Bac Kan

Bac Kan is one of best places for jungle treks, boat trip, cycling, and motorcycle tour in Vietnam. The provincial capital is Bac Kan town. Other administrative divisions include Ba Be, Ngan Son, Cho Don, Na Ri, Cho Moi, Bach Thong, Pac Nam.

Bac Kan is a mountainous province, sharing its border with Cao Bang Province to the north, Tuyen Quang Province to the west, Lang Son Province to the south-east, and Thai Nguyen Province to the south. The topography is mainly midland, mountainous. The province has a complex network of rivers and springs.

Bac Kan City is 166km from Hanoi. It is located on the Ha Noi - Cao Bang inter-provincial No. 3.

The province is in the northeast midland mountainous area of Vietnam. Its terrain has the highest altitude among the 11 provinces of the region. Forest area dominates more than 95% of the province. The remainder is available for agricultural and other uses. Due to this rugged and forested topography, development of water resources has been limited resulting in exploitation of its forest resources; this has caused degradation of the forests.

The topography is highly variable, varying from 1,640 metres (5,380 ft) (highest point in the Khie Thiouing mountains in the province) to the lowest point of 40 metres (130 ft) in the Chợ Mới District. There are numerous rivers and streams flowing through the province, each with small catchment areas. However, most of them have steep slopes and short lengths.

Bac Kan Weather

There are two seasons: dry and cold lasts from April to October and hot and rainy from November to December. The cold season lasts longer in the north region. The annual average temperature is 25oC. The annual rainfall is about 1,400mm- 1,800mm. The weather has drizzling rain and high humidity in March, April and August.

Bac Kan Things to See

Bac Kan has natural of mineral and forest, especially primitive forests with rich of flora and faune. Aside that, natural gives the province many interesting sights such as Ba Be National Park, Dau Dang Waterfall, Ba Be Lake, Puong Cave. Bac Kan used to be a cradle of Vietnam revolution so it has many revolutionary relics as ATK in there.

Ba Be Lake

Ba Be Lake stretches in between mountains of limestone and schist containing hidden caverns and underground streams. The lake is 8km long, 3km wide and from 20 to 30m deep. It contains two islets. One of them is called An Ma Islet because it looks like a horse riding in the water. The other is Ba Goa (Widow) Islet with the legend of a kind widow.

Since 1995, Ba Be Lake has been recognized as one of the world's 20 special freshwater lakes that need to be protected at the Conference on World Freshwater Lakes in the US. Since 2011, UNESCO has also recognized Ba Be Lake as the 3rd Ramsar site in Viet Nam.

Ba Be National Park

Ba Be National Park covers an area of 7,610ha and has 3,000 inhabitants of the Tay, Mong, Dao living there. The national park boasts primeval forest on old limestone range that surrounds pure lakes.

The park consists of 1,281 species of plants including 162 families, among which 25 species have so far been recorded in the Red List of The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources-IUCN.

Puong Cave

Puong Cave located on the Nang River, 5km from the town of Cho Ra, was created by the river's current as it flowed next to the base of the Lung Nham Mountains, which are a chain of limestone mountains. The cave is about 200m long, with an average height of 25 to 30m.

Sailing in the dim light of the cave on a small boat, you can see various strange stalactites at the entrance. Thousands of bats live inside.

Dau Dang Waterfall

Dau Dang Waterfall is located where the Nang River enters Tuyen Quang Province. It flows for 2km where the Nang River is blocked by various sized stones slopping for nearly 500m.

The pleasant look of the waterfall and the primitive nature of the forest are extremely impressive. Furthermore, there is a special rare and valuable species of fish called ca chien living in the river; some of these fish weigh over 10kg.

Traditional Festival

Bac Kan is famous for Ba Be Lake Spring Festival with many rituals and activities as boat racing, wrestling, dancing, nem con (con throwing). The festival attracts a lot of people arround the region.

Bac Kan Map