Bau Trang: The Beautiful Lake In The Middle Of The Desert
Bau Trang is a freshwater lake nestled between white sand dunes in Phan Thiet, Binh Thuan. “Bau” means pond or puddle, and “Trang” is the white sand color of the surrounding sand dunes.
Around April and May, the lotus in the lake blooms, creating a romantic and wonderful natural scenery of nature. Bau Trang (means White Lake), also called Bau Sen (means Lotus Lake) is freshwater lake situated in immense white sand dunes of Mui Ne. In a vast area of white sand “desert”, Bau Trang appears like a wonderful oasis with sparkling water under the sunshine and fresh green color of lotus’s leaves. The region has a rich ecosystem with various grasses, insects, fish and birds.
Photo: Shutterstock
Bau Trang was once one massive lake. Sandbanks and dunes have since divided the body of water into two, known as the small lake (Bau Ong) and the big lake (Bau Ba). Bau Ba is larger than Bau Ong and has beautiful flowering lotus in pink. This flower blossom all year round, but summer is the best time for them to bloom. Seeing lovely pinky lotuses in green big leaves, covered by endless pure white sand area is really spectacular scenery.
People coming here will be amazed by the breath-taking beauty of Bau Trang, and will be able to capture many wonderful moments with their camera lenses. The boundless sand can easily inspire the most aspiring photographers, no matter they are proffessionals or not. There are also many couples choosing this place to take their wedding photos or to celebrate their engagement.
Photo: ZIONTOUR
In recent years, visitors to Bau Trang have enjoyed riding Jeeps, off-road vehicles, and exploring sand dunes. For those who are adventure seekers and thrill lovers, this is a must-try experience not to be missed.
A game that recalls childhood memories that every tourist wants to try in Bau Trang is sandboarding. From the top of the hill, tourists will sit on the board and start sliding down the sand slope until the slope ends.
Photo: Vietnam Tourism
This natural area is not developed, so travelers won’t find places to eat or drink at the lake. There’s a pine forest on the southern end of the lake. It’s ideal for sitting under the shade to enjoy a picnic.
How to get to Bau Trang
Bau Trang is located in Hong Lam Hamlet, Hoa Thang Commune, Bac Binh District, Binh Thuan Province, about 65 km northeast of Phan Thiet City. Therefore, you can go to Phan Thiet or Mui Ne and transfer to Bau Trang. To get Bau Trang, travelers can choose to arrive by motorbike or by car, coach, train or bus.
The lotus blooming on the lake. Photo: Vietnam Discovery Travel
If tourists depart from Hon Rom, they can drive along the road to Mui Ne, go through Mui Ne market, Doi Hong then continue going along the beach for about 12km to get to Bau Trang. Alternatively, they can move by Jeep vehicle from Hon Rom to get to Bau Trang.
If tourists depart from Phan Thiet City, they should follow the National Highway 1A to Luong Son town and then turn right about 18km through the hills, scallops, and coconut forests to get to Bau Trang. The total distance is about 63km.