swimming, flying and diving, is abundant in the nature of U Minh Ha forest (photo by Hoang Nam)

Monkeys in U Minh Ha forest, according to Forest Protection staff here, may still have some individuals of the ape-monkey family that are among the world's rarest groups. (photo of Ca Mau Information Portal)

Currently, U Minh Ha forest and the buffer zone are also places that provide abundant fish species such as snakehead fish, cotton fish, strabismus fish, yellow catfish, butterfly iron... for consumers. Every year, about 60,000 tons of fish of all kinds are exported to markets inside and outside the province.

Coot, a wild bird of U Minh Ha forest.

In particular, recently, many wild animals have reappeared in U Minh Ha Melaleuca forest, notably there are many deer and wild boars - wild animals that were thought to be "missing". ” after years of war and human hunting.

Experience being a "U Minh citizen"

Coming to U Minh Ha Forest, visitors will have extremely interesting experiences because of its wild but extremely unique features that cannot be found anywhere else. There will be nothing more interesting than floating on canoes along the canals deep into the forest.

Set up a trap to catch eels in U Minh forest (filmed by Hoang Nam)

The deeper you go, the more tourists can fully understand the wild beauty of U Minh Ha. You will be able to see the extremely diverse and rich flora and fauna. Listening to Uncle Ba Phi's anecdotal stories associated with the lives of Ca Mau people since the time when ancestors colonized the land in the South: cobras walking on cajuput buds, turtles pushing boats, eating deer tongues, snakehead fish eating dried coconuts...

Visitors can rent a canoe and find a convenient location in the forest to fish, set a line, set a hook or set their own net. There are a lot of fish here, so it is not difficult for visitors to find a basket full of fish after the trip. If you are lucky, you can also catch snakehead fish, thick fish weighing around 1kg, sometimes up to 2 - 3kg. Or more adventurous, experience going with the people into the forest to eat bees, catch eels, fish..., go pick buds, tubers, lotus, water lily, toad buds... to make a delicious drink.

Visitors can also follow the beekeepers into the forest to collect honey, which is both an exciting and thrilling experience. They can also enjoy freshly cut young bees and add a little sticky golden honey.

Preparing to go to the forest to guard bees (photo Hoang Nam)

After the trip through the forest, visitors will enjoy U Minh Ha forest specialties: snakehead fish, catfish, fish, perch, eel, turtle, snake... Enjoy the famous U Minh fish sauce hotpot.

Many other typical dishes also make fastidious diners remember forever: rustic eel cooked with noni leaves, Ca Mau-style cobra with green beans cooked in green bean porridge, grilled snakehead fish with straw, water lily snake. Grilled charcoal dipped in granular salt with green chili, perch cooked in hot pot with fish sauce, fried field mice...

Once you have the "sharp" bait, you should also sip on the rich flavor of U Minh Ha "forest wine" - fruit wine. Combining them, visitors will fully feel the wild, rustic yet simple flavor of a corner of the "Southern Forest Land."

U Minh Ha's signature delicacies: grilled snakehead fish, field eel cooked in sour soup with wild vegetables, braised perch, bee wine...(photo by Hoang Nam)

Ca Mau 1576 view

Update day : 19/10/2023