Ao Tien of Ba Be

Ao Tiên is a small pond inside Ba Bể National Park, a walk of about 100 meters from Ba Bể Lake. It asks for very little time, and it stays in the memory all the same.

The pond is described as covering more than 3,000 square meters. Limestone mountains and old primary forest ring it round, and its water is clear, green and cool.

What sets Ao Tiên apart from the wide lake outside is its seclusion. The pond is small and silent, shut in tightly by forest and limestone. The park's own tourism material says the color of its water differs from that of the lake. Standing here, a visitor seems to step into a space within a space, one still corner inside a landscape that was already quiet.

For the people who live around the lake, Ao Tiên is sacred. The communities along the shore have kept this water and treated it with respect for many generations. A visitor naturally lowers their voice, steps lightly and only looks, as in a place where people still believe something holy dwells.

The name Ao Tiên comes from a legend told again and again beside the lake, about fairies and a hunter. The region has many versions of it. It is one way the Indigenous people of the area have expressed their love for the water, the mountains, the forest and the freshness and purity of this place. It is best heard as an old tale, a thin veil of mist laid over the pond, and not as a page of history.

Ao Tiên lies on the same route as other well-loved places of the Ba Bể lake region. The route also takes in Bà Góa Island and Puông Cave. An Mạ Temple and Đầu Đẳng Waterfall are on it too. Among such a chain of beautiful stops, Ao Tiên keeps a quiet of its own, a small corner of water that is easy to pass unless someone points it out.

Standing still on the bank, a visitor can hear the old forest breathe and watch the clear green water lie quiet between walls of limestone, as calm as the pond has been for generations.