Forest Floor Lodge

When it opened in 2009, Forest Floor Lodge (FFL) was the first public-private partnership with a National Park in Vietnam. A dilapidated guard station building, next to the Ben Cu rapids, was converted as a reception area: that serves a number of comfortable, low-impact accommodation units, set in the adjacent secondary forest. Trails into the forest start next to the Lodge and an area of near-primary tropical forest is accessible within a 500 metre walk. The Park has a well-established reputation for observing wild-life ranging from: birds, primates (including the endemic yellow-cheeked gibbon), other mammals such as gaur, reptiles (including the Siamese crocodile), insects, which may include species new-to-science and plants that range from enormous specimen trees to exquisite orchids and wild ginger flowers. The Hornbill Bar at FFL was so named because the adjacent viewing platform is one of the best places in the country to see these birds. Bringing-in visitors to Cat Tien National Park not only supports the local economy, but also raises environmental awareness and may help to reduce poaching (forest paths are watched more). FFL invites investors, naturalists, scientific visitors and all who respect the environment to share in our mission: to place a greater value on the forest; alternatively visitors may simply wish to 'get away from the city' and appreciate one of Vietnam's dwindling areas of lowland tropical forest in pleasant surroundings. The first phase, eco-lodge construction, has now been completed and we are currently upgrading facilities: including better use of solar energy. Species recording and mapping activities are ongoing and tree planting takes place every rainy season.