Ninh Binh Bear Sanctuary – sanctuary for former ‘bile bears’ in Ninh Binh, Vietnam
Last Update: 24th October 2020
Covering an area of around 10 hectares, Ninh Binh Bear Sanctuary is currently home to 12 bears. The sanctuary is aimed to protect and breed bears in Vietnam. Four Paws is in charge of the administration of the sanctuary.
Ninh Binh Bear Sanctuary Fast Facts
- Name: Ninh Binh Bear Sanctuary (Four Paws Viet)
- Area: 10 x hectares
- Things to do there: Animals, Support for Sanctuary, Bears
- Who visits: All people if interested
- Time required: 1 – 2 x Hours
Lying in the mountainous area of Nho Quan, the first phase of Ninh Binh Bear Sanctuary started in 2016 and was completed in 2017. The area of the first phase is 3 hectares. As at January, 2019, the sanctuary has 4 outdoor enclosures. Each of them can accommodate 10 – 14 bears. Visitors can also find 2 bear houses, a special quarantine station, a kitchen where the food for bear is prepared and an administrative building there.
A wildlife education center and a dormitory for volunteers are in the plan of the second phase of the sanctuary. After the completion by the end of 2019 or the early of 2020, the sanctuary will be able to accommodate up to 100 bears.
You may see bears playing with each other, climbing or just sleeping on the wooden frame in the closure. You could observe the interesting actions of them at the viewpoint in the observation room. The restaurant in the sanctuary offers vegetarian dishes and several drinks to visitors. The souvenir shop there features some exciting handicrafts for visitors. With the shape of bear, some are made in wood or bamboo.
The best time to visit the sanctuary is in the morning as the bear is the most active on the cool morning.
You could visit the sanctuary around the year.
Unfortunately, there is no direct bus to the sanctuary from Ninh Binh or Hanoi. Thus, the only option is to rent a vehicle to the area.
- Opening hours: 09:00 – 15:00 (Monday – Sunday)
- Visitors can explore the sanctuary for free.
- Please don’t feed the bears with your food.
Wendy Wei Tours offers a variety of different packaged tours as well as custom tours including the Ninh Binh Bear Sanctuary, among other attractions and destinations. To find out more, please visit our Tours page or Contact Us directly to find out more.