Cuc Phuong, Vietnam’s first national park established in 1962 by President Ho Chi Minh, is located in Ninh Binh Province, a three-hour drive south from Hanoi. Cuc Phuong’s main vegetation type is limestone forest with areas of secondary forest where the natural limestone forest has been cleared.

There are two main areas to concentrate on at Cuc Phuong, the headquarters area and Bong sub-station, 20 km inside the park. There are several good forest trails leading from Bong sub-station and the road between the headquarters and Bong can be surprisingly good for birding especially early in the morning.

Silver Pheasant, Grey Peacock Pheasant, Red-collared Woodpecker, Brown Hornbill, Ruddy Kingfisher, Pied Falconet, Eared Pitta, Blue-rumped Pitta, Bar-bellied Pitta, Silver-breasted Broadbill, White-winged Magpie, Indochinese Green Magpie, Ratchet-tailed Treepie, Scaly Thrush, Black-breasted Thrush, Japanese Thrush, Eurasian Blackbird, White-tailed Flycatcher, Rufous-tailed Robin, Fujian Niltava, Limestone Wren Babbler, Rufous-throated Fulvetta, Black-browed Fulvetta.