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Tra Su Forest, Vietnam

January 11, 2016 By James Clark 6 Comments

Tra Su Forest, Vietnam

One of the lesser-known attractions of the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam is the Tra Su Forest. The forest is a former plantation that is now a wildlife reserve. There are canals which are flooded (usually between November to March) and there are boats that will take you on tour.

The forest is about 20km from Chau Doc, which is on the Vietnam/Cambodia border in Southern Vietnam. There are tours that visit from Chau Doc, or can hire a motorbike and see some of the other sites in the area on the way.

Chau Doc is too far from Ho Chi Minh City to make it a viable day trip. If you have limited time in the Delta I would visit a floating market first. However if you are slow travelling around the Delta or if you have arrived in Chau Doc via Cambodia then it is worth making a detour for.

It costs 150,000 VND ($6.66 USD) per boat so if you are by yourself see if you can split a boat with another group. The tour starts with a speed boat through the larger canals.

Speed Boat

On the way there is plenty of birdlife and you will see beautiful lotus flowers – the floral emblem of Vietnam.

Lotus Flower

The speed boat takes you into the interior of the reserve where there are smaller boats with rowers waiting for the next segment of the trip.

Small boats

This is where the trip gets more relaxing as you now only have the sound of the rowers oar while gliding through the flooded forest.

View from the boat

During the trip you will see other canals that are now disused and filled with vegetation.

Closed Canal

In such a noisy country is almost unnervingly quiet in this forest.

James - Tra Su Forest

After being rowed through the forest it is back to the speed boat.

Canal interchange

There are some walking paths in the forest and an area with an observation platform which is worth walking to.

Walk along the canal

Bonus: Eat Some Rats!

A specialty of the Mekong Delta are rats. These are not your average city rat that has lived its life in the gutter, but field rats from the rice paddies.

At the observation platform there is a food area which has a restaurant that serves rats. I had seen pictures of rats served on skewers which gave a visual impression of what you are eating. Here though the rats were served quartered. If I didn’t know what it was I probably wouldn’t have guessed it was rat.

The cooked meat looked very appetising. I’m not going to say it tasted like chicken, because it didn’t, but the meat was white and had the same appearance as bbq chicken on the outside. All I can say was it wasn’t gamey like I thought it would be, and it was a tasty meat.

Rats

Where to stay in Chau Doc

I stayed at the Thanh Nam 2 Mini Hotel, which is a reliable backpacker guesthouse in Chau Doc.

A good option is the Hung Cuong Hotel, which is the middle of the action in Chau Doc.

To search more hotels in Chau Doc visit Agoda. .

Tra Su Forest Map

Filed Under: Travel Blog Tagged With: chau doc, national park, tra su forest, vietnam

About James Clark

James Clark is the founder of Nomadic Notes. He has been a digital nomad since 2003, and Nomadic Notes features trip reports, train travel articles, and where to stay guides. He writes about transport and urban development at Future Southeast Asia. Subscribe to the weekly travel newsletter.

Comments

  1. Ian says

    January 17, 2016 at 9:35 pm

    Nice open-minded perspective on eating rat … sounds like something I would love to try when traveling in Vietnam!

    Reply
  2. Sri Reddy says

    February 19, 2016 at 12:17 am

    I am a vegetarian and wondering what options do I have? Seems like a nice trip down in that forest. I hope I visit Vietnam in near future.

    Reply
  3. Beth Jarman says

    September 7, 2016 at 5:23 am

    Awesome post – I am disappointed that I missed this tranquil spot when I was in the Delta!

    Reply
  4. Rosa says

    May 1, 2017 at 5:51 am

    Thanks for sharing about the Tra Su forest. I’ve never heard of it until now!

    Reply
  5. Maxime says

    February 19, 2018 at 3:02 pm

    Thks for the article
    We’re currently looking to visit this beautiful forest and didnt found many informations.
    How can u visit the Forest ? By yourself ?
    Are they’re local agence in Chau Doc ?
    Thks u

    Reply
  6. Kari Mcnayr says

    April 2, 2019 at 7:35 pm

    It’s hard to search out educated individuals on this matter, however you sound like you already know what you’re speaking about! Thanks

    Reply

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Hi, I’m James Clark, and I've been travelling the world since 2003 while running a location independent travel business. Nomadic Notes is a travel blog featuring travel guides and notes from my travels.

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