A peaceful retreat of the Mekong Delta can be found in U Minh National Park, where visitors can canoe, trek through the forests, and taste local honey.

U Minh National Park in the southernmost province of Ca Mau is fast becoming an appealing ecotourism area.

U Minh is considered the lungs of the Mekong Delta and is second only to the Amazon in South America in terms of biodiversity.

The lower section of U Minh, U Minh Ha, contains the Vo Doi protected forest, which boasts over 3,600 hectares of cajeput forest.

The cajeput trees flower all year round and attract swarms of bees which produce an excellent quality honey.

U Minh Ha also has 6,000 hectares of peat, one of the biggest peat reserves in Vietnam.

The lush vegetation of U Minh Ha provides habitat for a diverse fauna, including 72 species of mammals and birds.

Several of these species are listed in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List and Vietnams Red Book of endangered species, such as te te (Manis

A crane stands on the bank of a canal in U Minh Ha

pentadactyla), the hair-nosed otter (Lutra sumatrana) and the king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah).

Nestling in the green foliage and marshlands of U Minh Ha are various kinds of water-fowls like herons, egrets, storks, ibises, ducks, rails and shorebirds.

A large variety of fresh-water fishes can also be found swimming in the brackish water, including ca ro (Anabas testudineus), ca loc (Ophiocephalus maculatus), ca tre (Clariidae) and ca thac lac (Notopterus notopterus Pallas).

Many efforts are under-way to transform this natural sanctuary into an inviting ecotourism destination, promising visitors a host of exciting activities.

Visitors to U Minh National Park can go fishing and cook their catch, or they can be served local specialties such as ca loc nuong trui (unscaled fish grilled whole in straws) and ca keo nuong ong tre (small fish grilled in bamboo chunks).

There is also a 110-hectare tourism complex where visitors can canoe along canals to see beehives, rest in hammocks, indulge in local delicacies complex where visitors can canoe and honey.

Reported by Diem Thu