Tra Su Cajuput Forest

Tra Su is a planted cajuput forest on the flood plain of An Giang, managed as a bird reserve and best seen from the water. Larger boats carry visitors along the main channel, then transfer them to paddled sampans that turn into narrow lanes between the trunks, where the surface is so completely covered in duckweed that the water looks like a lawn. Storks, herons and cormorants nest in the canopy and lift off in numbers toward dusk. A long bamboo walkway crosses part of the forest on foot, and an observation tower gives a view over the treetops and out across the surrounding paddies to the hills.

What you actually see

• The duckweed channels - narrow sampan lanes where the water is hidden under bright green weed.
• Nesting birds - storks, herons and cormorants in the cajuput canopy.
• The bamboo walkway - the long raised path crossing part of the flooded forest.
• The observation tower - the view over the canopy and the delta paddies beyond.

When to go

September to November is the flood season, when water levels are highest, the duckweed thickest and boats can reach the inner channels. From February to May the water drops and parts of the forest are dry ground. Birds are most active in the first hour of light and the hour before dusk, which are also the coolest times to be out.

Honest expectations

It is a managed reserve rather than wilderness, planted and cut into blocks, and the visit is a short and fairly staged boat loop. The motorised boats are noisy and often packed. Outside the flood months the signature green surface is thin or missing altogether. Mosquitoes are relentless at dawn and dusk. The site is a long way from anywhere except Chau Doc.

Nearby

Chau Doc and Sam mountain are about half an hour northeast, at the head of the delta.