Cuc Phuong National Park is located 120km southwest of Hanoi, adjacent to Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa. This is a large nature reserve, storing many diverse and rich species of animals and plants of Vietnam. Cuc Phuong Forest has possessed many old trees for many years, beautiful birds… is a great place for outdoor picnics.
General information
The total area of Cuc Phuong National Park is about 25,000 hectares and is also the first national forest of Vietnam. Cuc Phuong National Park features tropical rain forest, green all year round with extremely rich and diverse flora and fauna. Many endangered species of flora and fauna have been discovered and preserved here, of which the black and white rump langur is considered the symbol of Cuc Phuong forest.
The most suitable time to visit Cuc Phuong National Park
The most suitable time to come to Cuc Phuong National Park is in the dry season (from December to May), at this time the weather in the forest is very cool. You should avoid going in the rainy season because the road is slippery and there are a lot of mosquitoes and squeezes, which will affect your experience.
Read more: Van Long Lagoon: The famous eco-tourism destination not to be missed in Ninh Binh
How to move to Cuc Phuong forest?
Coming to Cuc Phuong, you can go by motorbike, self-driving car or bus. If you drive by yourself, you will feel more comfortable, the car can run deep into the forest. The direction is clear so you don’t need to worry about being lost on the way.
Places to visit when coming to Cuc Phuong National Park
- Nguoi xua Cave: Also known as Dang cave. This is a place to keep traces of residence and burial of prehistoric people, a precious heritage of Cuc Phuong garden.
- Con Moong Cave: Outside the cave entrance, there is a large rock protruding like an animal, so it is named Con Moong cave (the cave of the beast – follow the ethnic monitory – Muong). This is also the ancient people’s residence and an important archaeological site classified as a national monument.
- Moon Crescent Cave: From afar, the entrance looks like a crescent moon, the cave is located deep in the forest.
- Silver Cloud Peak: Silver cloud top has a height of 648m, from the top we can enjoy a panoramic view of the national park along with Hoa Lu ancient capital and Bai Dinh pagoda. However, the way to the top of May Bac has many rocky slopes that are quite difficult to go, so this place is only suitable for people with good health.
- Yen Quang Lake – Pho Ma cave: go back to Nho Quan street about 7km, go to Tri Phuong bridge and turn west to Yen Quang lake. Going through Thung La to the foot of the limestone mountains is Pho Ma cave. Pho Ma cave is a magical architectural design of nature with countless stalactites with interesting shapes.
- Thousands of years old trees: Cuc Phuong forest has many old trees such as: the Dang tree 45m high with a diameter of 5m, the thousand-year-old green Cho tree with a circumference of more than 20 people hugging, the ancient crocodile tree …
- Muong village: Cuc Phuong is also home to the Muong community with many unique cultural features such as stilt houses, terraced fields, brocade looms…
- Primate Rescue Center: A place to preserve and nurture many rare primates. Coming here, visitors will not only observe the beauty of primates but also learn more about this animal.
Read more: Bai Dinh Pagoda: The largest temple complex in Southeast Asia
Resting place in Cuc Phuong forest
In Cuc Phuong National Park, there are 3 areas of accommodation, dining and entertainment for visitors to choose from:
- Garden gate: there are full rooms from 200,000 VND. In addition, there is a rental service of forest equipment, mountain bikes.
- Mac Lake area: here for rent collective stilt houses, rooms. This is an area suitable for large groups, you can light a campfire, eat, drink, sing, and have cultural exchanges here.
- Central area: including stilt houses and separate apartments.
Things to note when traveling to Cuc Phuong National Park
- It is necessary to prepare all necessary items such as: hats, forest shoes, medicine, bandages, food and drink …. before joining Cuc Phuong.
- You can bring binoculars for sightseeing
- In the forest, there are many types of mosquitoes, so a tip for you to avoid these obnoxious animals is to buy DEP (medicine for scabies) cream applied to sensitive areas such as the head, nape, wrists, ankles …
What interesting experiences cannot be missed
Walking in the primeval forest
Cuc Phuong has built many walking routes in the forest, with different content and time, visitors can choose for themselves the suitable routes such as the long-term walking route to Ngoc Son conservation area, Pu Luong conservation area.
Community tourism
Cuc Phuong’s nature is extremely important, as a source of livelihood for local communities, community-based tourism is an interesting experience for tourists, discovering the cultural features of ethnic groups such as the Muong ethnic group who gave birth to the local community. lived a long time in the area of Cuc Phuong National Park.
Explore wildlife at night
Depending on weather conditions, Cuc Phuong National Park may host a nighttime wildlife viewing program. By participating in this program, visitors will have the opportunity to see some wild animals such as black squirrel, flying squirrel, roe deer, culi and some small carnivores.
Cycling in the forest
One of the mysterious forms of discovering Cuc Phuong’s nature is cycling in the forest. Cycling in the forest will not only give visitors a quiet feeling, a real sense of nature, but also give visitors the opportunity to encounter rare animals in Cuc Phuong.
Visit the first Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Education Center in Vietnam
500m from Cuc Phuong National Park Headquarters, visitors can easily book an appointment to visit the Carnivore and Pangolin Conservation Education Center to learn and discover the beauty of endangered wildlife species. threat in Vietnam. With the Center’s interactive creative space, visitors can:
- Visit rescued animals in long-term care and hear their stories
- Watch the footage of the rescue and release of extremely rare pangolins
- See the confiscated traps used to hunt endangered animals first-hand, and learn about threats to wildlife
- Admire the footprints and listen to the calls of the Carnivores and Pangolins
- Find out interesting facts about Carnivores and Pangolins in Vietnam
In addition to Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam also has 9 super beautiful national parks such as: Cat Ba National Park in Hai Phong Province, Tram Chim National Park (Dong Thap), Nui Chua National Park in Ninh Thuan, Bidoup National Park – Nui Ba in Da Lat, Nam Cat Tien National Forest (Dong Nai Province), Bach Ma National Park (Thua Thien – Hue), Ba Vi National Park (Ha Noi), Ba Be National Park (Bac Kan)
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