Located on Cat Ba Island, Cat Hai District, Cat Ba National Park is 60 km from the center of Hai Phong city. Trekking in Cat Ba national park is an indispensable activity of young enthusiasts when traveling Cat Ba island.
The best time of the year to visit Cat Ba National Park is from April to October, where you can experience exciting mountain climbing activities or explore the diverse natural ecosystems.
Cat Ba island national park
With a total area of 15,200 ha, Cat Ba National Park possesses an ideal natural environment for the development of many kinds of plants and animals. UNESCO has recognized the park as the biosphere reserve of the world. Here you can see countless limestone karsts, or caves, waterfalls, streams flowing in the rainy season to the sea. Also, Cat Ba National Park attracts tourists by the values of human history. The archaeological sites found here suggest that humans may have lived in this area between 6000 and 7000 years ago.
Cat Ba island from Ngu Lam mount
From the center of Cat Ba National Park, you can choose one of the five different routes to explore, explore the various resources of plants and animals.
These are long four to eight hours routes suitable for walking, climbing:
- Frog Pond – Viet Hai route
- Bau Bau – Hang Quan Y route
- Kim Giao – Me Con – Tung Di route
These are short routes which take 2 to 3 hours to travel suitable for motorcycles, bicycles, cars, and hiking:
- Kim Giao Forest – Dinh Ngu Lam route
- Dong Trung Trang – Hang Uy Ban route.
Cat Ba national park trekking by Frog Pond – Viet Hai route
After departure from Hanoi at 5 am, about 10 am you will be in Cat Ba to prepare for your trekking in Cat Ba National Park. The journey is about 8 km long in dense green woods.
View from on the way of trekking Cat Ba island
The first trekking route is about 100 m long, and the road is the most difficult as you have to climb up gradually many stone steps to reach higher altitude. It’s usually good advice to train your stamina before taking part in this kind of activity. Woody forest densely covers the mountainside Do not get distracted the difficulties on your way. Keep calm, use all of your senses to observe the forest.
Trekking in Cat Ba
After a long climbing over the slope, you will find in front of you a vast water area. At 12 am you will rest at the Frog Pond (Ao Ech). You can relax and enjoy the lunch while listening to the sound of the frogs.
After a break, remember to spend time exploring the Frog pond – the only isolated wetland in northern Vietnam. Frog pond is about 4 km from the forest gate and about 4 km from Viet Hai fishing village.
Frog Pond Cat Ba island Trekking
The pond has an area of 3.2 hectares, halfway up the mountain at an altitude of 80 meters above sea level. From the bottom of the pond, rising thousands of Va Nuoc trees – the only species in the frog pond that cannot be found anywhere else. The trees are 5 to 10 meters tall and form beautiful and mysterious population. Enjoy the lunch, enjoy the fresh air, hear the sound of the frogs, watch fish swimming, you have a half-day satisfactory journey.
Frog Pond Cat Ba Trekking
We continue the journey from Ao Frog to Viet Hai. The next step is the trail around the limestone cliffs hidden under the thick forest canopy. Vines are crossing on the ground, cliffs with narrow slopes. This section will challenge your stamina and endurance.
Viet Hai fishing village
After passing 8 km through Cat Ba National Park, in front of you will be a small fishing village of Viet Hai. Mountains surround this land. To enter here, you either go through the sea by the Viet Hai ferry or climb mountains across the national forest as the last journey you just took.
At the end of your journey, you will get on the boat to go back to rest at the hotel in Cat Ba, preparing for the next adventure. Alternatively, you may explore one of the four trekking routes at Cat Ba National Park, or try the Kayak at Lan Ha Bay. These activities in Cat Ba attract a lot of Vietnamese young people as well as foreign guests.
