NIGHT IN CAT TIEN NATIONAL PARK

Sunset in Bau Sau is a beautiful and charming time. The night follows quickly and brings along with it the liveliness of insects. The park has the reputation of putting you in perspective with the powerful forces of nature.

Cat Tien National Park has the natural area of 71,920ha and spreads in Lam Dong, Binh Phuoc and Dong Nai provinces. The park has many different terrains such as high mountains, slippery slopes and animal spotting at night.

Cat Tien National Park is a wet tropical forest complex, and is one of the specious natural forests remained in Vietnam. The park is the reserve of natural resources in Vietnam with lots of rare, specious and endemic genes of fauna and flora that would satisfy the  curiosity of scientists, as well as domestic and foreign tourists.

The survey from last year confirmed that the area is home to 1,610 flora of 75 sets and 1,521 fauna of 55 sets, in which there are rare animals such rhinos, gayals, flying squirrel, hill partridge, and hemibagrus.

Travelers commute to this beautiful 411th biosphere preservation site of the world, recognized by UNESCO, in a car or on motor­cycles from HCMC along National Highway 20 in the early morning. It takes about three hours to travel the distance of about 160km.

On the way, they will pass Dong Nai River, which looms behind corn and intermingling tropical fruit fields. It is a natural boundary, on one side being residential area, and on the far side Cat Tien with many mysterious things waiting for being discovered.

Tourists will receive information to on a variety of tours at the center for eco-tourism and environmental education. A typical trip requires them to cross Dong Nai River by boat to come to Ta Lai, where they can harmonize Ma people community. There is an old forest with many layers of trees, which is reflected on the Dong Nai River; this is truly a romantic site. They can walk back up riverhead to Quang Ngai Commune, and visit the ruins of kingdom of Phu Nam, which existed 1,300 previous years. The ancient site, which is at the top of a hill and near the river, is filled with mysterious things. Archaeologists have discovered a temple and many priceless items such as Linga and Yoni; it is a divine worship object depicting the male and female genitalia united in a representation of the fountain of life. The most impressive statue is 2.1m tall and 0.7m diameter, the largest in Southeast Asia. There are also gemstone, golden, silver and bronze jewelries and others typifying Oc Eo found here (Oc Eo refers to an archeological period, dated about 250AD).

Tourists can take tours to sight­see the forest with a winding waterfall that impetuously pours to large rocks, and gentle cool streams in the area that wrap around old trees which have stood and a bang lang plant with six bodies. At night, hikers will gather at Bau Sau Forest. This is the perfect activity for thrill seekers and adventurous lovers. On the next day, a specialized vehicle will take the group some 10km to another the trekking site. There are exciting orchestra of humming insects, howling gibbons and singing wild birds. The atmosphere here is thick and saturated with humidity that it looks as though the whole forest is overlaid with a silk veil. When trekkers make their way through the path, you can hear their footstep on the wet ground and see trails of their breaths lingering in the air.

Cat Tien National Park has a diversified natural landscape. Vegetation is varied and can be found both in the seasonally flooded grassland and swamp forest. The wetland is bordered on the east, and the dense humid evergreen forest is found in the south and west.

Bau Sau is the highlight of the journey. From a small house of a forest management station leaning on a high mound, tourists can see a grassplot opened to lead to the largest swamp of Cat Tien. In the rainy season, the area of water surface reaches thousands of hectares. This is a center of reservation, which peaks the interests of numerous researchers and botanists. The heart of swamp is the home of many kinds of fish and amphibians. There are ca loc (a kind of fresh water fish) weighing 10kg. There is a flock of crocodiles, which was released nearly ten years ago. They grow well and produce many baby crocodiles.

Travelers also can enjoy the beauty of quiet lakes and grassplot, a community of peacocks, storks, teals, wild gooses, kingfishers, pheasants, and cranes. Sunset in Bau Sau is a beautiful and charming time. The night follows quickly and brings along with it the liveliness of insects. The park has the reputation of putting you in perspective with the powerful forces of nature. It is definitely a wondrous place. For a while, you forget all the pressure of modernity and enjoy the simplistic beauty of a night in Cat Tien.

(Source: SGT)