Located in Cat Ba town, Cat Hai island district, Hai Phong city, Cat Ba archipelago consists of 366 islands, the largest of which is Cat Ba Island in the south of Ha Long Bay, off the coast of Hai Phong City and Quang Ninh Province. . It was recognized by UNESCO as a world biosphere reserve in 2005.
From Hai Phong city, tourists travel by road to Dinh Vu wharf, then cross the Tan Vu - Lach Huyen sea bridge to Cat Hai island. Continue going another 7km, tourists will come to Got station and take a ferry to Cai Vieng station. From here, there are two directions to the center of Cat Ba Island: Cat Ba National Park or a coastal road with a length of about 25km. If coming from Ha Long Bay, tourists depart from Tuan Chau ferry to Cat Ba island. Coming here, visitors have the opportunity to visit, explore many attractive destinations such as Lan Ha Bay, Monkey Island, Cat Ba National Park, ...
Located in the eastern part of Cat Ba Island, adjacent to Ha Long Bay, Lan Ha Bay is a smooth, arc-shaped bay with many large and small islands with countless interesting features, creating a charming picture of rare water. where ever get. Here, visitors can swim at the beaches with clear blue water or kayak around the small islands. Lan Ha Bay has 139 pristine golden sand beaches as "green straits" inviting visitors to explore. Many sandy beaches stretching between two rocky mountains, quiet, without big waves, really are ideal beaches for visitors to experience. The calm waters like Sen Island, Cu Island, Monkey Island ..., is where visitors can dive to watch the coral.
On the journey to visit the bay, tourists will visit Monkey Island. This is an island with a mountainous structure with sandy beaches stretching for kilometers. In particular, the water in Monkey Island is very clean and clear, is an ideal place for swimming and relaxation for visitors. Coming to Monkey Island, tourists who like to explore can climb to the top of the mountain to have a panoramic view of Lan Ha Bay with hundreds of large and small islands undulating on the clear blue water, dotted with long white fine sand .
Continue the journey to visit Cat Ba Island, visitors will come to Cat Ba National Park. This is a must-visit trekking spot for enthusiasts to explore. The best time to visit Cat Ba National Park is from April to October, when visitors can experience interesting climbing activities or explore the diverse natural ecosystems.
With a total area of up to 15,200ha, including 9,800ha of forest and 4,200ha of sea, Cat Ba National Park possesses an ideal natural environment for the development of many different ecosystems. There are 2,320 species of plants and animals, including 282 species of forest animals, 538 species of benthic animals, 196 species of sea fish, 771 species of terrestrial plants, 23 species of mangrove plants, 75 species. seaweed, 177 species of coral ... Especially, Cat Ba archipelago has up to 60 rare and endemic species included in the Vietnam Red List such as the white-headed langur, the white-footed langur, the crows-crow, the black squirrel, etc. In particular, the white-headed langur often lives on the craggy cliffs along the coast - a very rare and precious animal only found in Cat Ba.
Cat Ba National Park has diverse terrain, mainly limestone mountain range with many interesting caves, alternating sandy white beaches. With an average height of 150m, in the garden there are many small passes such as Da Lat Pass, Eo Bua Pass, Quan Cao Pass ... and many large streams year-round flowing water such as Thuong Luong Stream, Treo Com, Viet Hai ... Cave on the island Cat Ba is also very rich, each cave has a different beauty, creating spectacular, vivid natural paintings that make viewers feel lost in the realms. The most typical are Luon cave, Trung Trang cave, Gia Luan cave, Thien Long cave ... In addition, Cat Ba National Park also attracts visitors by its unique cultural and historical values. Archaeological relics found here suggest that humans probably inhabited this land from 6 to 7 thousand years ago.
If you want to see Cat Ba Island from above, visitors can go to the observatory area at Fortress of the Cong Cong located at the top of the hill at 177m above sea level. From here, visitors have the opportunity to admire the beauty of the Cat Ba archipelago from many angles, enjoying the beautiful unspoiled beauty of the romantic islands and beaches. Located at the foot of the mountain are two of the most beautiful beaches in Cat Ba: Cat Co 1 and Cat Co 2.
Cat Ba today is still a shy fairy in the open sea with a pristine appearance, attractive and life-long legends about the rich history of culture. This place is always a space that inspires endless visitors because of the wonderful harmony of nature.
Management of Cat Ba Bays