Turning left to Lac Tanh town (Tanh Linh district) where there is a famous Ba Waterfall, we came to a primary forest at the foot of Ong Mountain. The forest is so large. It has been conserved and managed strictly, each timber was attached a name tag. It has been a long time since I felt light and peaceful in the green forest.
The primary forest stretchs out at the foot of Ong Mountain. The grandiose mountain is more than 1.300m in height locating at the end of Truong Son mountain chain with hundreds of valuable and rare animals and plants. Especially, Ong Mountain reserve which has the forest’s area of over 23 thousands of hectares (91% square), there are some special valuable and rare plants such as rosewood Afzelia xylocarpa, kingwood Dalbergia bariensis… along with valuable forest products like: aloe wood (Bois d’aigle), aloe (Bois alòes)… among 332 species of plants.
The animals here was recorded including 52 species of mammals, 96 species of birds, 7 species of amphibians, and 22 species of fishes, among them, a number of species are in a danger with global extinction such as: Pygathrix nigripes, Nomascus gabriellae…..
For people in Tanh Linh, Ba Waterfall and Ong Mountain contained a lot of mysteries as well as sensational legends.
As known, once upon a time, on the top of Ong Mountain, there was an intimate and deep passion couple. One day, the husband left the mountain to play chess with his friend. The game of chess lasted in the wife’s waiting in vain, she waited for a time until her hair turn into white and she changed into the waterfall after she died. The husband went home and couldn’t find his wife. His heart was broken and he died after that he also turned into the Ong Mountain to embrace his faithful wife forever.
According to another legend, there was a white elephant wearing a precious stone’s circle on its neck with a pair of long curved tusks. It is rumored that Nguyen Lord abandoned his elephant when he was being chased by Tay Son force. Some people who hunt aloewood, reported that they had found a precious sword deeply stuck on the cliff. No one knows whether it is truth or fiction. Certainly, in the battle between Nguyen Anh and Nguyen Hue, while Nguyen Anh and his defeated army on the way escaping from Tay Son forces, he found a fertile and large land with thousands of hectares, Nguyen Anh and his soldiers settled down doing farm and waited for the revenge. Since then, the field was called ‘Gia Long field”. Until 1959 the authority took people to this area for cultivation. “Tran Le Xuan’s a 1000 hectare field” was renamed by Ngo Dinh Diem government.
During the 20 years of the national defense war, Ong Mountain became the army base of the liberation troops. Here, there still remains both glorious traces and the remains of unfound soldiers.
In the morning, we can hear the sound of howling gibbons, twittering birds, chirping insects together with the ringing wind and falling water, all of them form an endless mix. When we walk slowly in the wood, we see the morning dew forest flowers and hear the passing birds, falling leaves. I look at the sky through the leaves’ interstices. With such a beautiful landscape, there’s nothing besides a vague nostalgia.
Ba waterfall here is more gigantic than the forest mentioned above. The waterfall is divided into three floors. They are poured from the Ong Mountain’s peak. This scene looks like a white silk from a far distance. At the foot of the waterfall, the sound of streams is murmuring. The blue sky is reflected on the water. I imagined that I was in another world, stepped into a charming landscape painting. There, the mountain girls picked forest flowers to float on the water, the white hair old men took fishing rods and waited, additionally, sun burnt skin guys drunk wine next to the fire.
Ba Waterfall, Ong Mountain are just like that, wild and mysterious, gigantic and poetic. Once you come, you can’t forget.