ABOUT THE BIRDING

Yok Don is the largest national park in Vietnam and is best known as a wildlife sanctuary. The habitat is primarily dry deciduous forest with some mixed evergreen forest. Permanent water is located only in the western section of the park, which is closed to the public. The eastern section has numerous seasonable pools along with tributaries of Srepok River, itself a tributary of the Mekong River. These are important for supporting birdlife as well as mammals in the park. The western section is the only place to reliably find White-winged Duck, Red-headed Vulture, and White-rumped Vulture and is the likeliest place to find Black-necked Stork, Giant Ibis, and White-shouldered Ibis. Nevertheless, the park offers very good birding and is the best place to find Black-headed Woodpecker, White-rumped Falcon, Alexandrine Parakeet, Rufous Treepie, Mekong Wagtail, all difficult or impossible to find elsewhere in Vietnam. A sizeable population of Green Peafowl is also present in the park. Mammals in the park include Asian Elepahant, Leopard, and Black-shanked Douc Langur.

LOCATION OF SITE

Yok Don is located near the Cambodia border 40km west of Buon Ma Thuot in south central Vietnam. It's best reached by flying to Buon Ma Thuot. It's about a 7 hour drive via bad roads from Dalat.

OTHER LOCALES

• Bach Ma National Park
• Cat Tien National Park
• Cuc Phuong National Park
• Dalat Plateau
• Di Linh
• Lo Xo Pass
• Phong Nha-Ke National Park
• Tam Dao National Park