Bạch Mã National Park 4.38

Bạch Mã National Park is a protected area in central Vietnam, near the city of Huế. It covers 220 km2 and comprises three zones: a strictly protected core area, an administrative area and a buffer zone.In 2004, the park was being considered for expansion in order to create a corridor from the border with Laos to the sea.The park can be accessed by foot, moped or with a park guide's car.HistoryIn 1932, the summit of Bạch Mã was selected by the French engineer Girard to become a hill station for the colonial administration of Hue. In the following years, a village including 139 villas and hotels was created. To accommodate holiday makers and to avoid commuting on the steep, 19km road to the next major town, there was a post office, a market and a hospital. By 1937 the number of holiday homes had reached 139 and it became known as the "Dalat of central Vietnam". Most of the visitors were high-ranking French VIPs. Not surprisingly the Viet Minh tried hard to spoil the holiday – the area saw some heavy fighting in the early 1950s. After independence from the French, Bạch Mã was soon forgotten and the villas abandoned; today they are in total ruin and only a few stone walls remain. At an elevation of 1250 metres above sea level, the national park is a popular summer retreat for the Vietnamese, who come to feel the relief of the cooler temperatures of Bạch Mã.The area around the national park was first protected as a series of forest reserves in 1937, and was declared a protected area by the government of South Vietnam in 1962. In 1986 the area was established as a national park. The forests of the park, like Cát Tiên National Park, suffered from the use of defoliants like Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.