Guidebook A natural wonderland at Nam Cat Tien National Park
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Sense of Place

A natural wonderland at Nam Cat Tien National Park

It’s one of the “largest nature reserves in Vietnam,” says The Culture Trip. This “tremendous” park, located 3-4 hours by car north-east of Ho Chi Minh City, is home to a “vast array of wildlife, including hundreds of species of mammals, reptiles, birds and fish.” It’s one of six biosphere reserves recognised by UNESCO in Vietnam and “protects one of the largest areas of lowland tropical rainforests in Vietnam,” explains Travelfish. Primates are “particularly prevalent” in the park, notes The Culture Trip, “especially gibbons and langurs, as are Asian elephants, clouded leopards and sun bears.” But Cat Tien’s “most impressive inhabitants” are perhaps the plants, “with the area boasting an incredible 1,610 botanical species.”  

“Seeing some of the rarer animals in the park is not as easy as you might think,” writes Lap Top Warriors. Although it’s “very common” to see some of hundreds of species or birds, insects and butterflies, a Nightlife Animal Safari allows visitors to view Samba deer, wild pigs, porcupines, guar, weasels, civet cats, barking deers, mongoose, nightjars, owlets or bears. “At night, the jungle literally comes alive in the dark and the probability of seeing animals is much higher in their most active period.”

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