Our 2-night herping tour in Nam Cat Tien National Park, Vietnam, was a fantastic night out and adventure filled with a great and notable set of key reptile and amphibian highlight species.
The trip was led by our principal herping guide Diep Tung and joined by four guests from France (Lucas, Lolita, Celia, and a friend). Lucas first reached out via WhatsApp about a month before the tour, and after some careful planning, we were ready to explore one of southern Vietnam’s most biodiverse regions.
The group’s main goals were to find Flying Lizards and Pit Vipers, two of the most sought-after family groups and species in Nam Cat Tien. With great conditions and solid night work, we were fortunate to achieve both. Over two nights of guided night walks, we tracked down Ruby-eyed Pit Viper (Trimeresurus rubeus) and the Indochinese Flying Lizard (Draco indochinensis), displaying its beautifully patterned wings as it shot between trees.
Other highlights of the herping trip included the Berdmore’s Slug Snake (Pareas berdmorei unicolor), recognised for its unique, saw-like teeth adapted to feeding on snails. We also encountered several frog species along the rainforest trails, including the unusual Burmese Squat Frog (Glyphoglossus guttulatus), with its rounded body and distinctive look. Another standout sighting was the Cat Tien Bent-toed Gecko (Cyrtodactylus cattienensis), an endemic species found only within Cat Tien National Park and a few other nearby local sites.
Exploring Cat Tien National Park is always an incredible experience, absolutely alive with the sounds of insects, frogs, owls/nightjars and even a distant mammal or two. If you’d like to join us for a herping night in Cat Tien, feel free to get in touch – we’d love to have you!
