Eco-tourism in Gáo Giồng

Gáo Giồng is ideally located among water, flowers, plants and singing birds. It’s in Gáo Giồng commune, Cao Lãnh district, Đồng Tháp province and it’s long seen as a green lung in Đồng Tháp Mười, an attractive eco-tourism area due to its natural beauty and wildlife.

Photo: Bùi Hỏa Tiễn

Best time in Gáo Giồng is flood-season that we can see water everywhere dotted with yellow flowers điên điển, redwater lilies, violet bằng lăng, pink lotus and the greenery of cajuput mangroves, a harmony of nature and flowers which can be found nowhere.

           

The first leg is Gáo Giồng birds-sanctuary. We will be brought to 18m high observatory and equipped with binoculars to watch the whole region, the flying schools of storks. Hung on the trees are birds’ nests carefully built.

           

The bird-sanctuary is 35ha large with 15 species of birds (cò mỏ vàng, cò ngà, cồng cộc, diệc, vạc...). At sunrise or sunset, the cajuput forests are noisy and with birds, stocks flying away or returning home.

           

In flood season, on already-harvested rice-fields, thousands of stocks can be seen looking for food that make a scenic beauty. Visitors to Gáo Giồng not only to enjoy fresh air, tranquility or listen to sweet songs and melodies by country-girls in their traditional shirts, but to be entertained with specialties as grilled fish rolled in lotus leaves, baked rats, hotpots,... or taste fried lotus seeds and sip lotus tea and understand the local history. About one hundred year ago, the region was only good for such plants: gáo due to its harsh weather and “rừng thiêng nước độc or sacred forest and poisonous water” the plants and trees grew so fast into thick forest.

           

The province Đồng Tháp has spent over 300 millions VNĐ to build infrastructure in Gáo Giồng eco-tourism complex, a 18m high observatory with a lift on which the whole region can be viewed. These are 10 speedboats available for visitors to explore the forests, a guest-house for 100 people to stopover and relax or have food served.

It takes one hour and a half to travel to Gáo Giồng from Cao Lãnh town by water ways. Đồng Tháp has also spent 9 billions VNĐ to build roads from Bình Trị, Đường Thét to Gáo Giồng and it’s expected to be completed by this year-end. Gáo Giồng is a destination for the tour Sài Gòn – Xẻo Quýt – Gáo Giồng – Cao Lãnh by Đồng Tháp tourist.

                                                                         THU THẢO