Vietnam is welcoming more and more tourists who are increasingly attracted by the country's lush forests and cultural sites.

Figures show that the Asian nation saw more than 2.1 million foreign visitors enjoy travelling through in the first five months of 2008.

Last month, 400,000 tourists were welcomed in to Vietnam, 16.1 per cent more than May of 2007.

Much of these were environmental tourists hoping to explore the miles of forest which covers much of the land and is home to a diverse variety of wildlife.

According to the country's Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, there is a network of 126 special-use forests (SUFs) covering a combined area of 2.5 million hectares.

These SUFs include national parks, nature reserves and landscape conservation areas and make up 7.6 per cent of the country's total land area.

Vietnam is home to a number of critically endangered species including the Golden-headed Langur, the Javan Rhinoceros and the Sumatran Rhinoceros.

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