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With 25,000 hectares and 140 km South of Hanoi,
Cuc Phuong is the first National Park of Vietnam
which was established in 1962. The botanical
richness of the forest is impressive as it
supports a wide variety of flora species and
patches of primeval forest, including ancient
trees with thick clusters of roots, and
parasitic plants and ligneous creepers.
Some tree species have been introduced from
Burma, India, and Borneo. Clusters of orchards
grow near cave entrances, where the moisture
conditions and light are ideal. Varieties
include thousand-year dracontomelum and
parashorea trees which can be visited in a one
or two hour hiking, and coral, vanilla,
snow-white, and butterfly orchids everywhere.
Large mammals inhabit the park including
panthers and bears, but rarely appear, so the
most popular animals you can see are monkeys,
gibbons, flying squirrels and pheasants. There
are also over 120 species of birds and many
varieties of beetles living here, and April and
May arrive swarms of butterflies. At night,
million of cicadas create a deafening din, and
million of fireflies flicker about.
Lying in a limestone area, Cuc Phuong includes numerous
caves. At "Nguoi Xua" (Cave of Early Man), two
ancient tombs have been discovered, along with
Neolithic remains and evidence of stone
implements; there have been similar finds at
Trang Khuyet (Crescent Moon), Thanh Minh, and
Con Mong Caves. Hang Dan Cave is known for its
bat population. Hiking in Cuc Phuong is
following some kilometers of trails and passing
through old-growth forest with long vines
wrapped around strangled trees, visiting the
caves, waterfalls and streams in the forest or
stopping over at a Muong ethnic's village. Since
the location in between three provinces, it's
easy to combine a trip to Cuc Phuong with a trip
to Hoa Binh or Ninh Binh province, or you can
depart from Hanoi, spend the whole day exploring
the forest and overnight at the Park's guest
house.
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