Cuc Phuong National Park is a nature reserve and special-use forest stretching over an area of 22,408 hectares in the three provinces of Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa and Phu Tho (old Hoa Binh).
Recently, an unfortunate incident has occurred in this national park, causing many tourists to worry. A tourist went missing for 5 days while traveling alone in Cuc Phuong National Park and his body was found near Son Cung Cave. This is a mountainous area with rough terrain, many caves, ancient trees... In particular, the deeper you go into the core area of the national park, the less phone signal will be available.
The Center for Environmental Education and Services, Cuc Phuong National Park, has assessed the risks of unsafety for tourists, the unit often has recommendations for tourists before the trip.
Lao Dong Newspaper summarizes safe travel instructions for visitors visiting Cuc Phuong National Park:
Choose the right time to go to Cuc Phuong forest
Summer from April to June is the butterfly and breeze season in Cuc Phuong forest, on weekends there are often many tourists coming to visit during the day as well as at night to camp and rent rooms overnight.
Late summer, from July to September is the rainy season. The roads in Cuc Phuong forest are already worn trails, so it is not easy to move if you do not have experience in forestry. Tourists avoid going to the forest during prolonged rain or right after the rainy day.
The remaining months in the forest will be quite cold, with little rain.
Preparing equipment to go to Cuc Phuong forest
The outfit should have long-sleeved, airy clothes (a fabric that is easy to absorb sweat) and protect against mosquitoes, reptiles, and insects.
Shoes should choose sneakers and trekking shoes with good bamarance (thorny, anti-slip) to move in the forest.
Personal items need to have hats, sunglasses, sunscreen, mosquito control, insect spray, drinking water, cameras, flashlights, chargers, Ducts (if any). Bring your own bottle instead of buying a disposable plastic bottle to limit littering in the forest.
Medications should include basic drugs such as fever reducers, painkillers, stomach painkillers, diarrhea, rehydration pills, etc.
Notes when traveling to Cuc Phuong forest
Don't go to the forest alone: Especially in special-use forest areas, the core national park area is often deserted and has no phone signal, so you should not go alone. Tourists should go with at least one friend, family or tour guide to ensure safety when encountering an incident.
Follow the forest rules: Do not littered, pick flowers and break branches, do not come too close to wild animals or strange insects.
Be careful when traveling in the forest: Stay away from dangerous areas such as cliffs, rivers, streams, caves, move slowly and observe carefully. If you go deep into a deserted forest, you need to mark your path or leave your mark.
Inform the forest rangers when there is an incident: Always keep the phone number of the forest management board and forest rangers so that if there is an incident, they cannot handle it themselves, and in areas with phone signals, you can call for help.
Do not go to the forest when it is about to get dark: Start your trip early and finish before dark to have time to return to your accommodation or find a safe camping spot.
Equip yourself with survival skills:
but calmly observe to find a way to handle unexpected situations such as insect bites, getting lost or accidents.
Always bring a small knife (multi-purpose knife), fire extinguisher, water bottle, snacks such as dry food.
Learn how to use maps, spread tables, and pre-load maps of the destination to orient the route.
Wear colorful clothes to easily recognize, or learn how to create smoke to signal during the day, how to create fire (or bring flashlights) to both keep the body warm and to signal at night.
Learn first aid skills for cuts, scratches, and hypogastric disorders...
