Fortunately, people in Tram Chim live in harmony with nature and well-preserve the park.
Dong Thap people are especially proud of the scene of cranes flying overhead in the wetland of Tram Chim. This is also an enjoyable sight for tourists when coming to Tram Chim National Park. The nickname “long-legged queen” is rhetoric words referring to the red-crowned crane (the long-legged, graceful, haughty and rare bird known as the “queen of cranes” or “fairy cranes”).
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Red-crowned cranes dancing in Tram Chim National Park |
“Thanks to the timely support of the Dong Thap provincial government along with local relevant agencies, Tram Chim has been open to public again since December 12, 2021 after months of going without revenue due to the lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Director of the Tourism and Environmental Education Center of Tram Chim National Park Le Hoang Long.
Touring Tram Chim, tourists can witness cranes flying, singing and mating and visit their breeding grounds and ecological landscape. They can also experience the local activities such as wild rice harvesting, vole hunting, fishing with lift-nets, and more.
Tram Chim is situated in Tam Nong district, about 40 km from Cao Lanh city of Dong Thap Muoi - a harsh land notorious for mosquitoes, leeches, grass and snakes.
Covering an area of 7,313 hectares, Tram Chim National Park is a miniature of the pristine Dong Thap Muoi region and home to more than 20,000 water birds including 231 rare bird species of the world, over 150 species of freshwater fish, 191 species of higher plants and many amphibians, reptiles and other planktons. It also preserves nearly 3,000 hectares of melaleuca and 1,000 hectares of wild rice, lotus, and water lilies. Being recognized as the fourth Ramsar site in Vietnam and the 2,000th in the world, it is one of the eight most important bird conservation areas of Vietnam and a unique habitat in the Indochinese peninsula.
It is a lot of fun to sit on a motorboat at dawn surfing on the canal while watching birds flying and listening to birds chirping when morning dews still linger on tree branches and grasses in Tram Chim. Hundreds of lesser whistling ducks and mallards fly high when hearing motorboats approaching. The blue feathered kingfishers leisurely perch on melaleuca branches and bamboo poles. Some quickly swoop down into the water to grab preys. Purple Swamphen birds with dark green feathers and fluttering tails hide in the weeds along the canal.
From the observatory, visitors can see a primeval melaleuca forest with big and small stems blending together while their leaves rustling in the morning breeze and their flowers exuding ecstatic fragrance. Every now and then, tourist would catch sight of cranes floating gently in the sky and dropping their wings in the middle of the water.
Apart from the time of finding food in the wilderness with water and fertile soil, cranes dance and sing. They return to Tram Chim in January and find a mate in May (before the rainy season), then find an empty space with suitable surroundings to lay eggs and raise their chicks.
Tram Chim terrains offer an ideal ecological environment for cranes thanks to its abundant food sources and quiet tree-laden environment. Recently, two new types of unique flowers namely royal head seal and purple seaweed have been discovered in Tram Chim, attracting much attention and admiration from tourists.
Translated by Tra My - Thu Nga - Thu Ngan - Nhu Y