Chu Mom Ray National Park: Captivating Upland Destination for Tourists

Chu Mom Ray National Park has been long known as an attractive mountain and forest tourist destination. This is one of Vietnam's 10 ASEAN heritage parks, one of the three largest heritage parks with the biggest biodiversity in the country. The very diversity and originality create the appeal of Chu Mom Ray National Park in particular and Kon Tum province in general.

Chu Mom Ray National Park acts as the “green lung” of the Northern Central Highlands, contributing to environmental conservation and biodiversity

Flawless beauty of nature

Chu Mom Ray National Park has a variety of rare flora and fauna ecosystems. This is one of the interesting tourist attractions that promises to bring visitors close experiences with nature as well as opportunities to learn about the cultural identity and cuisine of indigenous people of the Central Highlands of high mountains and deep forests.

Chu Mom Ray National Park is also known as a transnational biological reserve as it lies in the north of the Central Highlands, Kon Tum province, adjoins Virachey National Park of Cambodia to the west, and borders the Southeast Ghong Natural Reserve of Laos to the northwest. This is the point where the three countries.

Especially, on March 1, the Provincial People's Committee decided to recognize Chu Mom Ray National Park Ecotourism Area as a provincial tourist area. Accordingly, its Management Board will work with relevant sectors to organize tourism activities to enhance the performance of the tourist area.

The most interesting features of Chu Mom Ray National Park are the diversity of plants and animals, Ja Book Valley, Ngoc Vil Mount, Ngoc Tu Ba Mount, Chu Mom Ray Peak, 7-layer waterfall, ethnic villages and famous orchid reserves.

The government of Kon Tum province has continuously promoted solutions to support tourism development in Chu Mom Ray National Park. In particular, a special focus is placed on communication and dissemination of tourism laws. In addition, the province has fostered professional tourism guidance; coordinated in surveys and capacity building for local communities; strictly managed tourism activities and products to limit potential problems that may arise; boosted tourism promotion, and increased advertising on domestic and foreign media to attract tourists.

Mr. Dao Xuan Thuy, Director of Chu Mom Ray National Park Management Board, said: Particularly in 2023, the board was assigned forest management and protection, forest fire prevention and fighting, violation inspection and prevention, scientific research, communication to raise public awareness of forest protection, nature conservation, organism rescue, conservation and development, eco-tourism development on 56,249 hectares of special-use forests. Since early 2022, the board has received an additional 4,048 hectares of commercial forests from communes according to Decision 1047/QD-UBND of the Provincial People's Committee.

“Despite facing numerous difficulties and challenges, the board always receives timely and close attention and direction from the Provincial People's Committee and professional guidance from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development; coordination and direction of Sa Thay and Ngoc Hoi districts; close coordination of local authorities in the buffer zone and related bodies in Sa Thay and Ngoc Hoi districts. Besides, its employees always uphold their roles and responsibilities in carrying out assigned tasks and overcoming difficulties to fulfill their tasks," he emphasized.

In 2023, the board conducted 25 communication campaigns with 1,015 participants in communes in the buffer zone; signed 223 commitments to forest protection and forest fire prevention with 223 households with fields near the boundary. To date, the board has built and approved a forest fire prevention plan in the 2023 - 2024 dry season; prepared on-site conditions, forces and means against forest fires; studied forest development and conducted scientific research; applied GIS technology, WebGis and SMART tools to patrol and inspect forests and monitor forest resource developments effectively.

Currently, the board also continues to sign contracts on 3,400 hectares of forest in the forest environmental service area with seven communities in Ro Koi, Sa Nhon, Sa Son, Sa Loong, Bo Y and Dak Kan communes for protection for VND2,263 million. The board also allocates 13,000 hectares to 16 protection communities under the national target program for development of ethnic minorities and mountainous areas in the 2021 - 2025 phase for more than VND5,200 million. Hence, it has helped create jobs and increase incomes for local communities to stabilize their livelihoods and enhance the community role and responsibility in forest protection.

Awakening mountain and forest tourism potential

In carrying out its tasks, the board also encountered many difficulties. The area it manages is large, most stations are located in remote areas, far from residential areas, and transportation is still difficult; employee policies and funding sources remain limited. However, the board actively proposed big tasks in 2024 and the next period, mainly managing and protecting the integrity of forest resources; promptly detecting and preventing signs of violations, curbing violations and preventing forest fires. All employees will successfully complete their tasks, of which 85% will be outperformers.

The board continues to assign contracts with stakeholders to protect forests and rescue wild animals, conserve wild orchids and some precious and rare plant species; compile and submit dossiers to the Provincial People's Committee to request UNESCO for recognition of the Kon Tum Plateau World Biosphere Reserve (Chu Mom Ray National Park and Ngoc Linh Nature Reserve are the core areas).

Executing the resolution of the 16th Provincial Party Congress on Kon Tum tourism development to 2025 and further to 2030, the Provincial People's Committee issued a decision to approve the scheme to develop ecotourism, leisure tourism and entertainment in Chu Mom Ray National Park in 2021 - 2030 into an attractive, professional tourist destination, with a variety of tourism products, imbued with its own identity. Remarking on this issue, Director Dao Xuan Thuy said that the board will basically complete investment items for environment-friendly tourist attractions.

By Cong Luan, Vietnam Business Forum