Cat Tien National Park Travel Guide

Crocodile Lake at Cat Tien National Park Vietnam

Country: Vietnam
Province: Dong Nai

Bien Hoa Holiday Weather today

Date/time of update: April 28, 2024, 12:50 am, Timezone: GMT+7
Overcast Clouds

Temperature: 31.13°C
Temperature feels like: 34.87°C
Minimum Temperature: 30.99°C
Maximum Temperature: 31.13°C
Atmospheric pressure: 1010hPa
Humidity:59%
Visibility: 10000m
Wind speed: 3.67m/sec
Wind Direction: 159 degrees
Cloudiness: 88%
Sunrise: 2024-04-27 10:35:22
Sunset: 2024-04-28 11:04:48

The Cat Tien National Park stretches in the territory of Dong Nai, Binh Phuoc and Lam Dong Provinces. The national park is surrounded by 80km of the Dong Nai River with a very diverse ecosystem.

The national park covers an area of over 71,000 hectares. It was listed to the Global Biosphere Reserves by the UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 2001 and the Crocodile Lake in the national park was listed to the Global Ramsar Sites in 2005.

Geography

The geographic location of the Cat Tien National Park is between the Central Highlands of Vietnam and the flat land and Mekong Delta in Southern Vietnam. This has important impact on the climate, the flora and fauna of the Cat Tien National Park.

The Dong Nai River at the entrance to the Cat Tien National Park in Tan Phu District, Dong Nai Province, Vietnam

Weather and Climate

The climate at the Cat Tien National Park has two seasons per year: dry season from December to April and rainy season from May to November. The high rainy season is in late July, August, September and October. The national park may be partially flooded during the rainy season.

Forest

There are five types of forest at the Cat Tien National Park:

- Evergreen forest with mostly trees of the family Dipterocarpaceae

- Deciduous forest with trees such as Crape myrtle (Guava Grape Myrtle), Tetrameles nudiflora, Anogeissus acuminate.…

- Mixed forest of timber trees and bamboo

- Bamboo forest

- Wetland undergrowth

Flora

Cat Tien National Park is home to 1,655 floral species. Of the vascular species, the most commonly found are Dipterocarpaceae (Sao dau), Fabaceae((họ đậu), Lythraceae (họ tử vi)

Fauna

Cat Tien National Park is home to 1,730 fauna species of which

- 113 Animal species,

- 351 bird species,

- 109 reptile species,

- 41 amphibian species,

- 756 insect species,

- 159 fish species,

...

Cat Tien National Park Travel Guide, What to See, Tourist Attractions at the Cat Tien National Park

1/ Wildlife Rescue Zone

2/ Spung (Thung or Tung - Tetrameles nudiflora ) Giant Tree

3/ Five-Treetop Crape Myrtle Tree (Lagerstroemia)

4/ Cycad (Cycas) Plant

5/ Ben Cu Rapid

The rapid is in the rainy season only, in the dry season it is dry riverbed strewn with rocks.

6/ Botanical Garden

7/ Afzelia xylocarpa Tree (Fabaceae family, Gõ đỏ, hổ bì, cà te) of 700 years old

A huge tree of 700 years old and of 40m height.

8/ Giant Fig Tree (Ficus, family Moraceae)

9/ Crocodile Lake

The Crocodile Lake at the Cat Tien National Park

10/ Deformed Crape Myrtle Tree (Lagerstroemia)

11/ Forest of Hydnocarpus anthelmintica (Rung Dai Phong Tu, )

Hydnocarpus is a genus in the Family Achariaceae; the genus was previously placed in the now defunct family Flacourtiaceae.

12/ Fig Tree (Ficus) of Hundred Trunks

13/ Heavenly Rapid

14/ Crape Myrtle Forest of Da Co (Lagerstroemia)

Things to do, Adventure Travel, Eco and Nature Tours

1/ Bird-Watching Tours

Birding tours are arranged conveniently at the Cat Tien National Park (also known as Nam Cat Tien). The length of a tour can range from 3 days to 6 days from Ho Chi Minh City. AdventureGreen, a Vietnam tour operator with experienced specialists in ornithology, have got decades operating bird tours at different birding sites throughout Vietnam.