Referring to the West of the flooding season, people immediately think of Tra Su Melaleuca forest – a very attractive destination for domestic and foreign tourists. Before the end of the flooding season, don’t forget to bag these famous An Giang Melaleuca jungle experiences!
Located in Van Giao commune, Tinh Bien district, An Giang; destination Tra Su Melaleuca forest, about 70km from Long Xuyen city. This is famous as the most unique tourist attraction of An Giang in particular and in the western provinces in general, especially during the flooding season (from September to November each year). 
Tra Su Melaleuca forest is one of the most beautiful tourist destinations in the western floating season
Tra Su Melaleuca forest has an area of 845 hectares in the core zone and 643 hectares of buffer zone in the system of special-use forests of Vietnam, recognized as a landscape protection zone in 2005. Visiting Tra Su, you were present. In the submerged Melaleuca forest, there is a rich flora and fauna in the southwestern region, where the rows of melaleuca trees stretching both sides of the road and the straight-winged rice fields are still mixed with tall palm trees extremely beautiful. According to statistics, this place is also home to 70 types of birds, 11 species of mammals, 25 species of reptiles and 10 species of fish and 140 different species of plants.
The flora and fauna here are extremely diverse
Should travel to Tra Su An Giang Melaleuca forest at what time of the year?
The best time to come to Tra Su Melaleuca forest is definitely during the flooding season, you will be surprised by the many species of flora and fauna that are only here at this time.
You should arrange to visit the Melaleuca forest in the hours from 7:00 – 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. so you can stand on the Observatory to see life through the binoculars: Flocks of birds swimming in the sky, The pure white cajuput flowers, fish and shrimp swimming in the river … All appeared like a water-based painting.
You should go to the Melaleuca forest in the morning, when the sun is mild and the landscape is most beautiful
Guide to move to Tra Su Melaleuca forest
Melaleuca forest is only about 30km from Chau Doc city, about 70km from Long Xuyen city. You can take a bus from the Western bus station – Ho Chi Minh City to Long Xuyen or Chau Doc, the fare ranges from 150,000 to 300,000 VND / way.
If traveling by private vehicle can refer to the route:
– Depart from Chau Doc: Take the Tan Lo Kieu Luong route connecting with Highway 91. When passing Tra Su Bridge of Nha Bang town, Tinh Bien district, turn left along Tra Su canal for a few more kilometers. Tra Su Melaleuca forest .
– Starting from the center of Long Xuyen: Go along Highway 91 to Chau Doc, then follow the above route to reach Tra Su Melaleuca Forest.
Just go 30km from Chau Doc city to Melaleuca forest. Photo: @hieuhieu
Visiting and exploring Melaleuca forest in floating water season
If you do not have enough time for a “sweeping” trip to the West, you should spend time going to Tra Su Melaleuca forest , because it has all the most typical features of the river region with typical ecosystems. image of the wetlands west of the Hau river.
Blue canals are typical of the floating water season. Photo: @nganshuu
Crossing the bridge at the gate of the Melaleuca forest, following the boat weaving into the canals, tourists floating on the cool water.
Before getting off the boat
From there, you can enter the world of water-green water and dense forest. Surrounding the sound of nature, the sound of the paddle stirring softly mixed with the sound of birds chirping between the large space.
The two sides are green trees. Photo: @ bell.tran
Somewhere the classic crazy flower branches possessing a beautiful shiny yellow color, many birds passing branches or standing calmly preening their feathers, you will definitely want to save yourself the best pictures. 
New love bridge in Melaleuca forest
All these fanciful landscapes make visitors feel like they are lost in a fairyland, especially when the sky is clear in the morning, the air is cool and fresh, only light rays of sunlight are slanted through the leaves , and energetic birds greet the new day.
Boat ride price: 50-60k / person for a boat from 3-5 people. Time to visit: 2 hours.
Relaxing in the cool green space
Come here, do not forget to stop by the observation gazebo to admire the entire vast Melaleuca forest with a telescope, even from a distance you can spot the villages of the Khmer and Kinh people. Then rent a bike to go around, maybe get quite a lot of photos with the animals and plants of this particular mangrove forest.
From the viewpoint of the Melaleuca forest
If you have more time, remember to take advantage of special handicrafts such as weaving silk, brocade of Khmer ethnic people, beekeeping for honey, Melaleuca essential oil area … to buy gifts for friends and relatives.
During your trip to An Giang in the flooding season, do not miss the opportunity to visit other tourist destinations such as Cam Mountain tourist area, An Giang Lau pagoda, Linh Son Ba The pagoda, Oc relic Eo, Tuc Dup hill, Soai So lake – Co To mountain , Bay Nui region …
What to eat when traveling to Tra Su Melaleuca forest?
As a typical stopover in the western tourist itinerary , it is not surprising that many typical dishes of the region can be found here such as grilled mouse, grilled snakehead fish, classic cotton fish hotpot …
– Classic Ganoderma hotpot : The hot pot cannot be missed when traveling in the flood season because this season, the spirit fish is at its freshest and the classic flowers are also blooming along the river. Freshly cleaned young reishi fish, marinating for flavor, coming out plate, with freshly picked crazy plate, water lilies and herbs … The pot of hot pot is rich with coconut milk, a little tamarind, a little Garlic, a little cilantro and season to taste more depending on taste. When the hot pot was boiled on the stove, the fish were added; Next is to drop all kinds of flowers and vegetables into the sweet aroma. This hot pot dish is served with all kinds of delicious hot rice vermicelli and rice.
Western specialty fish hotpot dish
Grilled snakehead fish: Delicious dish in the countryside, but very popular with tourists. Snakehead fish is left naturally to leave the whole animal and then baked on the charcoal oven until the fish burns black and smells good, then keep it in fresh banana leaves. When eating, people will peel off the burnt fish scales, the flesh of the fish inside is cooked evenly and radiates a sweet fragrance. Fish meat rolls with rice paper, raw vegetables, fresh noodles and a cup of sweet and sour sauce or seasoning fish sauce.
– Where seasoning fish salad: This dish is very popular in the western border provinces like An Giang, Kien Giang . To make this dish fresh and delicious, the flowers and young leaves from the durian tree will be blanched first through boiling water to reduce the bitter taste; then mixed with grilled chopped chopped fish, boiled bacon, sliced cucumber, and sliced buffalo horn; finally poured over sweet and sour fish sauce prepared to infuse spices before serving. The special feature of this dish is that the salad sauce is sweet and sour tamarind fish sauce, the harmony of the sour, spicy, salty, sweet taste makes the dish extremely attractive.
Remember to prepare eye-catching costumes to check-in at this place
Going to the West of the river in the flooding season without visiting Tra Su – An Giang cajuput forest is a big shortcoming because you have yet to discover all the beauty and culture of the Mekong River region.