Cat Tien National Park – UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Dong Nai

Category: UNESCO Biosphere Reserve & Lowland Tropical Rainforest | Location: Nam Cat Tien Commune, Tan Phu District, Dong Nai Province

Located roughly 150 kilometers north of Ho Chi Minh City across Dong Nai, Lam Dong, and Binh Phuoc provinces, Cat Tien National Park stands as one of Vietnam's largest and most biologically significant tropical lowland rainforest reserves. Inscribed by UNESCO in 2001 as a World Biosphere Reserve and designated as a Special National Monument, Cat Tien protects over 71,000 hectares of pristine primary canopy sheltering exceptional biodiversity: over 1,600 vascular plant species alongside critically endangered wildlife such as Asian elephants, massive wild gaurs, yellow-cheeked gibbons, and vibrant green peafowls. The definitive trekking highlight of Cat Tien is the expedition to Bau Sau (Crocodile Lake)—a vast freshwater wetland recognized as Vietnam's second Ramsar site. Adventurers trek beneath gargantuan centennial Tung (Tetrameles nudiflora) trees with colossal buttress roots towering above head height, arriving at an expansive mirror-like lagoon where endangered Siamese crocodiles glide serenely amidst blooming water lilies and flocks of rare kingfishers, egrets, and hornbills paint the morning skies. As darkness blankets the jungle, Cat Tien offers Vietnam's only open-air night safari jeep expedition. Accompanied by experienced national park rangers operating specialized searchlights, travelers can observe wild sambar deer, barking deer, civets, and nocturnal mammals grazing undisturbed across expansive savanna grasslands. A journey to Cat Tien offers profound rejuvenation and an unforgettable connection to the primordial biodiversity of Indochina.