Tra Chim is an impressive national park that acts as a bird sanctuary in Dong Thap area of the Mekong Delta. Vietnam maintains what they refer to as the Red Data Book which lists rare and endangered wildlife and plant species. Many Red Book birds, animals, and plants are found in Tra Chim. For birders you have the chance to see:
- White-winged geese
- O Tac
- Coc sole
- Black-backed plovers
- Sarus Crane
- Giang sen
- Gray-legged pelican
There are hiking routes but this is mainly a wetland area so best to be explored by the boats services offered near the main entrance. There are two tour routes a 12 km one costs 700k VND and the 21km route is 1m VND. Both are priced per boat so if you aren’t with a group you can join a group and share the price. If you go to the boat area the afternoon before you want to travel you can arrange just post sunrise trip. This is by far the best time to go.
The best time of year to go is the flooding season from October to December. Tra Chim is located in the northeast end of the Mekong so it works well to combine with Chau Doc.
