Activity
guide for Cat Tien National Park, Vietnam
(PDF version is forthcoming)
There is a lot to see and do in Cat Tien, it just takes a
little bit of planning and asking the right questions. I hope this information helps
you make the most of your time there.
I’ve organized the activities according to the amount of
time they take, from a half-day or less, up to week long visits.
Let me know if you use this. I’d love to hear about your
trip!
Marilyn Marler, marilynjmarler@gmail.com
Big thanks to:
Carla Abrams, Dao Van Hoang, Đat Đinh, Tan Vo, Trong, Dien
Nguyen, Khanh Pham,h David Schmetterling
General
information.
These
descriptions were updated in early 2016, but please remember that conditions
change over time. Some activities are not possible during the rainy
season. You should take appropriate
precautions for safety depending on the season, and keep in mind that the time
estimates below are ONLY ESTIMATES. Trekking and biking times depend on your
fitness and how often you stop for watching wildlife or taking pictures. Please contact the Park’s Tourism office for
current prices for guides, car rental, bike rental and admission fees.
Hire a
guide.
There are
so many reasons to hire a guide for hiking, biking, birdwatching or visiting
local towns. Here are some of those
reasons.
You will
see more wildlife
You will
learn about local plants
You are
supporting conservation-based jobs in the community
You
probably don’t speak Vietnamese, and it is really fun to communicate with the locals (through your
English speaking guide)
National Park Hotel. It isn’t really a
“hotel” but a collection of options for all budgets and group sizes. Choose
from tent camping (if you have a tent), private bungalows/guest houses (many
options), or even dormitories if you are a large group of college students. The price depends on the number of beds and
the number of people, as you would expect. The bungalows and guest houses have
received some negative comments on Trip Advisor but I’ve never had a problem.
They are rustic, like you’d expect in a national park, but they have clean
linens and hot water and they are very secure.
Forest Floor Lodge. This is a privately
owned and upscale hotel that is located in the park. You can book directly with
them on line.
Private guesthouses and hotels outside the
park. Across the Dong Nai River, outside
the park but within walking distance to the ferry and main entrance, there are
a handful of privately run guest houses.
You can read about them on Trip Advisor, and most of them take
reservations on line. NOTE that if you are going to do the Gibbon Trek, you
need to stay at Park Headquarters, because the ferry across the river doesn’t
run in the pre-dawn hours (and the Gibbon Trek starts very early).
Crocodile Lake Guesthouse. This is a park-owned guesthouse (with showers
and flush toilets) located at Crocodile Lake.
You have to make
advance reservations, since it is a remote location and it takes a little
planning to make sure there will be linens and food for you. Make arrangements
with the Park’s Tourism Office, and make sure you clarify whether you will be
bringing your own food or eating with the Rangers. You should eat with the
Rangers because they are good cooks and interesting people. It can be a great cultural experience.
Homestay at Dac Lua farming village. Just across the
northern boundary of the park is the farming community of Dac Lua. With a few
days’ notice, you can stay with Mr Hahn and his family, who raise silkworms and
mulberry plants to feed them. This is a
great way to support community based tourism. The park Tourism Office
can help you arrange
the homestay. The hosts don’t speak English, but are
really friendly. Also, you will
hopefully have an English-speaking guide with you anyway, and they can
translate for you.
Ta Lai Longhouse. Just across the south western boundary of the
park is the village of Ta Lai. Most people in Ta Lai are members of the Ma or
S’Tieng ethnic minority group. The community (in cooperation with the national
park and a small British company) operate a traditional style longhouse as a
hotel. It is very charming and comfortable, with a really friendly staff. You
can rent kayaks and bikes, and get advice about things to see in this general
area. You can book on line directly with them.
Eating
inside the Park
There are
two restaurants at Park Headquarters.
One is called the Golden Bamboo and it is an open air structure (made
out of bamboo) within sight of the Dong Nai River, and adjacent to the Tourism
Office. The other is called Dipterocarp
Café, and it is at the far end of the row of guest houses.
Both
restaurants are fine. While they have long menus, it is pretty common to order
something and then be told “We don’t have it today.” Try to start off by asking
what they do have today. If that isn’t
successful, just be patient while you figure out what the options are.
Prices
are elevated compared to most restaurants, but it’s because you are inside a
national park. It is hard to get stuff in there! Plan accordingly. You can always ferry across the river and
find a place to eat in the nearby village, but just allow extra time and make
sure you know when the ferry is coming back (if you are staying inside the
park).
Travel
within the Park
Your
options are walking, renting a bike from the tourism office, or hiring a car
and driver. You can see a lot in any of these scenarios. Just adjust according to your schedule and
the number of “things” you want to see.
Most domestic tourists get around by car, and the tourism office staff
will encourage you to do the same, because they want you to have a good
time. Just be clear that you want to
bike or walk instead (if that is the case)
After you
check in, take a little time to visit the Tourism Office. If you ask, the staff will turn on the TV so
you can watch some excellent nature videos about the park. There are a whole
series of these documentaries: Swamps, Birds, and more. They are really worth
watching. Get yourself an iced coffee or
Saigon Bia from the Yellow Bamboo Canteen and enjoy.
The TV
room also has gorgeous murals featuring the wildlife and plants of Cat
Tien. These were commissioned in 2010
from wildlife artist Dao Van Hoang who currently lives in Ho Chi Minh City.
The
murals will hopefully be
renovated in 2016 or 2017.
Interpretative panels will also be added, so visitors can learn about
the park’s inhabitants.
Make sure
you also visit the Dipterocarp Café during you stay. It features huge
murals of the park’s charismatic wildlife, also painted by Mr. Hoang, and also
scheduled for updating in the near future.
Famous Attractions (you should include
these in your trip!)
Night
Safari. 7 pm nightly.
Night
spotting is the easiest way to see mammals. Ride in an open air truck through
the jungle to observe wild animals such as deer, wild pigs, snakes, porcupines,
and weasels as they forage for food on the grasslands or in bushes during the
night. Daily tours depart from the Tourism Office at 7:30 and 8:30 pm. You
should make a reservation in advance (at least a few hours in advance).
The Wild
Gibbon Trek. 5 am- 11am.
See southern Vietnam’s only ape in the wild: the golden-cheeked
gibbon Led
by experienced guides, this trek takes you off the tourist trails & gives
you the chance to see these endangered primates in their natural habitat. Meet
your guide at the Tourism Center and go on a short trek into the forest. As the
sun comes up you will hopefully be serenaded by the gibbons. Your guide will
take you to their location if they are nearby. Gibbon sightings are not
guaranteed but are fairly common. The trek is followed by a visit to Dao Tien
Endangered Primate Species Centre, which is on a small island near Park
Headquarters, in the Dong Nai River.
Regulations
& Considerations. Please read before booking.
To ensure you have the best chance of seeing wildlife, without
compromising their welfare or your safety:
Tours are limited to 4 people per day. Please book in advance.
Take plenty of water
Don’t bring food. Please eat before you go.
Please wear dark colored clothes, thick trousers & good
walking shoes.
No smoking in the forest.
Direct interaction with the gibbons is completely forbidden.
A moderate fitness level is required for all participants as it
involves forest trekking at a relatively fast pace, possibly over uneven
terrain, rattan and slippery rocks. Cat Tien has the right to refuse
participation for anyone whom they deem unsuitable, unprepared or obviously unwell.
The minimum age is 12 years old, and anyone under 16 must be
accompanied by an adult who must take full responsibility for their safety.
How to
Book
Book with
Cat Tien Tourism Office: namcattien@yahoo.com.vn, or
cattienvietnam@gmail.com / +84 (0) 613669228.
do not book this tour through any third party organization. Cat
Tien cannot honour these bookings, and we cannot guarantee that your money will
go towards conservation.
Crocodile
Lake.
Crocodile
is a beautiful wetland complex that can only be reached by trekking 5 km from
the main park road (the trailhead is 9 km from Park Headquarters and can be
reached by bike or by taking a Park vehicle). It can be done as a day trip or
as an overnighter. If you want to stay the night, make arrangements with the Tourism
Office. Since it is a remote location,
the staff at Crocodile Lake (i.e., the Forest Rangers who work at the Crocodile
Lake Guard Station) will need some notice to have your room and food ready.
A lot of
people do this as a day trip, which has you arriving at the lake around
mid-day. It is really hot at mid-day,
and hard to see many animals. If you leave early in the morning, or stay
overnight, you’ll have much better viewing opportunities. If some of the rangers are available, you can
hire them to take you out on a small boat. Please try to do this, because it’s
incredibly beautiful.
PLEASE
NOTE that Crocodile Lake is a special management area and you must buy a ticket
at the Tourism Office before visiting. It is possible to stay overnight in the
guest house, but you have to arrange that ahead of time. Please make
reservations at the Tourism Office.
Half
day activities.
It’s
easy to entertain yourself around the Park Headquarters if you have a few hours
or even a whole day for exploring. While
you will see more animals and learn more about the park if you hire a guide,
there are several short trails you can explore safely on your own. And sometimes
it is nice to be alone! But if you hire
a guide, you are helping the local economy.
Here
are some sights you can explore by foot or on a bike. I’d take a bike, and then
you could spend a half day visiting everything from the Ancient Trung Tree to
the Hundred Trunk Ficus.
The
Tourism Office may strongly encourage you to take a car or jeep. But it’s
really not that far and a bike is a nice way to go. It is a little too far on foot if you
planning to go all the way to the Hundred Trunk Ficus, but if you decide to
head out on foot, you can just turn around whenever you want. Plus it is easy
to see birds, insects and sometimes even primates from the main park road
(which is unpaved after a few kilometers and not too busy).
An easy
trek in the beautiful forest near the Park Headquarters. You will see a variety
of trees, including 2 giant Tung trees, and enjoy the sounds of the jungle.
Trekking,
1.5-2 hours
Biking
combined with trekking, 1 hour
Car
combined with trekking, 45 minutes if you take a car to the beginning of the
trail. But why rush? Walking or biking gives you more time to see the area.
Trek,
bike or take a car 5km on the park road to the beginning of this trail. Then trek the remaining 1 km to the Dong Nai
River to see the beautiful Heaven’s Rapids, which is the beginning of a chain
of rapids. We recommend combining this trip with other sights including the
Botanical Trail (Reddish Wood Trees) and the Tung Tree walk.
Trekking,
3 hours
Biking
combined with trekking, 2 hours
Car
combined with trekking- 1.5 hours
Bicycle
or take a car the 15 km through the jungle on the main park road, then
walk 1 km to this amazing Ficus tree with dozens of trunks spanning a
year-round stream.
Trekking-
allow the whole day/Biking- 4-5 hours/By car- 3 hours
Park
HQ-Botanical Trail-Reddish Wood Trees. Up to 18 km depending
on your route.
The
Botanical Garden has over 300 plant species of Southeast Vietnam. We recommend
combining this route with the Heavens Rapids Trail.
Trekking-4-5
hours
Biking-
not recommended because the trail makes a loop. You have to leave your bike at
the beginning of the trail (on the main road), so when you exit the trail, your
bike won’t be there. You can solve this conundrum by just walking a little
farther to retrieve your bike.
By car- 3
hours.
The
Park hosts a rehabilitation center for Sun bears, Asian black bears, gibbons,
and more. Wildlife rescue centers are
important for conservation in Vietnam (and throughout Asia) since animals are
so commonly confiscated from illegal trading activities, and need to be housed
somewhere before release back into the wild. Of course, some of the animals
will never be released to the wild, since their health or behavior may be too
impaired from their time in captivity.
The
Rescue Center is funded in cooperation with Free The Bears (an European-based
non-governmental agency), and there are plans to build an improved facility
just south of the Park HQ in the near future. The tours are educational, and
you can see the bears visiting their semi-natural enclosures. Currently they
spend part of each day in their cage, and part in the enclosure where they have
enrichment activities and are encouraged to look for food and interact with the
environment. The animal keepers have to maintain a strict schedule for the
bears, depending on which individuals get along with each other and which need
to be kept alone.
There
is a volunteer program for the rescue center. It requires a time commitment of
more than a week (and perhaps more than that), but you should contact the
Tourism Office if you want more information on how to apply.
Dao Tien
Endangered Primate Rescue Center
(www.go-east.org)
This
UK-based organization specializes in the rescue, rehabilitation and release of
endangered primates naturally found in the surrounding region. Golden-cheeked
gibbons, black shanked douc, silvered langur and pygmy loris are all victims of
the illegal wildlife trade. A visit is a perfect opportunity to see and learn
about these amazing primates. Dao Tien Island is 5 minutes upstream from the
boat landing. If you would like to take an educational tour, make arrangements
with Park Tourism Office. You will travel to Dao Tien in their boat with your
guide. A tour of the center is included in with the Wild Gibbon Trek
(previously described), or you can visit the center independly.
Day Long Trips
Park HQ-
Ta Lai Village Walk. 24 km round trip.
Discover
a part of Vietnam that few tourists get to see. The Ta Lai Village is 12 km
from Park HQ, and is populated by Ma, Tay and S’Tieng people. The Ma people are
the original inhabitants of the Park’s Core Zone. Here you can visit the small museum, have a
meal or even stay the night at the community owned bamboo long house, and
experience the daily life in this rural community. Allow yourself extra time
for exploring the area.
Trekking
7 hours. We recommend staying overnight at the long house because of the
distance. Please ask for help with reservations, or contact the friendly Ta Lai
Longhouse staff directly via their webpage, http://talai-adventure.vn
Biking. 4
hours.
By Car. 2
hours.
Do you
like water? How about birds? Because you can also get to Ta Lai via boat on the
Dong Nai River. Ask at the Tourism
Office, and you should probably take a guide with you so you don’t miss the
take out.
This long
route starts or ends at Crocodile Lake and enters a nice area with small
streams and swamps (difficult in the rainy season). First the trail goes
through the mixed jungle and ends up in the grasslands near Ta Lai. Please
remember food and water and be prepared to cross streams.
Trekking
only- 6hours.
Suggested itineraries
Arrive after lunch. Wash, rest, and take a short walk (or
bike ride) on the Park Road toward the Ancient Tung Tree, or any of the nearby
destinations described under “Half Day Activities.”
Dinner, and then night safari at 7:30 or 8:30.
Get up EARLY and meet your guide at 5 am for the Wild
Gibbon Trek. (You have to stay at the
Park HQ to do the Wild Gibbon Trek, because the ferry across the river does not
operate in the dark). Have breakfast
together afterwards and then tour the Dao Tien Primate Center.
Depart after lunch. The Tourism Office can help you with
travel arrangements back to the main highway (where you catch the orange bus
that runs between Da Lat and Ho Chi Minh City), or with a local, slow bus that
goes from the boat landing directly to Ho Chi Minh City.
Option 1. Same as
above but instead of departing after lunch:
Take a car to the Crocodile Lake Trailhead. Trek the 5 km
in to the Ranger Station and stay at the guest house overnight. Wonderful wildlife viewing opportunities
(including outstanding birdwatching)
Breakfast with the Rangers. After eating, trek 5 km back to
the Park Road. You can arrange for a car
to pick you up and return you to HQ.
Note: if you need to leave luggage at the Park HQ while you
trek to Crocodile Lake, they can keep it safe for you at the Tourism Office.
Option 2. Same as the one day option, but instead of
departing after lunch:
Rent a
bike and pedal north along the Park Road 18 km to the farming village of Dac
Lua. Stay overnight with silk worm farmers in a community run Home Stay
program, which helps local residents get an income from the eco-tourism
industry. Your hosts will show you their compact farming operation, and invite
you to help make food. The homestay
price depends on how many meals you are planning to eat with your hosts, so
make sure you communicate your plans ahead of time.
Sleep at
the homestay.
Breakfast with your hosts. Afterwards, if you have time you
can bike into town and visit the silk factory (which is really
interesting!) If you are short on time,
pedal back to Park HQ, but keep an eye out for birds and wildlife along the
way.
Option 3. Same as the one day option, but instead of
departing after lunch:
Rent a
bike and ride south along the Park Rd to Ta Lai Village. Check in at the Ta Lai Longhouse, and from
there you walk around the village, rent a kayak and tool around on the small
lake, or just enjoy the scenery with a cool drink.
Sleep at
the Long House, and after breakfast you can ride back to Park HQ.
It’s also
possible to get to the main highway from Ta Lai (without going back to Park
HQ). However to make this work, you need
to be traveling really light and have all your stuff with you, and you will
need a way to get the bike back to Park HQ.
If you ask for help, there is probably a way to resolve this issue,
since vehicles do travel between HQ and Ta Lai pretty frequently.
It is also
possible that instead of biking to Ta Lai, you could get there in a Park
vehicle or have Ta Lai send a car for you. These are details to work out with
the Tourism Office at Cat Tien, or the friendly staff at Ta Lai.
Option 4. Same as
the “One Night” option, but instead of leaving after lunch on the second day:
Have an
afternoon rest in your bungalow at Park HQ, where you’ll stay for a second
night. After your siesta, take a tour of
the Wild Bear Rescue Center (located at HQ), which takes less than an
hour. Then get back on a bike and head
north or south on the Park Rd (whichever direction you haven’t gone yet). Pack
a snack, take your binoculars and putter around while looking for animals and
flowers. It’s a lovely way to spend the afternoon. There is always a chance that you will see a
gaur or a wild gibbon, even if you stay just within a few kilometers of Park
HQ.
Dinner at
one of the Park restaurants. If you spot
groups of people singing festively, try to invite yourself to the party. Group
singing is an important and fun Vietnamese custom, and it happens in private
homes, public restaurants, and along hiking trails. Enjoy it when it happens.
Sing a song if you are brave.
Depart in
the morning after breakfast.
Day 1. Arrive, check in at Park HQ. Depending on time, pick an activity
(previously described) near Park HQ.
Dinner, and then night safari.
Day 2. Gibbon Trek
5am. Breakfast. Visit Dao Tien, or depart directly for Dac Lua.
Rent a bike and ride to Dac Lua. (Lunch on the trail; pack
something portable; you might have to plan ahead and bring something with you
on this day- something that you bought before coming to the Park, or you can
attempt to order something “take away” from the Yellow Bamboo Restaurant.
However that isn’t really common right now.
This whole thing will be much easier if you hire a guide to go with you,
since the guide will understand the overall plan and help a lot with meal
planning and translation. AND that is a
bonus to their outstanding ability to spot animals along the ride. Short story:
hire a guide, you’ll be glad).
Take your time along the Road and stop for side trails like
the One Hundred Trunk Ficus, etc.
There’s no rush and it isn’t that far (2-3 hours, depending on your
pace).
When you get to Dac Lua, check in to your homestay and meet
your hosts. Take a nap, or if you prefer
and time allows, bike into town and visit the silk factory. Your hosts are silk worm farmers, so remember
you can see that operation (depending on the season). The family grows mulberry
plants and feeds the leaves to the silk worms, which live in a very simple
stacked-basket situation in the living room. It is very interesting. Even if there isn’t a current silk worm crop
(herd? Cohort?) growing in the house, it is interesting to see the mulberry
fields and the baskets that they raise the worms in. There are about 100 families in Dac Lua that
raise silk worms, and according to the foreman at the silk factory, they could
use more. It is lucrative.
At this point it is has been a very long day, with the 5am
Gibbon Trek. If for some reason you did
NOT go on the Gibbon Trek, and the day is still young, you could push on and
the visit the extremely interesting Archeological Site on the far side of Dac
Lua. This site is referred to as “The
Holy Land” because there was a very high density of temples here during the
time of 700-1000 A.D. And surprisingly
(to me) these were mostly Hindu temples (not Buddhist, which are the more
common temples in Vietnam). The professional guides will tell you all about
it. Our small group included Vietnamese
and non-Vietnamese, but we had an interpreter (our guide Mr Trong) so I’m not
sure if the tours are available in English or not. If you have heeded my advice
in the previous paragraph about hiring a guide, this is not an issue anyway.
The most famous
artifact at this site is an enormous Yoni-Linga pair, in fact the largest such
pair in south east Asia. They have found
many pairs here, as well as hundreds of other religious artifacts, some
of which traveled here from India. Most
of the artifacts have been deposited at the provincial museum in Da Lat, but
there are photographs, excavations, and lots of things to see.
Bike back and have dinner with your homestay hosts. Go to
bed early since it’s been a long day.
Day 3. Bike back into the Park, and stash your bikes at the
beginning of the trail to Crocodile Lake.
Hike the 5 km to the Ranger Station and enjoy. Rest, wash some clothes,
drink tea on the patio with the rangers, whatever. Dinner with the rangers and night time animal
spotting (from the deck or on a short walk with a guide or ranger. It is
dangerous to wander near the water after dark because of crocodiles. Please
take this seriously)
Day 4. After Breakfast, hike back out to the Park Rd. Bike
back to HQ. Depart after lunch.
Alternate 3 night option
Day 1. Arrive at Park HQ, check in. Night Safari
Day 2. Early rise, Gibbon Trek. Visit Dao Tien. After lunch, visit Bear Rescue Center. Late
afternoon bike ride or walk along the Park Road (take a guide).
Day 3. Trek to Crocodile Lake and spend the night.
Day 4. Morning birdwatching and free time. After lunch
return to Park HQ.
Day 1, Arrive at Park HQ and check in. Night safari.
Day 2. Early rise, Gibbon Trek. Bike to Dac Lua Visit Silk Factory. Stay at
homestay.
Day 3. Bike back into the Park. Trek to Crocodile Lake.
Stay at Ranger Station.
Day 4. Trek to Ta Lai. Sleep at Ta Lai.
Day 5. Depart.
As you can probably tell, there’s a lot to do and see here.
You could take any of the activities above and extend the duration just by
staying 2 nights in each place.
Contact the Park Eco Tourism Office via email at
cattienvietnam@gmail.com
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