Cat Ba National Park

Description and is it worth a visit

Cat Ba National Park is the main attraction of the island. It occupies half the area of Catba Island, the water area and another 365 small islets. Its territory is covered with tropical forests, mangroves, includes coral reefs and mountains, many caves. There are 2320 species of plants and animals, of which 80 are listed in the Red Book of Vietnam.

Tourists can visit the National Park, for which several routes are organized in it. Also included in the park is Trung Trang Cave, the most visited and interesting cave on the island.

The visit is carried out independently or with a guide at your request. With a guide, of course, it is much more interesting and informative, because without his explanations you will simply miss all the most interesting plants, and you may not notice the animals. Four walking routes are organized for tourists. The first three are short and provide entrance and exit from the park in one place, and the fourth route is through, ending on the shore of the island. In general, the fourth route is highly recommended to do with a personal guide or as part of an excursion. Here is a brief about the routes:

• 1. Kim Gao forest – Ngu Lam Peak. This is the shortest and easiest route, it is most often visited. The trails will take you through the rainforest, if you are lucky you will be able to see small animals, including snakes, and then climb to the top of Ngu Lam mountain with an observation deck offering beautiful views of the park.
• 2. Educational Trail or educational trail.
• 3. Frog Pond or "Frog Pond".
• 4. Frog Pond – Viet Hai Village. This is the longest route that you need to start in the early morning, and best of all with a guide. The trek takes from 6 hours, during which you will cover 18 kilometers, and finish it in the village of Viet Hai, from where you will need to get back to Cat Ba town by ferry for 50,000 VND (departs from the village at 07:00 and 13:00), or hire a boat. Also in the village you can stay overnight in one of the guest houses.

All routes start from the park headquarters, which is 13 kilometers from Catba town (headquarters on the map). Here at the box office you need to buy tickets, and go on the route. A schematic map is issued with tickets, there will also be signs and boards with maps along the way, but still a map Navigator in a smartphone will not hurt.

When buying tickets for the first three routes on the same ticket, you can visit the Trung Trang cave, the entrance to which is 1 kilometer from the ticket offices and the entrance to the park, but it is better to do this on the way back after a walk through the park. Also in the park there is a butterfly park, a greenhouse and a mini-zoo, but everything is in a neglected state, there is nothing to see.

Visiting tips

• Observe the rules of the park: go only along the marked routes, do not pluck plants, do not light fires, do not make noise, do not harm animals.
• Bring drinking water, raincoat, jacket.
• Good hiking shoes are recommended, at least sneakers, and ideally trekking shoes.
• It is best to visit in the morning, the weather is usually better at this time. In addition, after lunch you can go only on the first route.