Cat Ba Archipelago off north-ern Haiphong City will re-ceive Unesco’s certificate that recognizes it as a World Biosphere Reserve on April 1.

With Unesco’s recognition late last year, Cat Ba Archipelago becomes the fourth such reserve in Vietnam after Can Gio in HCMC, Cat Tien in Dong Nai Province and the Red River Delta.

Cat Ba authorities hope as a Unesco’s World Biosphere Reserve the islands will lure more locals and foreigners. Its current hotels and tourism facilities can accommodate 6,000 visitors at a time, and Cat Ba expects to receive 50,000 tourists this year, up 15,000 from last year.

And there are plenty of reasons why Cat Ba’s expectations are sensible and why it deserves Unesco’s special title.

Taking a car or train for two hours from Hanoi to Haiphong and then boarding a high-speed vessel for another hour, you will arrive at Cat Ba Island, the largest among 366 islands in the Lan Ha Bay.

The archipelago in Cat Hai District, some 45 kilometers east of Haiphong and 150 kilometers southeast of Hanoi, covers more than 17,000 hectares of land and 9,200 hectares of sea.

It boasts a typical ecological system in Vietnam, including tropical rain forests on limestone islands, mangrove forests, coral reefs, sea grass, sand beaches and mysterious caves.

The archipelago consists of three parts. The core zone stretching over 8,500 hectares of islands and sea remains largely untouched. Only few people have conducted some research here.

The adjacent 7,740-hectare buffer zone, which helps protect the core zone, offers great opportunities for economic development, research, education and entertainment.

The outer 10,000-hectare transition zone has already been populated, exploiting its favorable conditions for socio-economic development, but also keeping an eye on sustainable environmental protection.

Cat Ba is home to some 2,320 species of fauna and flora, including 740 land, 280 forest, 540 seabed, 200 fish, 180 coral reef, 80 sea grass and 20 wetland plants.

As many as 60 of Cat Ba’s species are endangered, according to Vietnam’s Red Book.

Besides vegetation, the archipelago has many beautiful beaches, such as Cat Co 1, Cat Co 2, Cat Dua, Duong Danh and Cat Ong.

Visiting the large beaches of Cat Co and Cat Dua, which a small mountain range separates, you can swim in turquoise warm water so clear that you can see the sand floor beneath you.

And if you are looking for a quieter, more remote place, you can hire a motorboat to the small islets, where calm and clean beaches, such as the Cat Trai Gai, Duong Gianh and Hien Hao, await you.

The mountain next to Cat Co Beach has a tunnel and fascinating caves and grottoes, such as Hang Luon, Khe Sau, Trung Trang, Gia Luan and Kim Cuong. In these caves you will feel like an explorer, discovering nature’s wonders and mysteries.

Another unforgettable highlight is the sunset over Lan Ha Bay. Against the golden horizon and the dark blue sea, the islets start to look like green dots that white sea gulls and sea eagles circle.

The best time to visit Cat Ba is in October and November. The weather is chilly from December to February, and you can expect rain during March and April. From June through August it is hot and humid.