We will depart for Cuc Phuong National Park in the morning. Our drive will take us past a mosaic of rice paddies, rural hamlets, limestone cliffs and green mountains. Located south of Hanoi, the forested limestone slopes of Cuc Phuong protect an impressive variety of animals and plants. It is home to some spectacular primates including gibbons, macaques and rare and endemic Delacour’s leaf monkey as well as some fantastic birds including red-collared woodpeckers, limestone wren-babblers, fork-tailed sunbirds and many others. During April and May, just before the onset of the rains, the Park is filled with literally millions of butterflies.
We will arrive at Cuc Phuong in the early afternoon and will visit the Park’s Turtle Conservation Center.
This sanctuary was established to protect and breed many species of Asian turtles and tortoises all of which are endangered from over-harvest for the food markets of China and Taiwan. In the late afternoon we will have our first chance to look for wildlife along the Park’s main road before we settle into our rustic, but comfortable, accommodations at the Cuc Phuong Guesthouse. We will have dinner and overnight at the Cuc Phuong Guesthouse.