Located 120 kilometers south of Hanoi, the Cuc Phuong
national park was established in 1962, with its forests spanning parts of
Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa provinces and consisting of more than
200 square kilometers of tropical forests and many caves.
It is home to dense forests of millennia-old trees,
prehistoric caves, botanical gardens, and two animal sanctuaries which are
worth exploring.
The Endangered Primate Rescue Centre provides recovery and
rehabilitation services for illegally captured primates which have been saved
and sent to the place for care while the Turtle Conservation Centre runs
rescue, conservation, and breeding programmes.
The most popular activities for tourists are camping in the
forest, hiking in the heart of the forest, bird watching, and kayaking on the
Mac Lake or Yen Quang Lake,or enjoying a night stay in the stilt houses
of the hospitable Muong people.
The Mac lake is a tranquil and beautiful lake in the Cuc
Phuong national park. It is less than two kilometers from the reception area
and is accessible by foot. There are accommodations and a restaurant along the
banks of the lake.
Around five kilometers further on is a cave featuring
prehistoric tools and ancient tombs of prehistoric men. It is now apparently a
refuge for bats.
The park centre houses a restaurant, a cafe, a shop and more
accommodations, and is the starting point for a six-kilometer walk to the
destination where the thousand-year-old tree is located. The tree is 50 meters
high and its 5-meters diameter is fully embraced by over 20 people.
For those who like to take a longer walk, they can visit a
Hmong village which is 16 kilometers from the park centre. This trip needs to
be included in an organised tour as a guide is required.
Cuc Phuong's Endangered Primate Rescue Centre houses around
150 primates classified as endangered species. It works to release the animals
back into the wild, however, the animals, which had been captured for a long
time, need more time to re-adapt to the environment they used to live in, so a
small number of them have been released into the wild successfully since
the center opened in 1995.
Endangered Primate Rescue Centre.
Meanwhile, the Turtle Conservation Centre has some
well-presented displays detailing the problem facing the animal and 19 species
of turtles.
April and May are ideal months for visitors to tour the park
when it becomes lively with various kinds of butterflies
flying around.
With its rich fauna and flora, Cuc Phuong is
viewed as a peaceful place where visitors can leave all their
troubles behind and immerse themselves into the beauty of nature.
Translated by Nguyen Thuy