Cat Ba. Parc natural: Mirador de Đỉnh Ngự Lâm i cova Trung Trang

Walk through the natural park of the island of Cat Ba.
We arrived at the entrance of the park with a motorbike that we rented from the hotel, the journey from the town to the park is very beautiful and goes through a lush jungle area. You have to stop at the entrance to the park to pay a cup that gives access to the different itineraries and allows you to visit Trung Trang Cave.
We started the journey to the viewpoint of Định Ngự Lâm early in the morning to avoid the heat and the visitors and it was quite a success (note that this is a quite accessible and crowded route) From the beginning the path is very flat and we find signs that tell us the names of the magnificent specimens of trees and plants that we find. Immediately, however, the climb begins which is very steep. We climb about 250 meters in less than a kilometer and arrive at the top panting bravely. The views, however, are magnificent kilometers and kilometers of jungle unfold in front of us and allow us to get an idea of the magnitude of this island and its wealth and biodiversity.
We take the opportunity to rest and swim for a while and go back down to the entrance of the park. On the way back we stop to visit the visitor center which is a bit shocking, it reminds us of those collections of animals and fossils that gave rise to some natural history museums in the 14th century.
A short walk down the road leads us to the entrance of Trung Trang Cave, perched on a hill. It seems that the relief of these regions originates a lot of caves and cavities, in fact, we have been seeing them throughout the whole trip. This is quite large and has curious and very illuminated formations. We can go through it in our air until we come out through another mouth of the cavity quite far from the entrance. From here you have to follow the road until you reach the starting point of the walk.
If you want, on the way back you can complement this trip with a visit to the hospital cave that we find on the way, just before reaching the town of Cat Ba and that is connected to the complicated history of this country.
We really enjoyed being able to get to know Cat Ba Island better by making this little foray into its natural park, to realize that the island offers much more than beaches and magnificent coastal landscapes. There is no loss on the way out, you just need to be mentally prepared to exercise your muscles with so much going up and down.