Except for a few fertile pockets, the terrain is too rocky forserious agriculture; most residents earn their living from the sea,while others cater to the tourist trade. Life has always been hard hereand many Cat Ba residents joined the exodus of Vietnamese boat peoplein the 1970s and ’80s. Although the island lost much of its fishingfleet this way, overseas Vietnamese have sent back large amounts ofmoney to relatives on the island, fuelling the hotel boom of the pastdecade. Cat Ba is still relatively laid-back, despite about a 20-foldincrease in hotel rooms (and karaoke machines!) since 1996.

Almosthalf of Cat Ba Island (which has a total area of 354 sq km) and 90 sqkm of the adjacent waters were declared a national park in 1986 toprotect the island’s diverse eco­systems. These include subtropicalevergreen forests on the hills, freshwater swamp forests at the base ofthe hills, coastal mangrove forests, small freshwater lakes and coralreefs. Most of the coastline consists of rocky cliffs, but there are afew sandy beaches hidden away in small coves.

Thereare numerous lakes, waterfalls and grottoes in the spectacularlimestone hills, the highest of which rises 331m above sea level. Thelargest permanent body of water on the island is Ech Lake,which covers an area of 3 hectares. Almost all of the surface streamsare seasonal; most of the island’s rainwater flows into caves andfollows underground streams to the sea, which creates a shortage offresh water during the dry season.

The watersoff Cat Ba Island are home to 200 species of fish, 500 species ofmollusc and 400 species of arthropod. Larger marine animals in the areainclude seals and three species of dolphin.

HoChi Minh paid a visit to Cat Ba Island on 1 April 1951 and there is alarge annual festival on the island to commemorate the event. A monument to Uncle Ho stands on Mountain No 1, the hillock opposite the pier in Cat Ba town.

Thebest weather on Cat Ba Island is from late September to November,particularly the latter, when the air and water temperature is mild andskies are mostly clear. December to February is cooler, but stillpleasant. From February to April rain is common, while the summermonths, from June through August, are hot and humid. This is also peakseason and the island is overrun with Vietnamese tourists from Hanoi and beyond.