Ba Be Lake - The Largest Fresh Water Lake in Vietnam

Ba Be Lake is one of the most famous lakes in Vietnam, which is listed on the top 100 biggest freshwater lakes in the world. At the end of 2004, this destination is recognized as one of the ASEAN Heritage Garden. Along with the unique features of geography and high values of biodiversity, Ba Be Lake is renowned as the largest freshwater lake in Vietnam. Once you are ready, consider the special Northern Vietnam Adventure for our combined excursion to Ba Be. Not sure yet? Follow us to discover the miraculous stories about this beautiful land.

Located in Bac Kan province, Ba Be lake is one of 21 national tourist zones in Vietnam. The lake rises 145 m above sea level. With an area of 650 hectares and 8 km in length, Ba Be lake will certainly bring memorable experience for visitors because of its stunning harmony among the pristine beauty of lakes, lush forests on limestone mountain, mysterious caves, and underground streams.

Ba Be Lake literally means “three lakes” in the Vietnamese language. Its name actually derives from an ancient story of Vietnamese people. It is said that local people used to annually organize a huge Buddhist festival. Suddenly, a dirty old woman comes and begs everyone for a meal. But no one compassionate for her miserable situations, even they banish the old woman from the festival. Luckily, there is a kind widow and her son, who invite her to their house and supply water and food for the old woman. At night, the hostess suddenly wakes up because of terrifying sound in the place, where the old woman sleeps. At that time, the widow sees that the woman disappears. Instead, a Giao Long – a kind of snake and a holy animal, is lying on that place. Both the widow and her son extremely scare about this strange phenomenon and they cannot sleep all night.

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In the morning of next day, the old woman awakes and tells the truth for the hostess: “I am not a normal person. I come to evaluate the humanity of everyone”. Unfortunately, they are so cruel. So they have to receive punishment. After that, the old women guide for both of them escape from a terrible event, which happens in the village. After that, the woman disappears. In the main day of festival, a cataclysm floods everything in the village and many people deaths. The terrible flood created 3 sublime lakes in the present time. And for this reason, local people call it as Ba Be Lake.

Along with Ba Be Lake, visitors can explore many amazing places, which are close to the Lake such as Puong Cavern, Tien pond, Dau Dang Waterfall, and Hua Ma Cavern. All of those destinations belong to Ba Be National Park, a perfect stopover for any Vietnam trekking tours.

Puong Cavern is one of the largest caverns in Northern Vietnam. There is Nang river – an underground river, flowing and eroding the limestone mountain to from Puong Cavern in the present time. Insides, thousands of stunning stalactites hang on the cavern’s ceiling. This place is a little dark, so it is an ideal shelter for thousands of wild bats.

Read: Top 10 National Parks in Vietnam

Tien Pond has an unspoiled beauty of nature covered with jungle and limestone mountains. Along with sublime water surface, the pond is home to many rare species of fish in Vietnam.

Dau Dang waterfall is far 4 km from Puong Cavern. When flowing through a part of a lush forest, the flow of the Nang River is interrupted by huge stones, which divides the rivers into 2 smaller branches. Its flows also become stronger and form a small waterfall as today.

Hua Ma Cavern literally means “the head of the horse”. The carven lies on the slope of Co Don Mountain towards the Northeastern. Apart from Puong Cavern, this is a dry cavern situated on a lush forest. The system of stalactites is also very impressive, which deserves for contemplation one time in our life.

Excursion Vietnam has just given to you some essential information about Ba Be Lake and its huge National Park. Ba Be is definitely the place to discover if you are bored with same classic destinations in Vietnam. To learn more about other lesser-known spots, you can check out our travel guides and tips right here!