Field Notes and Photos

photo: Ben Gilbert

Critically endangered, the Delacour Langur (Trachypithecus delacuri) is found only in a few Karst Mountain formations in Vietnam.

Dleacour Langur link

With an estimated 200 individuals remaining, the chances of seeing this animal are slim indeed. There are a few still reported in Cuc Phuong National Park (where there is also a primate rescue center which attempting a breeding program)....but after a few days of trekking we saw not a one. So, off to Van Long Nature Reserve where there is a small but stable group living in the Karst formations in this protected, but easily accessed by boat, area.

Van Long Reserve link

Cuc Phuong Endangered Primate Rescue Center

The preserve consists of 3000 hectares of wetland with large Karst formations where the Langurs live. One can hire a boat with guide to paddle you throughout the reserve, including in and out of the many caves....and a visit to a mountainside pagoda.

Travel companions and fellow naturalists Ben and Phil Gilbert with local guide and "gondolier."

One of the many caves in the limestone mountains.

Blue-eared Kingfisher (Alcedo meningting).

Kingfisher link

Local fishermen are permitted limited access to trap fish, crabs and snails. The government has developed a healthy relationship with the local people...who gain employment as boat guides and in the "resort" closeby.

Van Long Resort link

Little Grebe (Tachybaptus ruficollis).

Grebe link

Placid water, beautiful scene....but rather inclement weather on our winter visit.

Ben unleashes the "big dog," the Nikon 500mm. We were fortunate to see six individual langurs...unusual on an overcast and cool day.

Nikon's "Big Dog" link

This group of Langurs is stable and has been well studied....and due to the preserve many Vietnamese are able to view them.

BBC article about Delacour Langurs

Egrets winging in for the night after a day fishing in flooded rice paddies.

Looks like a sunset, but it was the first bit of sun we had seen all week.

Lien, friend and National Museum entomologist was my boat-buddy...we were thrilled to see such rare primates. If you travel to Vietnam, be sure to make a side-trip to Van Long....it's not on the usual tourist itinerary, but a wonderful experience.

There is very little Primary Forest left in Southeast Asia. I had the great fortune to join some friends for a visit to an untouched bit of primary dipterocarp forest in Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam. The pristine state of this forest and national park is due to the vision of former President Ho Chi Minh, who in 1962, declared Cuc Phuong to be Vietnam's very first National Park. That was a troubled time for Vietnam, a young nation just out of a war with the French colonial forces, and beginning a civil war with the South Vietnamese and a war with the U.S. It is most remarkable that Bac (Uncle) Ho had the foresight to preserve such a valuable natural area.

Intrepid fellow trekkers and friends, (L to R) Vu Van Lien, Phil Gilbert, and son Ben. Lien, Phil and I have been friends since working with Lien's Earthwatch Research Project, Butterflies of Vietnam.

Butterflies of Vietnam on Vimeo

Cuc Phuong National Park has 20,200 hectares of primary forest among very steep limestone karst mountains.

In addition to the forest, there is the Endangered Primate Rescue Center, the Turtle Conservation Center, an Endangered Carnivore and Pangolin Center, and a 160 hectare Botanical Garden. The park has a hotel and restaurant at the entrance, and guest houses inside the park at Ho Mac Lake, where we stayed. After visiting all the conservation centers, we spent several days trekking in the forest...including an all-day treak over four karst mountains for an overnight homestay in a Muong stilt house in Khanh Village.

Cuc Phuong website....lots of info and photos

Below is the remains of an aged and giant Hallock or Jhalna Tree (Terminalia myriocarpa). This was the oldest tree in the park until a storm blew it down a few years ago. Our ranger guide said it was over a thousand years old.

"Dipterocarpaceae is a family of 17 genera and approximately 500 species of mainly tropical lowland rainforest trees. They are top canopy and understorey tree species. Many are large canopy forest emergent species, reaching some species heights of over 80 m tall. They are a pantropical group with more biodiversity from South East Asia to New Guinea. they are present in Africa, South America, India, Southeast Asia and Malesia"

Above is an exerpt from an excellent source website,

Diptoerocarp website

Several day's trekking through Cuc Phuong's forest trails brought us to some interesting spots, and worked up good appetites for the wonderful food at the guest house.

Simple, but adequate accomodations at the guest house.

We were happy with "Hot water and cold beer,"....and not the reverse!

The oldest tree in the park is a popular spot and an impressive, "grandfather."

Several busloads of students from Hanoi University came for a weekend visit. They were from the Natural Sciences Department, and their professor gave an "al fresco" lecture at the base of the Thousand Year Old Tree.

Much happens in the canopy that cannot be seen from the forest floor.

Many, many trees 30-40 meters tall. More than impressive...absolutely humbling.

Reconning the route to Khanh Village for our homestay with the Muong Hill Tribe.

Muong Poeple link

Topography of Vietnam

It's not all rice paddies!

Vietnam's Rainforest info....great site!

On the long trek to Khanh Village, we had a forest ranger as guide who led us through the valleys and across the mountain passes.

But, there was still a lot of scrambling over the rocky outcroppings.

What a wonderful experience to walk silently through Asia's primary forest. Most of Asia's tropical hardwoods have long since been cut down.

Always interesting species along the way.

Lien and our Forest Ranger guide inspect a giant buttress root of a dipterocarp. These roots help stabilize the trees and provide more nutrients by extending the absorbtion area in the thin topsoil.

Bamboo groves were found in the valleys, and were difficult going.

Overview of bamboos in vietnam

Wild bananas, not the Cavendish cultivar you buy in the market. These are very small and bitter.....but forest birds and animals eat them.

The fourth karst range and last mountains to cross!

In the distance, Khanh Village......looks like Shangri-la after an all day trek

Before entering the village we came upon a small hidden valley with a herd of water buffalo. The villagers lead them into the valley via a small stream bed, then block off the entrance....and there they stay until it's time to plow.

The village has a timeless appearance, albeit with electricity.

Growing rice and corn.

Traditional houses on stilts, but now with concrete posts instead of tropical hardwood.....and with satellite dish TV!

photo courtesy of Ben and Phil Gilbert

Dinner with our gracious host, Mr Nga....village chairman. The homestays provide income for the Muong people and give them a sense of ownership for the park....thus, they no longer log or poach game illegally.