Introduction
Located in the heart of the Trang An landscape, Thung Nham Bird Park is a must-visit destination for nature lovers and birdwatching enthusiasts. Home to thousands of rare bird species, lush forests, and stunning limestone caves, this ecological paradise offers a perfect blend of adventure and tranquility.
Whether you’re exploring its scenic boat rides or witnessing flocks of birds returning to their nests at sunset, Thung Nham promises a truly unforgettable experience. Discover the beauty of Thung Nham Bird Park with Ninh Binh Private Car, ensuring a smooth and comfortable journey to this breathtaking destination.
Thung Nham Bird Valley is an essential part of the Trang An landscape complex and is located only about 12 km from Ninh Binh city. With an ideal terrain, Thung Nham Valley is home to countless species of birds, including precious birds listed in the ‘red book, ‘a conservation status for species facing the risk of extinction.
From Wasteland to Thung Nham Bird Park
Many people may not know that in the past, Thung Nham Bird Valley was just a wasteland that no one paid attention to. But then an event changed everything, showcasing the incredible potential of nature conservation and laying the foundation for this place to become one of the most famous tourist destinations in Ninh Binh.
The name Thung Nham of the tourist area is derived from the terrain characteristics of this place: Thung means valley (Thung Lung), the land between high mountains, and Nham means lava (Dung Nham), a rocky mountain. On the other hand, Nham is also the name of Hai Nham village, Ninh Hai commune, where the tourist area is located.
From the name Thung Nham, we can partly imagine how this place used to be a swampy, desolate, and dense valley. In addition, the location is in the middle of Hoa Lu primeval forest, and the ruggedly divided limestone mountain terrain makes all efforts to reclaim, open roads, and develop the economy here seem impossible.
But that was the story before 1999 because, in that year, a man named Pham Cong Chat appeared, director of Doanh Sinh Enterprise. At that time, Mr. Pham Cong Chat was just a young boy passionate about exploring new lands. He discovered a large valley with fertile land and lush trees during an adventure with friends into the Hoa Lu mountains. And so, the idea of building an economic model of farms, raising livestock, and growing crops to develop agriculture appeared in the enthusiastic young man’s mind.
By chance, after a heavy rainy season that caused the water to rise, following the flow of Tien Lake, he found a semi-submerged area with countless species of birds, storks, cauldrons, and other animals living noisily throughout the region, creating an unusually wild scene.
Aware of the noble responsibility given to him by fate, that brave man immediately protected this area, prohibiting all forms of hunting and affecting the birds and wildlife here. Thanks to that, today, Thung Nham has become an ecological area with the largest natural bird garden in the North and is also home to about 109 species of plants and 150 species of animals of all kinds.
Sacred Land With Mysterious Stories
Thung Nham Bird Garden is located in the middle of green Tien Lake, which has an area of about 18 hectares. The water here is always clear in all seasons, and the water level ranges from 3m to 4m. Since ancient times, this natural lake has had an essential place in the lives of local people. Not only does it produce a large amount of seafood, but Ho Tien is also worshiped and considered sacred by people.
People believe that the water in the lake is magic and can purify bad luck and bring good luck. Every Tet holiday, villagers often come here to ask for water to wash dishes and incense to show filial piety to their ancestors, wishing to erase the old year’s bad luck and welcome a new year together. The name Ho Tien also comes from here.
Guidelines To Move To Thung Nham Bird Garden
Currently, visitors have two choices for visiting the bird garden. One is to take a boat down Tien Lake to enter the semi-submerged area, and the other is to walk across the two km-long forest road to reach the high observation point. Each choice brings a different, exciting experience.
If you choose to go by boat, you can freely admire the peaceful landscape of mountains, water, clouds, and sky, relax with birds singing in harmony with the leisurely rhythm of rowing, and listen to the boatman reading poetry about the legendary stories here. This unique experience will surely excite you and make your visit memorable.
Best Time To Visit Thung Nham Bird Park
Ninh Binh Thung Nham Bird Park is famous for its year-round beauty. Each season has a different beauty, but the most outstanding is autumn. Fall is the season when birds begin to be most active. They will go looking for food to prepare for the upcoming winter. In addition, this is also the season with the most pleasant weather of all four seasons. Knowing the best time to visit will ensure you have the most enjoyable experience.
In addition, autumn is the season when many beautiful flowers are replanted in Thung Nham Flower Garden so you can have a stunning photo. Rough-leaf chrysanthemums, wild sunflowers, and roses bloom in September and October, filling the whole valley with brilliant flowers. November and December are your opportunity to admire the “sea of flowers” adorned with golden daisies, triangles, and daisies.
What To Do At Thung Nham Bird Park?
See Rare Birds
Referring to Ninh Binh Thung Nham Bird Valley, it is impossible to ignore its wild beauty and the beauty of the birds here. The most valuable thing about Thung Nham Bird Park is that it retains its wild beauty. Nestled among limestone mountains that form a natural wall to shield the wind, this place is ideal for birds to live and breed.
The number of birds here is up to thousands, with about 5,000 bird nests belonging to 46 diverse species, including many rare species recorded in the Red Book. Coming to Thung Nham, visitors can see with their own eyes flocks of birds with hundreds of wings flying in the sky and immerse themselves in the vast, vast mountain scenery. It is truly a wonderful experience that everyone should try at least once.
Thung Nham Bird Park is home to various bird species, including storks, cauldrons, teals, fire warblers, and starlings. In particular, two rare bird species recorded in the Vietnam Red Book are Ciconiidae and Great Hornbill (Earth Phoenix).
The Great Hornbill, also known as the Earthly Phoenix, is a mascot for the Dragon, Qilin, Turtle, and Phoenix, four sacred animals of Asian residents. This bird is often mentioned as a symbol of nobility and virtue, has the power to revive, and brings an omen of peace and prosperity to the nation.
During the lunar calendar’s peak breeding season from August to April, the number of herds in the garden reaches tens of thousands of individuals. Every sunset, birds flock to their nests from across the golden fields with ripe rice. They fly in the air, flapping their wings in the bright afternoon sunlight, chirping and calling to each other with hundreds of high-pitched sounds. This stimulates visitors’ sight and hearing, creating a magnificent scene; anyone who can admire it once will remember it forever.
Visit Thung Nham’s Flower Paradise
Besides watching the rare birds living in the valley, we can visit a gorgeous flower garden. Thung Nham’s flower paradise has an area of about 800 m2 with two central flower hills and many surrounding flower gardens.
In total, more than 30 different flower species are grown all year round. So when tourists come here to visit, each season will have different species blooming, so visitors don’t need to worry about not having a beautiful photo. Some famous flowers are canola, buckwheat, cosmos, and so on.
The two central flower hills are divided into six floors, each with a different flower species. The flowers are intertwined to create a beautiful scene. From the colors of the flowers to the fragrance, everything blends to create a beautiful scene.
Visit Thung Nham Fruit Farm
Thung Nham Bird Valley has a beautiful and large fruit garden of up to 80,000 m2. In the fruit garden, many types of trees are grown, such as apples, guava, star fruit, mango, persimmon, and litchi, but depending on the season, there will be fruit.
When visiting here, you can become a farmer by caring for and fertilizing the plants yourself. In addition, when the fruits are ripe, you can pick them up and eat them there. In addition to the fruit garden, Thung Nham Bird Park also has a dedicated organic vegetable garden for visitors to experience.
Explore The Caves
Located right near Thung Nham Bird Garden, several famous caves also belong to the Trang An landscape complex. If you have time, you can consider visiting. Some famous caves include Vai Gioi Cave, about 5,000 square meters wide and high up. The impressive thing about the cave that excites visitors is that it contains many stalactites divided into three parts: Earth, Hell, and Heaven.
But Cave is also a landmark located near the Thung Nham eco-tourism area. It is about 500m long and formed from rocks shaped like Mr. Buddha sitting by the river. So, if you have the opportunity, visit these two caves to see their impressive beauty.
In addition, you can visit Tien Ca Cave (Mermaid Cave); as the name suggests, this place circulates the story of a petrified mermaid residing in the cave. Over time, the mermaid’s shape has not been preserved as it was initially. However, Tien Ca cave still has the fanciful color of the magical fairy world.
Moving Banyan Tree
The ancient temple and the moving banyan tree are other interesting places at Thung Nham Bird Park. Many scientific studies show that this banyan tree is over 1,000 years old and has moved three steps, each 10 m.
Then why can it move? According to scientists, it moves once every 300 years. During that time, the tree’s main stem will rot and disappear. Then, the secondary roots drop-down, cling tightly, penetrate deep into the ground, grow, and become the main stem to feed the tree. At the same time, the tree will also move an additional distance of about 10 m at the end of that cycle.
Enjoy Thung Nham Cuisine
Ninh Binh is famous for its beautiful tourist destinations and outstanding cuisine. When visiting Thung Nham Bird Park, visitors certainly cannot miss its specialties.
At Thung Nham Bird Valley, about 80 species are prepared by top chefs in Vietnam. These dishes are made from what is available here, such as vegetables from Thung Nham Farm or animals such as hill chicken, mallard duck, fish, etc. To satisfy customer needs, dishes are prepared in many ways, such as steaming, frying, stir-frying, grilling, and using mannequins.
Where To Stay In Thung Nham Bird Park?
Thung Nham Bird Garden is not only a tourist destination but also a resort with 5-star quality. Nham Resort Ninh Binh has 28 rooms with many ratings to suit everyone’s budget. Each room has a modern design interwoven with wood, creating a feeling of closeness to nature but no less luxurious.
The view of the room is nothing to criticize; looking straight out the window, you will see huge mountains and a clear blue lake. In addition, customers can enjoy a free breakfast buffet with a variety of specialty dishes.
Rules for Visiting Thung Nham Bird Park
For tourist area
Opening hours:
- Summer hours: From 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
- Winter hours: From 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Ticket price:
- Children and adults over 1m tall: 30,000 VND/ticket.
- Children under 1m in height: free.
- (A bird garden boat ticket is included in the tour ticket; in case guests lose the tour ticket, they need to buy an additional boat ticket)
Instructions for visitors:
- Follow the correct lane according to regulations.
- Wear a life jacket before leaving the marina.
- Sit according to instructions and according to rules.
Arrange personnel and rescue equipment when necessary.
Load regulations:
- Maximum: 12 guests/boat.
- Minimum of 03 tickets/boat for the boat to depart (applicable to individual passengers with less than 02 people wishing to take the boat at empty times).
For tourists
Please follow some regulations when visiting the bird garden area of the tourist area:
- Buy tickets before getting off the boat.
- Follow the instructor’s instructions. Wear a life jacket when getting on the boat to ensure your safety and that of others.
- Present your ticket before boarding the boat.
- Protect the landscape, do not throw trash indiscriminately, and do not make noise during the tour.
- Do not play around, arbitrarily row the boat, and put your hands outside next to the boat.
- Children under 15 years old must be accompanied and managed by an adult.
The resort is not responsible if you do not comply with the regulations.
Conclusion
Visiting Thung Nham Bird Park is a perfect escape into nature, where you can immerse yourself in the beauty of diverse wildlife and serene landscapes. Whether you’re watching birds in their natural habitat or exploring hidden caves, this destination offers a unique and peaceful experience.