Discover the biodiversity of Con Dao National Park

The peaceful Con Dao forest and sea – famous Vung Tau tourist destination (Photo: Collection)

Diversity of flora and fauna

It has an extremely rich and diverse vegetation, from terrestrial to aquatic species, more than 370 species of woody, more than 100 species of vines, more than 200 species of beneficial herbs, along with 30 different types of orchids scattered on the island.

The rich flora of Con Dao National Park (Photo: Collection)

Con Dao flora makes fresh vitality, full of vitality. Especially, on the island, there are some rare and precious plants such as: Meo cross, slice of flower, red toad tree, loofah, white cork, white toad … Scientists have paid attention and studied the distribution. of valuable species on the island, offering appropriate protection.

Colors of red toad flowers in a sky in the national park (Image: Collection)

The only plants on the island are (Photo: Collection)

White-tailed cypress grows near water (Image: Collection)

The white toad tree in the national park (Image: Collection)

The number of animals living in Con Dao forest also causes scientific researchers to pay attention. Con Dao has up to 69 species of genera, 28 species of mammals, 39 species of reptiles. Some animals are considered “local” here, they appear very soon as the typical species on the island: Con Dao deer mouse, black squirrel, ebony squirrel.

Black squirrel in Con Dao (Image: Collection)

Deer mouse (Image: Collection)

A squirrel foraging in the forest (Image: Collection)

Seagrass beds and coral reefs

Coral reefs are like the colorful carpet of the ocean, tropical waters with suitable water levels are often the ideal place for corals to live and grow. The shallow coastal waters have less nutrients, the more phytoplankton, the easier it is for the coral system to reproduce, because the nutrient-rich water will be a favorable environment for algae to grow and corals have little chance.

Con Dao reef (Photo: Collection)

Colors of the sea bed (Image: Collection)

Snorkeling and diving at Con Dao coral (Image: Collection)

Visiting Con Dao, you will be proud because the landscape of the coastal waters has both coral and sea grass extremely colorful. Looking at the reef you can predict the environmental health status of that sea. If the sea of Con Dao, even small changes can destroy the habitat of corals. For example, a decrease in salinity in the water, or a rise in sea temperature by 1-2 degrees Celsius can also cause coral death.

According to statistics in Con Dao, there are 11 species of seagrass, more than some countries in the region: Singapore, Brunei. The seagrass beds grow under the water like soft mats, this plant is called seagrass because its leaves look like grass leaves, not much different from the grass on the shore. The only difference is that seagrass grows in shallow sea water, terrestrial grass swings with the wind and sea grass moves softly and smoothly with the water. Being able to dive underwater and watch the sea grass is also an exciting experience.

Seagrass in Con Dao National Park (Photo: Collection)

Some species of seagrass (Image: Collection)

Talking about the marine creatures, from plants to animals is extremely diverse. There are 127 different species of seaweed, 272 species of zooplankton, animals and plants. Besides, there are many kinds of rare corals and animals named in the Red Book of Vietnam: dugongs, crocodile (or dugongs) …

Dugong has a shape similar to a dolphin (Image: Collection)

Dugongs in Con Dao

The seagrass in Con Dao is also a food source for Dugong dugon or dugong. The sea dugong in Con Dao has only about 10 individuals living but they are extremely attractive to scientists around the world. Because before Con Dao National Park was established, this sea cow species was hunted a lot, while there were only about 100,000 individuals in the world. Therefore, they receive great attention of scientists, marine biologists to research to conserve this animal.

Dugongs in Con Dao National Park (Photo: Collection)

The animal’s food is seagrass (Image: Collection)

Dugongs have a high life expectancy, up to 70 years of age, move slowly, live at a depth of 2 to 10 m, they also do not dive for long, every 2 minutes to emerge to breathe. Dugongs breed in the richest food season, when the offspring can eat seagrass right after a few weeks.

A rare species of sea turtle

Con Dao is also famous for being a breeding ground for rare and valuable turtles with two typical species, Trang Dong and tortoiseshell. Every year, on the sandy beaches of Con Dao, there are more than 1,000 mother turtles to lay eggs to nest.

Con Dao sea turtle (Image: Collection)

Spawning time for sea turtles is from April to October. If you visit Con Dao, you can stay overnight to watch turtles lay eggs, otherwise they must come early from 4:00 am – 6:00 am. This activity is very attractive to tourists, especially those who are curious about how the sea turtles breed. Each baby turtle gradually broken the egg shell to get out, at this time, the management staff picked up each baby turtle into the cage and helped them return to the sea more smoothly, reducing the death rate of the baby turtle when returning. with the sea. Right at the time of peak spawning in June to September you will admire the sight of hundreds of turtle turtles crawling on the sand to the sea. In the morning they will crawl all out to the sea, because when they are born they are extremely sensitive to the sun. If it didn’t make it in the evening, the light would blind them and get lost.

Swimming with Sea Turtles (Image: Collection)

See Turtle lay at dawn (Image: Collection)

Staff of the nature reserve collect eggs for incubation (Photo: Collection)

Enlist crawling into the sea before the sun is up (Image: Collection)

Baby turtle back to the sea (Image: Collection)

Ho An Hai

An Hai Lake – Nui cross is a large freshwater lake providing water for about 6,000 people living on the island. Go through the lake you have to cross the big slopes to the Cross of the Cross, the atmosphere here is very fresh and fresh, luxuriant green trees cover the path. From the top of the mountain, you can admire the natural scenery of Con Dao sea. Tourists coming here can experience the feeling of going to the forest and into the sea extremely attractive.

The scenery of An Hai Lake is extremely impressive (Image: Collection)

Summer lake surface (Image: Collection)

Lotus blooming red roses a large area (Image: Collection)

Autumn colors (Photo: Collection)

Dam Tre Bay

Dam Tre Bay has many wildlife species, they live and nest right along the bay, where visitors can see birds on the mainland and many sea birds here to breed.

Attractive scenes (Image: Collection)

Clear blue bay (Image: Collection)

Seabirds nest (Image: Collection)

Wild seabirds (Image: Collection)

Ma Thien Lanh Bridge

This is a bridge built by the French, can also be considered as historical evidence of a time when the French colonialists suppressed and exploited the labor of Vietnamese people. This bridge was built from the blood of hundreds of suffering prisoners to exploit the resources on the island. Coming here, visitors will have a feeling to tell about the most arduous years of Con Dao prisoners.

Ma Thien Lanh Bridge relic (Image: Collection)

Ruins of Ma Thien Lanh Bridge (Image: Collection)

Stone wall (Image: Collection)

Duc Duc cave

Our Lady’s cave is located deep in the mountains, where the statue of Mary is located. Here the pristine scenery, the French have left many ruins on the rocks. If you are a pious lamb, it would be very emotional to see the statue of Our Lady in the wild like this. This vestige is a clear expression of the spiritual life of the French soldiers stationed on the island during the war years. Maybe they are very deprived of the spiritual life, maybe they are not sure of the sacred forest nature here, so want a spiritual support.

The Cave of Mary (Image: Collection)

The space of Our Lady’s Shop (Photo: Collection)

The entrance to the wooded cave (Image: Collection)

In addition, on Con Dao, there are many places where exciting tourist activities take place. You can participate in many recreational activities, explore: scuba diving to watch corals, fishing on boats, cycling on the island, walking around the beach … You can also visit many small islands around here. such as Hon Tre, Bay Canh, Hon Trac, Cau … Nature of the sea is gradually appearing, which makes anyone have to say that beauty.

Hon Tre at Con Dao National Park (Photo: Collection)

Impressive islands (Image: Collection)

The main natural environment here creates strange attraction for tourists. Con Dao has many beautiful beaches, many important historical sites, diverse flora and fauna from shore species living in the forest to aquatic species living along the coast.

Hope the article information content will be useful to you. Wish you have meaningful trips and memories.