Things to do in Cat Tien National Park

1. Admire the forest of Queen's crepe-myrtle in Cat Tien National Park

·         Time to visit: Any time in the year but it is the best in between October and May.

·         Distance: 3 kilometers

·         Duration: 15 minutes by car or 1.5 – 3 hours on foot

·         Price: VND 400,000 for an 8-seat car

·         Ask the reception for more detail

At the beginning of the dry season, the leaves of Queen's crepe-myrtle chance from green into red, makes it a picturesque scenery in the legend. There are many rare and valuable kinds of plan you might see on the road. Some of them are the prominent of Southeast Vietnam like Dalbergia bariensis, Afzelia xylocarpa and Sindora siamensis.

Read more: Places to visit in Cat Tien National Park

The tour guide will also introduce you to some super old trees in this area. The 400-year-old Cycas rumphii looks like an ancient fortress with green moss layers pouring around. The 20-people-hug Tetrameles nudiflora which is so big that it needs 20 men to make a circle around it. The special Ancistrolandus tectorius with the unburnable leaves which was the hot trend of roofing material during the war. A bit later you will see the 6-top Queen's crepe-myrtle. We don’t know why but it has only 1 body, and 6 tops. When the leaves all fall down, that tree looks like the giant Hydra. When the trip is about to end, there is the 700-year-old Afzelia xylocarpa, a very valuable plan of Vietnam.

2. Photographing butterflies and wild animals in Cat Tien National Park

·         Time to visit: any time, but the best is from December to May

·         Distance: 9 kilometers

·         Duration: 15 minutes by car or 3 hours by foot

·         Price: VND 290,000 for a 7-seat car

·         Hire a tour guide: VND 150,000/crew

·         Ask the reception for more detail

It is a flat and easy trip in the park through many different terrains as a quick overview of this area. When it is the start of rainy season, there are many colorful butterflies gather in the forest, allow you to pose the wonderful pictures. Therefore, don’t forget to bring your camera along. Rainy season is also when the animals become more active. You will meet them more regular while not have to go deep into the jungle.

You also want to read more about Dong Nai, Vietnam

3. Wild gibbon trek tour in Cat Tien National Park

·         To participate in this tour, you have to stay in Green Cat Tien Hotel

·         Duration: 5 – 6 hours

·         Available for a group of 4

·         Price: VND 1,050,000/person

You will be woken up at 5:00 in the morning and start moving into the forest, follow the experienced tour guide who will track the gibbons by listening to their unique calls. Stay quiet and looking around carefully, you will be able to watch the beautiful, energetic apes as they forage, travel and play among the forest canopy.

Read more: Weather & Best time to travel to Cat Tien National Park

Because of looking for gibbons in the wild so there is no guarantee that you will see them. Even though, the mystic beauty of the forest might make the unlucky travelers feel it worthy. The trip costs 4 hours to finish.

After that unforgettable experience, you will back to the park Ecotourism center for breakfast before taking a boat trip to Dao Tien island, visit the Endangered Primate Species Center, where they feed and heal the endangered primates seized from illegal wildlife trade. You will learn about the work and care that goes into rehabilitating and readying them for release back to the wild.

You can book advance tickets for Wild gibbon trek tour at the website of Cat Tien National Park

3. Watching the daily nightlife of wild animals in Cat Tien National Park

·         Time to visit: Dry season, from 19:00 to 21:00 in the dark, not-rain nights

·         Distance: 10 kilometers

·         Duration: 1 hour by car

·         Price: VND 150,000 – VND 660,000/person based on the number of crew

·         Ask the reception for more detail

After an hour driving through the forest and grassland, you will be deep in the jungle, where the wild animals live in peace and freedom from the impact of human. Sambars are relaxing eating grass, pangolins and hares run along with the car are the common scenes you will see on this trip. Stop and start looking more carefully, you might meet some wild boars are looking for food, and on the trees, civets jump from a brand to the other for ripened fruits.

Be quiet, wear dark and long clothes are what you should keep in mind. In the forest, there are many leeches hiding around so you might not want to carry a bunch of them on your body. Mosquitos are another reason for wearing long clothes. Sprays are not recommended because animals can sense the weird smell from you and run away.

4. Overnight at the land of alligators at Bau Sau, Cat Tien National Park

·         Time to visit: Dry season, from December to April

·         Distance: 15 kilometers

·         Travel time: 20 minutes by car and 1.5 hours walking through the forest

·         Only a group of 5 each day

·         Price: VND 340,000/person

·         Hire pick up car: VND 500,000/person

·         Ask the reception for more detail

Your destination is Bau Sau (or the alligator swamp), located at the heart of Cat Tien National Park. Don’t be afraid, alligators in Bau Sau are not aggressive and won’t attack you as long as you don’t do something stupid. Alligators are more active in late afternoon and early morning, when the atmosphere is cooler, so sleepover will give you the chance to observe them better.

The safe place for resting in Bau Sau is the Rangers’ outpost. It is a high floor house as called “nhà sàn” in Vietnamese. The high-floor design keeps the house away from animals as well as keeps it dry on this wet lowland. Also because of this design, the number of tourist stay over is limited to 5. The accommodation is rustic with a number of cute cabins suitable for couples or families and some dorm style rooms

Besides of observing the life in the swamp, you will have the chance to taste the authentic, delicious specialties of Cat Tien National Park. Fresh fishes are the most common dishes. If you have any special diet requirement, tell the staff at the Ecotourism center for the best service

Because of having to walk in a quite long distance through the forest, you should wear suitable shoes and make sure your health can handle.

You can book advance tickets for Bau Sau tour at the website of Cat Tien National Park

5. Exploring Ancient Relic of Oc Eo in Cat Tien National Park

·         Time to visit: Dry season, from December to April

·         Travel time: 1 hour by car

·         Ask the reception for more detail

Your target destination is on the bank of Dong Nai River, Cat Tien Commune, Lam Dong Province. This place is the former capital of the ancient kingdom of Phu Nam. Their territory stretched from India, Myanmar, Indonesia, the southern of Vietnam to Cambodia, Thailand and China. Their Oc Eo civilization reached its prosperous from II century to VII century. This place was the sacred land of Brahmanism. The researchers found a lot of Linga – Yoni statue as well as gold pieces with sculpted gods, goddess, bull and turtle. There are also many idols of Ganesa, ShiVa and Bradma.

6. Learning about the regular life of the Ma -Stieng Ethnic Groups in Cat Tien National Park

·         Time to visit: Any time

·         Distance: 12 kilometers

·         Travel time: 20 minutes by car or 40 minutes by speedboat

·         Price: VND 860,000 for a car and VND 1,720,000 for a speedboat

·         Hire tour guide: VND 150,000

·         Ask the reception for more detail

You will head toward the minority ethnic groups’ village of Ta Lai. This is the land of Ma and Stieng ethnic group. Right at the beginning, they have an exhibitor house to introduce the ancient relics of this land and the most prominent characteristics of the local. Go deeper into the village, you can visit the traditional weaving technique of Ma ethnic group with the totally natural colors from the special leaves. Sometimes, there are traditional performances held by the elders with interesting handmade instruments like Monkhala. Ta Lai Prison is also an attraction as it was used during the war to imprison the patriots and revolutionists.

If you arrive by car, you can admire the beautiful grasslands and artificial forests where wild animals usually appear. On the other hand, arrive by boat will allow you to admire the beauty of Dong Nai River and the regular life of the local.

You can book advance tickets for culture tour at the website of Cat Tien National Park