The vastness of Ba Vi National Park is lit up yearly during December by wild sunflowers, which are also a tell-tale sign that winter is approaching. Visiting the park this year, travelers will also have chance to admire the flowers from above with a hot air balloon ride.

An attractive destination

In an early day in December, soft morning sunlight bathes Tan Vien mountain hillside, dressing the whole landscape with a magical orange color. Many tourists visit Ba Vi National Park just to admire the dazzling and attractive beauty of the wild flower blooming at the year-end.

This year season of wild sunflowers began in November with thousands of the tiny yellow-almost-orange wild flowers in full bloom in a vast swathe of the park, stretching along the 12.5-kilometer roadside up to the top of Ba Vi Mountain. As visitors pass through the entrance gate and head towards the pine forest in Ba Vi National Park, they can glimpse blooming wild sunflowers that looks like golden carpets covering all over the mountain slopes.

A hill of wild sunflowers, which covers an area of over 10 hectares in the height of 400 meters, and 200 meters before reaching the pine forest is the highlight of this tourist attraction. Visitors would stroll along the path to delighting in the scenic views of the whole forest in the flowering season.

Photo: Thanh Huong

Apart from providing wild sunflowers sightseeing, Ba Vi National Park also offers a variety of side services such as camping tent rental and food catering, among others. The dedicated services and splendid gorgeous landscapes are attracting more and more visitors to come to Ba Vi National Park and its surroundings on weekends.

The new exciting experience

Themed "Autumn in Tan Vien Moutain", the Wild Sunflowers Festival 2020 introduces to its visitors a first ever exciting service of flying in a hot air balloon for capturing snapshots of brilliant yellow wildflowers and admiring panoramic view of Ba Vi area from above. Guests can choose the balloon tours offered at the Ba Vi Mountain’s height of 400 meters or 900 meters.

Admission fees to Ba Vi National Park are ranging from 10,000 - 60,000VND per person and children under 1.2 meter enjoy free entrance. The price for balloon tour is at 300,000VND per person. 

Riding balloons promises to be a pleasant experience for every traveler. "The weather in Ba Vi National Park is very pleasant this season and I’m fond of admiring blossoming wild sunflowers from above in a hot air balloon,” said Mr. Tuan, a visitor from Cau Giay district- Hanoi city.

The days in early winter is the most beautiful blooming wild sunflowers season of the year. Ba Vi National Park attracts thousands of visitors daily, and on weekends especially, there might be 1.2 to 1.3 thousand visitors.

Photo: Hoang Lan

According to Mr. Nguyen Phi Hung - Permanent Deputy Director of the Ba Vi National Park Service and Environmental Education Center, wild sunflowers have been exploited as tourism products since 2015 and have achieved very good results as the number of visitors continues to increase every year. The park received more than 110,000 visitors in 2015, and by the end of 2019, the number reached more than 400,000 people.

Although it is a newly launched tourist product, the contemplating wild sunflower from balloon service has gained remarkable positive feedback from visitors. This is a very good signal for the tourism stimulus campaign amid Covid-19 of Ba Vi National Park in particular and Ba Vi district in general. "For visitors who come in groups, we offer a special discount on entrance fee to encourage them to visit the place again," said Mr. Hung.