The national park has surpassed many major rivals like Chitwan National Park in Nepal, Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park in Japan and Kinabalu National Park in Malaysia to win the prestigious title.
It will receive the prize at the 30th World Travel Award (WTA) Asia & Oceania Gala Ceremony, which will be held in Ho Chi Minh City on September 6.
Situated 120 kilometres from Hanoi, Cuc Phuong is Vietnam’s first national park, founded on July 7, 1962.
Covering 22,000 hectares of land in 14 communes of four districts under the three provinces of Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh and Thanh Hoa, the national park boasts enchanting scenery and offers a stunning range of biodiversity.
The Cuc Phuong National Park is a tropical forest characterized by the ecological transitional between limestone mountains and common mountains. The forest area is mainly composed of layers of an evergreen tropical forest in the lowlands (under 500m) and low mountains (under 500m) that came from rocks and limestone. These types of flora and fauna exhibit the characteristics of karst topography and biodiversity.
It has long served as a research centre for many conservation organisations, both national and international. According to surveys, Cuc Phuong has 2,234 floral species of 931 genera and 231 families. Included in these are 430 species of medicinal plants and 229 species of edible plants. 57 species are listed in the Vietnam Red Book of endangered species and also in the IUCN Red Book.
It has maintained its attractiveness of ecotourism, one of Vietnam’s key tourism segments, according to the organiser of the WTA.
Visiting the famous destination, both domestic and international tourists will be astonished by its vastness and mysterious atmosphere. Many visitors call it a “labyrinth of wonder”.
The tourist destination typically welcomes more than 10,000 visitors annually, with the majority foreigners.
The WTA was launched in 1993 to acknowledge excellence in the travel and tourism industry. The annual event has been dubbed as the ‘Oscars’ of global tourism.
