Binh Phuoc province in southeastern Vietnam is known for its lush green forest, stunning natural landscape, and historical relic sites, which have attracted Vietnamese and foreign visitors.
Bu Dang rubber forest. (Photo: xomnhiepanh.com)
You can visit Binh Phuoc province by bus or motorbike, taking extensive rubber forests and cashew orchards, the Dong Nai, Be, and Sai Gon river, magnificent Dak Mai waterfall, Voi waterfall, and Suoi Cam lake.
Binh Phuoc province has several national parks. Bu Gia Map national park, covering 26,000 hectares, is rich in flora and fauna typical of Southeast Asia. Tay Cat Tien national park spans Bu Dang and Dong Phu district. The Cat Tien biosphere reserve, Vietnam’s largest tropical forest conservation site, is the habitat of bison, white-wing geese, and orange-neck partridge.
Bau Lach grassland in Bu Dang district is made up of 20 large fields, interconnected lakes, and trees that cast their shadows on the water. Some of fields are as large as 140 hectares. This site enchants visitors with its waterfalls: Dung, Pan Toong, Bu Xa, and Voi.
At the beginning of the dry season, the fields turn yellow, embellished by violet and yellow wild flowers. At the end of the dry season, the whole area is burnt orange, but soon turns brilliant green with just a little rain.
“Binh Phuoc is geographically ideal for tourism development. It features varied terrain: primeval forest, mountains, lakes, and waterfalls. Binh Phuoc serves as the gate to Ho Chi Minh city and the Central Highlands," said Do Minh Trung, Deputy Director of the Binh Phuoc provincial Department of Culture, Sport, and Tourism.
"We rely heavily on eco-tourism and pilgrimage. Binh Phuoc warmly welcomes visitors here to explore our ethnic culture and special cuisine. The tourism sector is working with provincial authorities on initiatives to lure more travelers to Binh Phuoc”, Trung added.
Binh Phuoc province is a land of cashew nuts and ancient culture. Archeologists have excavated stone tools and pottery from a prehistoric civilization 2,000 years ago.
Binh Phuoc province has many historical relics: the Phu Rieng rubber plantation, Ba Ra prison, and the Party Committee headquarters of the High Command of the Liberation Armed Forces for Southern Vietnam.
Ta Thiet military base, the Command Headquarters for the Liberation Army of South Vietnam between 1972 and 1975, is a notable historical relic in Binh Phuoc province. Called “Government Forest”, the 16-square-kilometer Ta Thiet military base was built in 1973 in Loc Thanh commune, Loc Ninh district, as a venue to host high-ranking delegations of the Politburo, the General Staff, and the Central Office for South Vietnam, who discussed ways to reinforce troops and deploy combat plans.
Ta Thiet military base was also the venue for the establishment of the Ho Chi Minh Campaign Command, which led the Vietnamese people to victory and national reunification in April, 1975.
Among the national historical relics in Binh Phuoc is the headquarters of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam. It was built in 1911 as the office of a French rubber company to receive diplomatic missions. There, in 1973, representatives from the Provisional Revolutionary Government of the Republic of South Vietnam, the Vietnam People’s Army, the US army, and the Republic of Vietnam reviewed their enforcement of the Paris Accord, monitored by the International Commission for Supervision and Control in Vietnam.
There are four categories of tourism products in Binh Phuoc: eco-tourism, cultural tourism, spiritual tourism, and weekend tourism.
A highlight of Binh Phuoc’s spiritual tourism is a Buddhist pagoda inaugurated in 1931 in Loc Ninh district which gives visitors an insight into Khmer language, literature, festivals, architecture, sculpture, painting, and music.
Bom Bo village in Bu Dang district recalls the revolutionary life of the S’tieng ethnic minority people during the war. Gong performances, straw liquor, grilled meat, and dancing around a camp fire are other things Bom Bo village has to offer.
Doan Quy of Ho Chi Minh city told VOV, “Binh Phuoc is little-known on Vietnam’s tourism map. What I love about this place is the raw natural beauty and the local people’s hospitality. Uncrowded tourist destinations give us room to explore Cat Tien park and local ethnic villages to the fullest.”
Binh Phuoc’s population comprises many ethnic minorities: M’nong, S’tieng, Ma, and Chau Ro, who still organize their traditional festivals, including the buffalo-sacrifice festival, the tomb-leaving ritual, and the praying-for-rain ceremony.
Don’t miss a chance to try the grilled bamboo of the S’tieng and other ethnic food.