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The Ba Be National Park was established in 1992 by the Vietnamese Government with the purpose to preserve forest ecosystems in a typical karst area of Northeast Vietnam. At the center of the Park is the Ba Be Lake, a natural fresh water lake, 150 m above sea level and covering an area as large as 450 ha, which undoubtedly is an area of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance.
It actually consists of 3 component lakes, receiving water from 2 major rivers at its southern end and draining into another river at its northern end. Gathering in one place all tectonic, karst and surface fluvial-lacustrine characteristics, the Lake expands abruptly at some places while narrows down at others, providing visitors with tireless feeling of change. At the same time, with its unique formation and existence, as a result of several catastrophic geological events that changed a typical karst drainage network into a fluvial-lacustrine one, the Lake itself - a huge, natural fresh water lake in a mountainous karst area that never looses its always clear and clean water - is a superlative natural phenomenon. The Lake and its vicinity contains numerous evidences of the long and complex history of geological-geomorphological evolution, which resulted in the richness of rock and soil types, landforms and drainage network. In addition, surrounded by the almost intact primary forest, the Lake is an excellent blend of many typically Vietnamese karst eco-systems, which have global significance for biodiversity conservaton and are characterized by high concentrations of narrowly endemic flora and fauna.
Last but not least, the area still conserves numerous evidences of the history of human evolution: Paleolithic tools of Late Pleistocene (25,000-11,000 years ago), Neolithic tools of Holocene (11,000 years ago), tools of Late Neolithic-Early Metal era (4,000-3,000 years ago), and vestiges of historic time i.e. the 16th century etc. The Lake, since ancient time, has been an inspiration of traditional songs, poems and legends, one of which talks, not surprisingly about the formation of the Lake, which geologists later found out, is very close to reality.
The Ba Be National Park was recognized in 2004 among the 27 ASEAN Heritage Parks and it is now preparing a dossieur for UNESCO' recognition as a World Natural Heritage Site. Undoubtedly, however, the Park could become a member of the UNESCO's Global Network of Geoparks.
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