Bien Hoa Holiday Weather today

Date/time of update: December 22, 2024, 3:46 am, Timezone: GMT+7
Overcast Clouds

Temperature: 25.02°C
Temperature feels like: 25.04°C
Minimum Temperature: 24.99°C
Maximum Temperature: 25.02°C
Atmospheric pressure: 1011hPa
Humidity:56%
Visibility: 10000m
Wind speed: 2.5m/sec
Wind Direction: 19 degrees
Cloudiness: 85%
Sunrise: 2024-12-21 11:06:50
Sunset: 2024-12-22 10:35:44

Cat Tien National Park is 150km from Ho Chi Minh City and 175km from Da Lat. The park covers 71,350 hectares stretching in the provinces of Dong Nai, Lam Dong and Binh Phuoc in southern Vietnam.

Geography

Cat Tien extends from the south of the Central Highlands of Vietnam with tropical humid forests to the forests in the low-land Mekong Delta; this combined with the auspicious climatic conditions results in high concentration of species of the flora and fauna in the national park.

Crocodile Lake at Cat Tien National Park

Climate

The climate at Cat Tien includes two seasons: dry season from December to April and the rainy season from May to November. From the second half of July to early August, there may often be big amount of rainfalls in the Central Highlands which often causes high water levels of the Dong Nai River and which may make part of the Cat Tien National Park flooded. It is possible that the national park of Cat Tien is closed during these flooded times.

It is high rainy season in the Central Highland and Southern Vietnam in September and October which causes the trails in the forest muddy, the forest teeming with insects and leeches.

Environmental and Ecological Importance

Cat Tien was inscribed to the the list of Global Biosphere Reserves by the UNESCO in 2001. In 2005, Bau Sau (the Crocodile Lake) in Cat Tien was listed as a Ramsar Site, a wetland area of international importance.

Flora and Fauna

A forest trail at Cat Tien National Park

There are five types of forests at Cat Tien: secondary evergreen forest, primary evergreen forests, semi-evergreen forests, mixed forests, bamboo forests, wetland carpet.

1/ Flora

The flora of Cat Tien includes 1,610 species belonging to 724 genera, 162 families, 75 classes of vascular plants; the dominant species are Dipterocarpaceae, Fabaceae and Lythraceae families. Many species are listed in IUCN Red Book such as Afzelia xylocarpa, Sindora siamensis, Dalbergia bariensis, D. cochinchinensis, Dalbergia mammosa, Pterocarpus macrocarpus... to name a few.

Forest trail at Cat Tien

2/ Fauna

The fauna at Cat Tien includes 113 mammal species, 351 bird species, 109 reptile species, 41 amphibian species, 756 insect species, 159 fish species; many of which are endemic to Vietnam and Indochina; and many of which are listed in Vietnam Red Book as well as IUCN Red Book.

Trail to the Crocodile Lake

Cat Tien National Park Travel Guide, Tourist Attractions, Routes to visit at Cat Tien National Park

1/ The Tung Tree (1.5km, 3 hours on foot)

2/ The Heavenly Waterfall (5.5km)

3/ The Benjamin Fig Tree (16km)

4/ Cat Tien Archeological Site (12km)

5/ Ma and S'tieng ethnic villages (12km)

6/ The botanical garden (2km)

7/ The Elephant Hill (3.5km)

8/ The Crocodile Lake (14km)

9/ Ta Lai (with different types of forests, birds and wildlife)

10/ The Primate Rescue Center,

11/ The Wild Life Rescue Center

From Cat Tien Park Head Quarters, you can choose to take different routes depending on how much time you have for the park, your interests and your physical endurance: the Tung Tree (1.5km, 3 hours on foot), the Heavenly Waterfall (5.5km), the Benjamin Fig Tree (16km), Cat Tien Archeological Site (12km), Ma and S'tieng ethnic villages (12km), the botanical garden (2km), the Elephant Hill (3.5km), the Crocodile Lake (14km), Ta Lai (with different types of forests, birds and wildlife), the Primate Rescue Center, and the Wild Life Rescue Center.

Grassland at Cat Tien

Adventure Travel, Nature Trips and Bird Tours, Wildlife Tours, Activities, Things to do at Cat Tien

The most popular travel activities at Cat Tien are Bird-watching, forest hiking, nocturnal wild life watching, boat cruising on the Dong Nai River, biking in the park.

1/ Adventure Travel

Cat Tien is a great place for adventure travel with mixed activities: walking, trekking, biking, nature discovering, walking, boating, staying with local ethnic families...

2/ Hiking Trips, Trekking Tours

There are several routes in the Cat Tien National Park that we can go for hiking from moderate ones to long-distanced ones. Paradissa offers trekking tours at the Cat Tien National Park for 1 or 2 days.

3/ Bird Tours, Bird-Watching Holidays

Cat Tien is a popular bird watching place in Vietnam and Paradissa offers birding tours at the national park for 3, 4 or 5 days. The best time for birding at the Cat Tien National Park is from late October through February.

4/ Wildlife Tours

It is possible to embark on a an one-hour safari by pick-up truck to observe wildlife at Cat Tien National Park.

5/ Boat Trips

The Dong Nai River offers various adventure boat trips. Paradissa offers boat trips to discover the nature and ecological system around Cat Tien and for bird-watching.

6/ Bicycle Tours

Traveling in the Cat Tien National Park is the best way to move around: it is environmentally friendly and it allows us to reach far-flung spots. Paradissa offers bike tours at Cat Tien National Park for 1, 2 or 3 days.

Accommodations

At Cat Tien, there are 50 standard rooms at the park headquarters, a traditional long-house built and administered by Tay, S'tieng and Ma People at Ta Lai (12km south of the park headquarters), the Forest Floor Lodge at Ben Cu by the side of the Dong Nai River (1.5km north of the park headquarters). There are rooms in houses on stilts at the Crocodile Lake that offer specular view of wildlife at dawn and at dusk.

a Tung tree at Cat Tien

Preparations for your trip to Cat Tien National Park

• Better to have dark-colored clothes, hats,...
• Long sleeved shirts and long pants;
• Soft hats;
• Hiking shoes;
• Anti-leech socks;
• Rain coats;
• Torches, binoculars;
• Cameras with telephoto lenses;
• Drinking water;
• Degradable soap;
• Insect repellents;

Paradissa organizes bird-watching tours and nature tours to Cat Tien National Park. There are also trekking adventure itineraries through the forest of Cat Tien or to ethnic villages at the buffer zone of Cat Tien National.