Explore Rare Species in Cuc Phuong National Park

Cuc Phuong national park, the first national park of Vietnam since 1962, 120km to the southwest of Hanoi, belongs to the province of Hoa Binh, Ninh Binh and Thanh Hoa. Covering an area of 25,000 hectares and being the first national park in Vietnam, it has the features of a tropical evergreen rain forest.

Cuc Phuong national park is home to an abundant system of flora and fauna, including many rare plant & animal species. Delacour’s langur – the beautiful endangered primate species only lives in Vietnam was chosen as symbol of the national park.

Wide ranges of rare species in Cuc Phuong national park

Cuc Phuong national park has an amazingly rich vegetation, which is a safe haven for many endangered wild animal species. The forest is home to over 2000 plants, with notably giant individuals including the 1000 years old tree which has grown its buttress roots to be a great wall in the middle of the forest.

People look small next to the ancient tree.

When coming here, you should not miss out the chance to visit the Carnivore and Pangolins Conservation. It reserves lots of pangolins and wild carnivore species recorded in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, which are in danger of extinction. This conservation center has rescued plenty of illegally hunted pangolins species. It has also built many artificial caves and living environment to create shelter for them over the past five years.

You should also take a closer look at the Endangered Primate Rescue Center (EPRC), which is formerly a project of Frankfurt Zoological Society, established in 1993. The director of EPRC, Mr. Tilo, has years of experience working in the forest and preserving primates. According to him, the problem of illegal trafficking and trading stray animals has been happening in many countries around the world over the recent years, including Vietnam. However in Cuc Phuong national park, lots of efforts have been made to rescue those animals and bring them back to wild life here. Over 160 individuals of 15 primate species and subspecies have been helped out of danger by the centre. Among these, six unique species have been raised in only EPRC and not in any other place in the world. They include Delacour’s langur, Hatinh langur, Black langur, Lao langur, Cat Ba langur, and Grey-shanked Douc langur.

The rare langur inside the nature reserve of Cuc Phuong national park.

What to bring

Relax with a short biking trip inside Cuc Phuong national park.

Cuc Phuong national park will be the ideal choice for a two-day weekend outing / picnic. Here you not only can relax in the green open space and enjoy the freshness of the forest, but also can explore more about natural biodiversity and various kinds of rare living species.

Prehistoric Men Cave – also a famous spot inside the national park

Be sure to check the following essential things to bring along to keep yourselves safe and make the best of your trip there:

1. Food: there is nothing much to eat in the forest, thus you should prepare enough food for you / your group for two days.
2. Clothes: the temperature inside the forest often gets low at night and in early morning, thus you should bring some sweater / cardigan and light jacket to avoid frost, rain and the coldness.
3. Insect repellent spray / lotion: there are quite a lot of leech and other insect in the forest, especially if you get there in the rainy season. Thus, an insect repellent lotion could really help in protecting yourselves against these hateful species.