Pu Huong Nature Reserve

In the west of Nghệ An lies Pù Huống Nature Reserve, a place that can teach more than a textbook.

Pù Huống is not a name many people mention when they talk about travel in Nghệ An. Those who know the province better tend to name Pù Mát. They also name the Khe Kèm waterfall and the Giăng River. But Pù Huống is a piece that cannot be left out of a larger picture.

In September 2007, UNESCO recognized the Western Nghệ An Biosphere Reserve. It has three core zones. The first is Pù Mát National Park. The second is Pù Hoạt Nature Reserve. And the third is Pù Huống itself. Together, the three core zones form one connected ecological corridor. Each of them plays its own part in the whole ecosystem of western Nghệ An.

Pù Huống stretches across five mountain areas. Two of them are Quỳ Hợp and Quế Phong. Next come Quỳ Châu and Con Cuông. The fifth is Tương Dương. Later, the board that ran the Quỳ Hợp protection forest was merged into the reserve's own board. Since then, the reserve's board has managed more than 40,200 hectares of special-use forest. Special-use forest is the class of forest that Vietnam keeps mainly for conservation and scientific research.

The story begins in 1986. At that time, the aim was to protect two rare timber trees, pơ mu and sa mộc. The reserve covered only 5,000 hectares, and it had not yet truly been set up on the ground. Only in 1995 did the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute survey the area again. It proposed a reserve of nearly 50,000 hectares. Then, early in 2002, the Management Board of Pù Huống Nature Reserve was officially founded.

From guarding two precious trees to protecting a whole ecosystem. That is how Pù Huống grew, in less than 20 years.

The offices of the Management Board stand in Quỳ Hợp. They are the gateway into the world of Pù Huống, and three things there are well worth the time.

The first is the Pù Huống Open Museum of Nature and Culture. It was founded in 2008, then restored and enlarged in 2023. Inside are three separate areas. One is a history room, with a three-dimensional model of the landforms of the whole reserve. Another displays specimens of the animal life. The last displays specimens of the plant life. Stepping inside is like stepping into a miniature world of the biosphere reserve.

The plant room holds more than 500 specimens. Among the finest are lim xanh, chò chỉ, kim giao and ebony. Each specimen in this museum is best seen as a piece of scientific data, not as a lone object on display. Each one tells where it came from and the habitat its species lives in. It also shows the pressures that threaten it, and what must be done to conserve it. That is how a museum of nature really works.

The second is a botanical garden for off-site conservation. It covers nearly 11 hectares, divided into nine sections. Over 20 years, the garden has been planted with 119 native tree species. Conservation uses two strategies that support each other. On-site conservation keeps a species in its own natural habitat. Off-site conservation keeps, breeds and studies it in a more controlled space. This garden is a living example of the second strategy.

The third is Khe Lạnh, a stream inside the grounds. It is a small natural landscape, tied to a space for teaching about the environment.

A little farther on, along National Route 48C, stands Chọng Temple. It is about 10 kilometers from the offices. Deeper still is the Bản Bìa waterfall, nearly 100 meters high, with water flowing all year round.

But to see why this forest is precious, you have to count the life inside it.

One survey was led by Doctor Đỗ Ngọc Đài. It covered nine routes in five areas. The team collected 4,800 specimens. The survey identified 1,806 plant species, and it described six different types of vegetation. They range from tropical closed evergreen forest in the lowlands to mixed forest of broadleaf and conifer trees. That mixed forest grows at heights of 700 meters and above. A separate bird survey recorded 273 species. They belong to 60 families and 17 orders. The bird team walked set routes and interviewed people who live in the area. It also used camera traps and sound recorders.

Rare species live in Pù Huống too. Among the trees are pơ mu and sa mu dầu. Bách xanh grows here as well, along with the orchid lan kim tuyến. Among the animals are the gray langur and the white-cheeked gibbon. The last on the list is the gà lôi vằn, a kind of pheasant.

The greatest value of Pù Huống does not lie in one waterfall or one special stand of trees. It lies in this forest still standing, still green. It is still home to more than 1,800 plant species and nearly 300 kinds of birds. That did not happen by itself. It comes from the work of many people, over many decades. And in the botanical garden in Quỳ Hợp, 119 native tree species are still quietly growing, one ring of wood at a time.