Embark on a journey of discovery with our
herping tours in Ma Da Nature Reserve. Our initiative strives to preserve biodiversity through education, photography, and tourism. You’ll witness the fascinating natural world and replace fear with a fascination for amphibians or reptiles.
We offer both day trips and multi-day tours for herping enthusiasts. You’ll travel between different habitats and hotspots by car and primarily search for reptiles and amphibians on foot, both during the day and at night.
Ma Da Nature Reserve, part of the Dong Nai Culture and Nature Reserve, is known as the green lung of the Southeast, and a land containing legendary stories about a heroic history. It’s a primeval forest with tall woody trees creating a majestic and immense picture of this place. With over 50 species of Herps recorded in Ma Da Nature Reserve, including many species from Indochina and Sunda, you might even catch some interesting mammals and
birds.
Our
herping guides will adapt the itinerary based on your preferences and what we have already seen, local conditions, or a gut feeling. Notify us in advance about any specific target species/preferences, and we’ll prepare accordingly.
Itinerary: 1 day
12:30 to ± midnight):
We don’t have a standard itinerary since it depends on various factors, such as how many days you book and if there are any specific species you’d like to see. We’ll adapt the trip to increase our chances. Our herping guide will try their best to get the most out of your trip based on your preferences.
We use a car to move around throughout the park, visit different habitats and our favorite hotspots, and search for herps on foot. It tends to be more successful to intensively search several spots rather than hiking long distances on a single long trail. Please notify us in advance about specific target species/preferences during the correspondence prior to booking the tour.
There are NO restaurants on this park, so it’s better to bring some snacks with you. We’ll prepare lunch and dinner. After spending all our time herping, we’ll return to Ho Chi Minh City at midnight.
Extra Information about this Location
This tour start from Ho Chi Minh City, and Ma Da lies about 2 hours drive Northwest of Ho Chi Minh City. The area can be tricky to reach by public transport, so we recommend that we pick you up at Ho Chi Minh and then drive there.
The place is open year-round, and our herping tours can take off every day of the year as long as our guide is available. The wet season is probably the most consistent when it comes to producing good results, roughly from May to October, and much of November still benefits from the wet period before. December – January can be successful, but there is also the chance of periods with cold nights that significantly slow down the movement of species.
Ma Da Nature Reserve is home to a variety of amphibians and reptiles. Over 20 species of frogs have been recorded in the reserve, including the banded bullfrog, Asian common toad, and Vietnamese tree frog. There are also over 70 species of reptiles, including snakes like the Siamese spitting cobra, king cobra, and Malayan pit viper, as well as lizards such as the green crest-tailed lizard, bloodsucker gecko, and many more.
FOR THIS LOCATION WE CAN DO HERPING ALL YEAR ROUND, BUT RAINING SEASON IS GOOD FOR AMPHIBIANS.
Some amphibians and reptiles that can be found in Ma Da Nature Reserve
- Chinese water dragonfly (Physignathus cocincinus)
- Tokay gecko (Gekko gecko)
- Asian green vine snake (Ahaetulla prasina)
- Indo-Chinese spitting cobra (Naja siamensis)
- Many-spotted cat snake (Boiga multomaculata)
- Red-tailed pipe snake (Cylindrophis ruffus)
- Common bronzeback snake (Dendrelaphis tristis)
- Burmese python (Python bivittatus)
- Banded krait (Bungarus fasciatus)
- Asian rat snake (Ptyas korros)
- Rainbow water snake (Enhydris enhydris)
- Big-headed turtle (Platysternon megacephalum)
- Brown tree frog (Polypedates megacephalus)
- White-lipped pit viper (Trimeresurus albolabris)
- Giant Asian pond turtle (Heosemys grandis)
- Four-lined tree frog (Polypedates leucomystax)
- Keeled box turtle (Cuora mouhotii)
- Yellow-spotted keelback (Xenochrophis flavipunctatus)
- Red-tailed bamboo rat snake (Oligodon dorsalis)
- Reticulated python (Python reticulatus)
How much does a tour cost?
These are the rates (per person, per day) for our herping tour package based on your group size. Followed by a list of what is included. And feel free to check out our other packages in Ma Da, below.
Group size | Rate per Person (USD) |
1 | 390 |
2 | 220 |
3 | 180 |
4 | 160 |
5 | 140 |
6 | 120 |
Ages | Reduction |
4 to 12 years | 70 % of Adult |
| |