By Claire Boobbyer (03 March 2025)
Vietnam is a biodiversity wonder. Its long, S-shaped curve is bordered by wild coastline, and inland it’s filled with tropical forest, mountains, limestone peaks and wetlands, making it easily one of the most biologically rich countries in the world. But it’s not a destination well known for its wildlife experiences as many animals here are threatened by illegal wildlife tracking, deforestation and population pressures.
Yet there are still pockets of wildlife wonder in this Southeast Asian country, especially where conservationists are fighting hard to reverse wildlife decline and protect hotspots. Many of these places are away from the beaten track, but that’s a blessing for the wild creatures that remain.
Here’s our guide on where to find wild animals in Vietnam.
Con Dao Island
East Sea, is a cluster of 14 green, mountainous, beach-circled islands. The archipelago is the most important area for nesting sea turtles in Vietnam and the surrounding pristine seas are home to vibrant coral, manatee and dolphins. Parts of the archipelago are designated a Ramsar wetland, the only Ramsar designation of a sea area in Vietnam.
Thousands of Hawksbill and Green Turtles lay their eggs in nests on the wild beaches of the islands every year. Through a tour with Con Dao National Park guides, watch eggs being laid at night and help release baby turtles into the ocean.
Yok Don National Park
Wild elephant numbers in Vietnam are critical, so much so that the Vietnam government launched an Elephant Conservation Action Plan in November 2024. Numbers have plummeted from 2,000 Asian elephants in the 80s to around 200 today.
The best place to observe Asian elephants is in the dry forests of Yok Don National Park in central Vietnam close to the Cambodia border. Today, you can head out on foot with guides, learn about elephants, their back story, and future and hope to see one of the formerly captive elephants foraging for food in the forest.
While you’re there, cruise along the Serepok river on a boat journey looking out for some of the 300 bird species in the area including kingfisher, drongo and rare, red-crowned crane.
Cat Ba Island
Cat Ba Island, a large island of soaring, inhospitable limestone peaks and lush forest, is found off the northeast coast of northern Vietnam at the edge of UNESCO-protected Halong Bay. On this island of needle-sharp karst lives a critically endangered primate, the endemic Cat Ba langur, also known as the golden-headed langur due to its shock of golden hair framing a black face. Babies are even cuter as they are completely covered in bright orange hair at birth.
The Cat Ba Langur Conservation Project estimates there are some 80 of the creatures roaming the 140 square miles of the island – half of which is the Cat Ba National Park – and that their numbers have doubled over the last 20 years. Hunting, poaching and habitat loss due to unsustainable tourism practices are the main threats to this primate which now verges on the edge of extinction. But these primates are survivors: they’ve even adapted to drinking salt water. Cat Ba National Park organises trekking tours where you might be lucky enough to spot one.
Cuc Phuong National Park
Vietnam is home to 25 primate species, and five of those are found nowhere else on earth including the Tonkin snub-nosed monkey and Delacour’s langur. Spotting some of these creatures in the wild is difficult. Some two-and-a-half hour’s drive south from Hanoi is Cuc Phuong National Park which houses the important Endangered Primate Rescue Center and Vietnam’s first Carnivore and Pangolin Education Centre.
To spot birds and animals in the wild including clouded leopards, Asian black bear, Delacour’s langur, and hornbill spend a couple of days trekking through the forest. Pitching camp with a national park guide will increase your chances of seeing wildlife.
Son Tra Peninsula
Just north of Danang on the Son Tra Peninsula, where you’ll find the luxury InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Hotel, eco-focussed NGO GreenViet has done much to raise the profile and educate locals about the more than 1,000 red-shanked douc langurs who live in the forested hills there. Take a tour from Danang city or head out from the hotel
Ba Be National Park
Most visitors explore Ba Be Lake in Vietnam’s northeast for just a day or an overnight stay. It’s the country’s largest natural freshwater lake and the surrounding forested area shelters caves, numerous orchids and more than 80 species of animals and 322 species of birds.
Get off the beaten track in the Ba Be National Park on multi-day trekking tours and you might be lucky enough to spot pygmy slow loris, Owston palm civet, Asian black bear and Francois’ langur. Boating trips out on to the lake offer birdwatching opportunities, too.
Annamite Mountains
The Annamite Mountains, Vietnam’s central spine, act as a natural border between the country and its neighbour, Laos. The high-altitude range is mostly remote, forested and inhospitable to man and shelters 134 mammal species and more than 500 bird species.
In fact, it’s so remote a new endemic gibbon species was discovered there as late as 2010. It’s the isolated habitat of the saola, too, aka the Asian unicorn, discovered in 1992 and the first large mammal unearthed on the planet in more than 50 years. Large-antlered muntjac, Annamite striped rabbit, Natalia’s horned dragon, singing gibbons and beautiful winged creatures such as Edwards’ Pheasant and Germain’s Peacock Pheasant roam the area. Poaching and encroaching human development threaten this pristine region.
Bach Ma National Park is an easy gateway from Hue, the imperial-founded city in central Vietnam, and offers the visitor multiple day treks. But it’s worth digging a little deeper and heading to the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park where the world’s largest cave, Son Doong, is found. The Hang Ba Deep Jungle Expedition by Oxalis Adventure is a wildlife-focused trip with a chance to review camera trap footage. Easier trekking trips are available.
Mekong Delta
The Mekong Delta spans a vast stretch of southern Vietnam where the 3,000-mile-long Mekong River divides into nine tributaries and spills out into the East Sea. Much of the area is covered in mangrove. Waterways support giant Mekong catfish, hairy-nosed otter and vulnerable sarus crane. For birdwatchers, it’s a dream. Tram Chim National Park, a wetland that supports some 230 bird species, including the red-crowned sarus crane, is a highlight.
