Cat Ba National Park - The World Biosphere Reserve

Geographically, Cat Ba National Park is located in Cat Hai district, Hai Phong city. Belonging to Cat Ba island, the national park incorporates some of the small islands and marine water and covers 26,300ha, in which 17,300ha is on the main island and 9,000ha is of the adjacent inshore waters.

A pleasant feeling from physical features…

The landscape of Cat Ba National Park is dominated by karst limestone areas on the main island where there are numerous waterfalls, caves and grottoes. The rugged topography is marked by steep outcrops and bare rock areas with many seasonal streams such as Thung Luong, Treo Com, Hoi Trung Trang and Viet Hai.
Most of the rain water flows into caves and grottoes and follows underground streams to the sea. There are several small lakes and ponds in the hills; the largest is Ech Lake- a permanent water body with an area of 3ha and a depth of about 50m. Ninety percent of the main island is between 50m and 200m above sea level, for example Cao Vong (331m) and Hien Hoa (302m), while only 10% of the island is below 50m in elevation.

…to climate

Featured by tropical monsoon with pronounced wet and dry seasons, the park receives the annual rainfall from 1,700mm to 1,800mm. The annual temperature at sea level is 25oC to 28oC associated with the moderate annual relative humidity is 85%. The ideal time is April and October as you may encounter the rain, even typhoons and tropical storms if you come to the park from May to September as well as some drizzle during January, February and March.

Biodiversity values -vietnam travel
Due to the abundance of suitable moist niches within the limestone forest, Cat Ba National Park has a rich and plentiful snail fauna. It supports a diversity of natural habitats, including forested hills, small freshwater lakes, freshwater swamp forest, mangroves, sandy beaches and coral reefs. In detailed, among 839 vascular plant species have been recorded at the national park, there are 25 species listed in the Red Data Book of Vietnam.
Due to the isolated nature of the island and high levels of hunting, the diversity and abundance of mammals in Cat Ba are low in comparison with other national parks in Vietnam. Among the fauna of the park, the most popular are ungulate and primate, in which monkey is between 104 and 135 individuals, including only 50 to 75 adults. Also, the limestone habitat at Cat Ba National Park is an idea environment for a number of invertebrate species.

Satisfy your knowledge with human history clues.
Not only those typical characteristics, Cat Ba National park has been considered as a cradle of culture with many traces of ancient humans. Stone tools and bones found at the sites indicate that primitive man was living in the caves and grottoes on the island between 6,000 and 7,000 years ago. The example is Cai Beo Cave which is about 1.5km south-east of Cat Ba Town, has been studied intensively.

What about conservation management?
Come to the park and take actions with the local government in conservation matters! Do you know that the forests on the island are particularly valued for maintaining the water regime as well as containing important genetic resources and support ing the food chain of economically important aquatic animals such as fish, shrimp, bivalves and arthropods? That the reason why, local government as well as local people have tried their best to appeal the awareness and help from people come here to protect this vulnerable chain for further biodiversity development. Not only stop at a certain matter, as regard the whole national park, the main purpose are to preserve natural ecosystems and genetic resources, restore the native flora and fauna through replanting, re-introduction and habitat improvement as well as promote outdoor recreation and environmental education for the general public in collaboration with the tourist industry.

Amazing, exciting, surprising…
Each year, Cat Ba Island receives large numbers of domestic and overseas tourists. A significant proportion of these tourists visit the national park, either on foot, along one of the hiking trails, or by boat through the marine component. The national park can, therefore, be considered to be making an important contribution to the island's economy.
Cat Bat is a great place for hiking and outdoor activities. However, if you are not an experienced hiker, trails at Cat Ba might be quite a challenge for you to trek. In this situation, a sophisticated tour guide is highly recommended for the purpose of safety. Exploring Cat Ba, you will see one of the most beautiful landscapes in Vietnam and the copious ecosystem. Other attractions such as limestone formations, numerous waterfalls, caves and grottoes are waiting for your arrival!
Vietnam travel

Cuc Phuong National Park

Established in 1962, Cuc Phuong is the oldest and largest national park in Vietnam.
Where is it? Situated 120 South-West of Hanoi, with a 22,200 - ha rainforest, Cuc Phuong National Park is the centerpiece of Vietnam’s conservation efforts and one of the most accessible parks in the country.

A magnificiant limestone landscape. Located on 2 limestone mountain ranges, the landscape of Cuc Phuong is a wonderfully rich ecosystem. Apart from verdant karst mountain and the lush valleys, the limestone formations produced numerous caves, many of which are accessible for exploration.
Looking at "Nguoi Xua" Cave (Cave of the Early Man), you will see the two new discovered ancient tombs along with Neolithic remains and evidence of stone implements. You would have similar findings at the following caves: Trang Khuyet (Crescent Moon), Thanh Minh and Con Mong, and Hang Dan (well known for Bat).

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Does such a natural landscape have a cultural value? The answer is YES. In earlier times, Cuc Phuong was home to the Muong minority people and today, you can still see their traditional stilt houses. The rocky outcrops of Cuc Phuong contain very valuable archeological vestiges such as a fossilized sea reptile, dated at 200 - 230 million years old and evidence of prehistoric people, who lived in the forest some 7500 years ago.
As the oldest national park of Vietnam, Cuc Phuong is attached to a long-lasting history.In 1960, Cuc Phuong was turned into a forest reserve, and then granted a “National Park” 2 years later by President Ho Chi Minh for reminding his people of the environment’s core role in their life. Yet there had already been some relationship between mankind and Cuc Phuong before this event. The remains of prehistoric men dating 7,000-12,000 years ago have been found in the numerous caves in the park.

Diversity of Flora-Fauna. Cuc Phuong is also popular for being home to a huge diversity of flora and fauna. The botanical richness of the forest is impressive since it supports a wide variety of flora species and patches of primeval forest, including ancient trees with thick clusters of roots, parasitic plants and ligneous creepers. Surprisingly, some plant species have been introduced from Burma, India, and Borneo. Stepping to the caves, you can find at entrances the ideal moisture conditions and light, you will feel relaxed when seeing clusters of growing orchards as well as vanilla, snow-white and butterfly orchids.
As regards fauna, the park has 97 species of mammals, 300 species of birds, 36 reptilian species, 17 species of amphibians, 11 species of fish and thousands of species of insects, most of which do not bite. A number of species in the park are listed on Vietnam Red Book of endangered species.
Visiting the park, no one could help keeping an eye on the primates; including macaques, gibbon, Francois' leaf monkey and slow loris. Besides, this park is the home for other mammals including bats, porcupine, squirrel, leopard, clouded leopard and jungle cat in Cuc Phuong. Migrant species include thrushes, flycatchers, tits, finches, pipits amongst others. Hornbills can also be spotted in the forest.

Entertainment activities. Should you are keen on cultural aspects, do not hesitate to join in the community-based eco-tourism and home-stays. Why don’t you take a trek to the Muong village where the hospitable local people offer you 1 or 2 nights' home-stay in their traditional stilt houses? This does bring you an opportunity to explore their culture and try out bamboo river rafting!
You can also discover excellent hiking opportunities, and spend some days trekking though the forest. Popular trails to 1000 year old tree, other ancient trees, silver cloudy peak and Muong village. Tourists may join night-spotting trips into the primary forest. These offer opportunities to see the more exclusive mammal species of the park, including the black giant squirrel, the Indian flying squirrel, samba deer and several small carnivores.Do not forget to bring with you the binoculars because Cuc Phuong is home to a wealth of beautiful tropical birds, many of which are endemic in Vietnam and Indochina. Some of the 307 species of rare birds that you might encounter are the silver-pheasant, red-collared woodpecker, brown hornbill, bar-bellied pita, and so forth.
For further interests, we suggest you take a tour to biodiversity hotspots. At the moment Cuc Phuong has a total of 43 biodiversity hotspots. All of these are recognized by the scientific department of the national park and they offer you and excellent opportunity to study and see many different species of tropical plants.
One of the fantastic ways to experience Cuc Phuong is by cycling through the forest. Biking offers the visitor not only silence and a cool breeze, but it is also a great way to discover the more secretive animals and birds of the national park

Suggested means of transport. Take a bus from Hanoi at Giap Bat Bus Terminal- the city’s southern bus terminal, at around 20,000 VND, to Nho Quan, then catch a motorcycle taxi to the park headquarters for about 30,000 dong. The total travel time is 2.30 to 3.30 hours. If you plan on making only a day trip to the park, you should go through a travel agency. However, if you’re going to stay for one or more nights then the public bus option is viable.