1. Where is Tra Su Melaleuca Forest?
Tra Su Melaleuca Forest is located in Tinh Bien town, An Giang province, Vietnam. It is about 90 km north of An Giang province and about 250 km southwest of Ho Chi Minh City.
2. How is Tra Su Melaleuca Forest unique?
Tra Su Melaleuca Forest is a tourist area. This is also a typical flooded forest in the West of Hau River. It is also home to many species of animals and plants belonging to the special-use forest system of Vietnam. The land here is heavily contaminated with alum and cannot be cultivated. Therefore, Melaleuca – a tree that can withstand alum – was chosen to cover the bare land. As well has prevented flooding upstream since the 80s of the last century.
With an area of 845 hectares and unique landscape during the flood season. Tra Su Melaleuca Forest is of international importance in the conservation of wetlands in the Mekong Delta region. In addition, this is also home to many animal species. Among them, the rare short-eared dog bat has been listed in the Vietnam Red Book. Not only rich in animals, Tra Su Melaleuca Forest is also a gathering place for 140 species of plants belonging to 52 families and 102 genera. Including 22 species of trees, 25 species of shrubs, 10 species of vines, 70 species of grass. As well as 13 aquatic species, 11 habitat species, 78 medicinal plants and 22 ornamental plants.
On May 27, 2003, the An Giang provincial government issued a decision approving the establishment of Tra Su Melaleuca Forest Landscape Protection Area. In order to meet the needs of developing An Giang tourism products and serving the research work of environmental conservation. In general, the diversity and richness of resources make Tra Su Melaleuca Forest an ideal destination. It is suitable for researchers and those who love to explore wild nature. Moreover, this place is currently one of the famous tourist destinations of An Giang province.
3. When is the best time to visit Tra Su Melaleuca Forest?
You can visit Tra Su Melaleuca Forest at any time of the year. Because each season here has a strange beauty. However, if you have the opportunity, you should visit Tra Su during the flood season. So that you can immerse yourself in the moment of changing seasons filled with water in the middle of the vast duckweed fields. Or drift along with the sound of oars tearing the green carpet through the forest. And bring your heart back to the beginning of the beauty of nature.
In addition, during the flood season, from September to November every year. This is also the time when Tra Su Melaleuca Forest puts on its most beautiful beauty. Floodwaters from the upper Mekong River flow down, turning the Melaleuca forest into a vast, green sea. The towering Melaleuca trees reflect on the calm water surface, creating a scene that is both poetic and majestic.
4. How to get to Tra Su Melaleuca Forest?
4.1 Traveling to Tra Su Melaleuca Forest
Tra Su Melaleuca Forest is one of the tourist destinations not too far from Ho Chi Minh City. It is only about 250 kilometers away and quite convenient for you to travel. To get to the Melaleuca forest, you depart from Saigon and have two popular options. That is traveling by private car, and by bus. You can find the best route via google map.
4.1.1 By bus
For buses, most people will choose the route from the city to Chau Doc. Then, choose a place to rest, then continue traveling another 30 kilometers (about half an hour) to visit the Melaleuca forest. Currently, there are many bus companies running the Saigon – Chau Doc route, with ticket prices ranging from 250,000 VND to 350,000 VND. Ticket prices may change depending on the time, you should check the information before going.
4.1.2 By private vehicle
A popular choice for many people to go to the Melaleuca forest is to use a private vehicle, such as a car or motorbike. You can travel to Chau Doc, find a place to rest and then continue to the Melaleuca forest, or go straight to the Melaleuca forest. The total travel time can take up to 5 hours and 30 minutes because you need to take a ferry across the river.
4.2 Traveling in Tra Su Melaleuca forest
4.2.1 By boat
To explore the Tra Su Melaleuca forest in the most authentic way, you need to rent a boat. From the boat dock, you will be taken deep into the forest by motorboat. Then, you will transfer to a rowing boat, which will take you through the cool green Melaleuca canopy.
4.2.2 By walking
Another experience is to walk in the forest to admire the natural scenery here. If you go in the morning, you will be able to see the gentle rays of sunlight through the leaves and listen to the birds chirping, which is extremely interesting.
4.2.3 By bicycle
Currently, you can rent a bicycle to cycle through the forest, helping you enjoy the beauty of Tra Su cajuput forest in the most proactive way. Cycling on the roads through the forest, smelling the scent of cajuput trees and enjoying the cool breeze, you feel like you are returning to nature. When following the bumpy dirt road into the primeval forest. You will enjoy the fresh air, enjoy the “symphony” of birds. Therefore, you will be extremely relaxed and feel strangely peaceful.
5. Opening hours and entrance fees to Tra Su Melaleuca Forest
5.1 Opening hours:
- From: 6:30 to 17:30, from Monday to Sunday.
5.2 Entrance fee:
- Ticket price: 100,000 VND/person/time.
6. Discovering the beauty of Tra Su cajuput forest
6.1 Bird’s Nest Pier
This is the departure point for boats that take tourists to explore the cajuput forest. In particular, around the pier are many wooden stakes with pigeon nests on high. When you come here, you will sometimes see flocks of birds flying down, which is very pleasing to the eye.
6.2 Kieu Bridge
Kieu Bridge is built mainly from wood imported from Africa, with a European-style design.
6.3 Orchid Garden
Considered the most unique orchid display area in the border region, gathering hundreds of varieties of flowers, from wild orchids to imported orchids. Any visitor who enters here will feel like they are entering another world, full of colors.
6.4 Yellow Orchid Garden
This is the main highlight that shows the idea of Tra Su “flower road“. You will be captivated by the elegant deep yellow color of yellow orchid flowers. It symbolizes nobility but is also romantic and simple.
6.5 Bougainvillea Road
Bougainvillea blooms all year round, but when the weather starts to change to spring, bunches of bougainvillea bloom all over Tra Su. In particular, this flower is even more brilliant in the sun. Therefore, Tra Su is wearing a new romantic pink coat. In addition, the poetic beauty of the bougainvillea road is gradually becoming the “best” of the forest, making visitors forget the way home.
6.6 Thousand-step bamboo bridge
The Thousand-step bamboo bridge is a 10 km long bridge inaugurated in early 2020. With a unique architecture of bamboo sticks joined together, this is a very interesting path to explore the cajuput forest for visitors to experience.
6.7 Cajuput forest
Tra Su cajuput forest has a large natural habitat in the Mekong Delta. Because it possesses a rich flora and fauna and diverse aquatic resources. With more than 150 species of plants, medicinal herbs and more than 140 species of wild animals, rare animals.
6.8 Viewing Tower
After admiring the beauty of Tra Su cajuput forest by rowing boat. You can experience the feeling of admiring the majesty of nature from the Viewing Tower.
7. Some interesting activities and experiences when visiting Tra Su Melaleuca Forest
7.1 Immersing yourself in the beautiful Melaleuca Forest
When you arrive at the Melaleuca forest, you will be overwhelmed by the fresh, green scenery of the Melaleuca forest. When walking on the road to the forest entrance. You will feel like you are lost in a maze with paths of tall Melaleuca trees, covered with cool green shade.
Coming to the core of the Melaleuca forest, sit on a small boat gently drifting along the water. When passing through the Melaleuca trees hanging over your head, you can see a layer of green duckweed covering the surface of the water under the water. In that lush green space, there are yellow dots from the wild flowers. Therefore, it creates a poetic, peaceful picture. The vibrant scenery, along with the cool air here will help you dispel all fatigue after hard working days.
7.2 Experiencing Boating and Exploring the Water Forest
To start your journey here, you need to rent a boat to be able to move deep into the forest. We have a little tip for you, the pier where you buy boat tickets is an impressive check-in spot! This place has an extremely unique design with pigeon nests on top of the wooden poles anchoring the boat, giving you a super cool virtual background.
From the pier, sitting on the wooden boats, you will experience a unique journey. When crossing the canals, go straight into the heart of the cajuput forest. Moreover, along the way, you also have the opportunity to observe the locals harvesting cajuput honey from the tanks placed in the forest. Therefore, this is a rare opportunity for you to relax, enjoy the beautiful scenery, and the lives of the people here.
7.3 Admiring the World of Wild Birds
Admiring the birds living in the natural environment in Tra Su Melaleuca Forest is a wonderful experience. When coming to the core of the forest, you will witness a variety of rare birds living there. With the fresh air and the sound of birds chirping everywhere, it creates a peaceful world separate from all the hustle and bustle.
If you want to observe the birds in the Melaleuca forest more closely, you can stop by the observation tower to use the telescope. With a long-range view of up to 25 kilometers, you can see the entire Melaleuca forest. As well as the birds flying, or nesting on the treetops.
7.4 Discovering the True Life of the Khmer People
In addition to admiring the beautiful landscape, and diverse birds. You can also learn about the lives of the Khmer people living next to the Melaleuca garden. When visiting Khmer villages and visiting craft villages. It will bring you interesting experiences about this land. When entering the village, you will discover the silk weaving and brocade weaving profession passed down from generation to generation by the Khmer people. Or the beekeeping profession that creates high-quality honey, and the cajuput oil production area.
In addition to the activities mentioned above, inside the cajuput forest, there are some impressive stops for you to take photos. Such as: Kieu Tra Su Bridge, Empty House – Roof, Tre Bridge through the forest, Tai Tuong Water fern road,…
8. Enjoying specialties when visiting Tra Su Melaleuca Forest
Tra Su Melaleuca Forest An Giang is a famous place with a variety of specialties. When you come here, you can enjoy attractive dishes in the Melaleuca forest. Such as: hot pot dishes, grilled fish, grilled eel, grilled frog, quail and 2 famous specialties here are grilled snakehead fish, and chicken grilled with honey from Melaleuca flowers.
Especially, when coming to Tra Su during the flood season, you should not miss the opportunity to enjoy Linh fish with wild flowers and sour hot pot with snakehead fish with wild flowers. These are two wonderful dishes of the Mekong Delta river region.
If you want to buy gifts for relatives, you can visit the villages around the forest to buy honey and Melaleuca oil. These are high-quality specialties in Tra Su.
9. Accommodation when visiting Tra Su Melaleuca Forest
There are not many places to stay around Tra Su Melaleuca Forest. Therefore, for convenience, you should still choose a place to stay in Chau Doc. Please refer to some hotels and motels below:
9.1 Dong Bao hotel. Address: 21 Phan Van Vang, Chau Phu B, Chau Doc.
Located in the center of Chau Doc, this hotel provides full amenities for visitors such as air conditioning, TV, refrigerator. In addition, the hotel also provides bicycle and car rental services, train ticket booking and tours around the Mekong River.
9.2 Murray Guesthouse. Address: 11-15 Truong Dinh, Chau Doc.
Murray Guesthouse – accommodation in the center of Chau Doc city. It has amenities such as: free Wi-Fi, free motorbike parking, air-conditioned rooms, minibar, TV, luggage storage, laundry and ironing. The dining area serves a variety of Vietnamese dishes.
9.3 Victoria Chau Doc Hotel. Address: 1 Le Loi, Chau Doc.
Victoria Chau Doc Hotel is located on the banks of the Hau River, offering a cozy space and a beautiful view. In addition, the rooms here are designed to be spacious, with large windows to welcome natural light. Moreover, with an outdoor swimming pool and an on-site restaurant, you can enjoy quality service. Besides, there is also a rooftop spa service for you to relax with an impressive view.
10. Some important notes when traveling to Tra Su Melaleuca Forest
When you prepare for a trip to Tra Su Melaleuca Forest. Remember the following notes to have a safe and enjoyable experience:
- Bring a raincoat in case of sudden rain during the flood season.
- Wear sunscreen to comfortably do outdoor activities without fear of UV rays.
- Use additional insect repellent products to avoid mosquitoes when entering the forest.
- Follow the tour guide’s instructions to ensure safety when going by boat.
- Prepare drinking water and snacks to stay full of energy for a complete trip.
- In particular, be aware of protecting the environment and landscape of the destination. Do not litter.
- When visiting the bamboo bridge, you should move slowly. Do not jostle, push or joke to avoid causing danger.
- If you want to experience rowing a sampan, you should sit still to keep your balance. Do not put your hands over the side of the boat.
- You should not bring a lot of cash or jewelry. Also, keep your phone and wallet carefully so that you do not drop them when getting on and off the boat.
Tra Su Melaleuca Forest in the flood season is an ideal destination for those who love nature. And also want to find a peaceful and relaxing place. Join Origin Vietnam – a professional tour operator. We will accompany you on the journey to explore Vietnam to discover the unique beauty of this land.
