Cat Ba National Park (Vườn quốc gia Cát Bà): Hiking Routes, Fees and Safety

The trail up Ngu Lam starts as stone steps under straight-trunked Kim Giao trees, cool and damp. Higher up the steps give way to jagged limestone, and you climb using roots as handholds. Then the forest opens out: green peaks folding into each other to the horizon, and a strip of sea beyond.

The park's main gate sits on the cross-island road between the ferry and Cat Ba town, so many visitors stop for an hour or two on the way in. A few give it a whole day and walk out the far side to Viet Hai.

Choosing a route

Fees below follow the park's posted fee table. It lists four tickets: the whole park, the short route, the Ninh Tiep route and the Phu Long route. The Ao Ech - Viet Hai trek has no line of its own, so tell the counter that is the trail you plan to walk and ask which ticket applies.

Kim Giao, Ngu Lam and Trung Trang Cave

This is the easiest route and the best use of a short visit. It begins at a semi-wild enclosure where the park cares for rescued animals such as green peafowl, silver pheasants, reticulated pythons and sika deer before release. Then comes the Kim Giao forest, a prized timber tree with straight trunks and a dense canopy. Ngu Lam is only 273 m high, but the last stretch is steep and sharp underfoot; go slowly and keep both hands free.

Trung Trang Cave is on the same ticket: about 400 m through the mountain, lit along the path, and used as a shelter by soldiers and islanders during the American War. Some sections have low ceilings and a damp floor, so wear shoes rather than sandals.

Photo: Jakub Hałun

The cross-forest trek to Viet Hai

Cat Ba's best-known long hike runs from park headquarters past Ao Ech, the Frog Pond, to Viet Hai village. The park's own page calls it a 12 km route and other sources give nearly 9 km, none saying exactly where the measurement starts and ends. Regular hikers take five hours or more to the village; going back by boat adds about 5 km from the village to Viet Hai pier. Expect slippery rock, dry leaves, constant ups and downs and nowhere to buy anything.

Ao Ech is a freshwater pond caught between limestone hills: full in summer, it shrinks in the dry season to a damp floor you can walk across. Typhoon Yagi brought down swathes of forest in September 2024, so you may still have to clamber over fallen trunks. Groups are walking the route this autumn, but ask at headquarters about each section before you set off.

Photo: Jakub Hałun

Viet Hai is a small village in a valley inside the park, with rice fields and a few homestays. A road links the village to Viet Hai pier; you can cover this stretch by bicycle or electric cart, then arrange a boat back to Ben Beo (Bến Bèo). There is no road connection to Cat Ba town, so the only other way back is to walk the trail in reverse. Book the boat before you set off, and ask your guide whether the price covers the boat and the ride to the pier. The boat crosses Lan Ha Bay (vịnh Lan Hạ), so also ask whether the bay fee is charged.

Photo: Jakub Hałun

Hospital Cave

Hospital Cave (Hang Quân Y), a short ride from Trung Trang towards town, is a field hospital built inside the mountain during the American War, with rooms on several levels. It is not on the park's fee table; you pay at the entrance, which travel sites put at about 80,000 VND per adult with a separate child rate, so check the price at the door. Pair it with the short route for a full morning.

The Cat Ba langur: where and how to see it

The Cat Ba langur, a black primate with a golden head, is endemic to the archipelago and listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN. The wild population is tiny and breeds slowly, so every disturbance counts.

The langurs live in small groups on limestone cliffs, feeding on the slopes by day and sheltering in caves in the evening. Some groups live on cliffs along the bays, including the area near Viet Hai. Do not pick a hike in the hope of meeting them: if you see langurs at all, it is most likely from a boat, at a distance, and no trip can promise a sighting. Treat any tour that "guarantees langurs" with suspicion.

Photo: ALOnIShOnETH

Do you need a guide?

The short route is clearly marked and easy to do alone. For the cross-forest trek we would go with a park guide or a licensed operator: they know where trees have just come down, which stretches turn slick after rain and how to pace the day so you are out of the forest before dark. If the park requires registration or a guide for a route, follow that. Ask at headquarters or on the tourism line above, and agree the start time, route and total price when you book.

The park has advertised night wildlife walks on the May Bau - Ao Ech (Mây Bầu - Ao Ếch) section; ask whether they are still running. Do not go into the forest on your own after closing time.

Preparation and safety

Cat Ba's limestone is sharp and slippery when damp, so shoes with real grip matter more than anything else. Carry all the water you need, since there is nothing to buy on the trail, plus snacks for the long route. Summer brings mosquitoes and leeches: long trousers, high socks and insect repellent. The park closes at 5pm, so a four- to seven-hour route needs to start by about 9am.

When to go

October and November are the most comfortable months for hiking: cooler, with much less rain than September, and November is usually dry. In summer Ao Ech is full and the forest is lush, but it is hot, humid, buggy and prone to sudden showers. August and September are the wettest months in Hai Phong (Hải Phòng) and fall in typhoon season, so leave spare days and be ready to drop the long trek. From December it is cool and pleasant to walk, though February and March bring drizzle and damp. Cloud and drizzle can obscure the summit view.

If you come over by cable car or the Dong Bai (Đồng Bài) ferry, the park is an easy stop on the road into town.