Halong Bay is among one of the best places to visit in Vietnam. People come to enjoy seafood, review landscapes, and spend time relaxing in a fresh atmosphere. There is one thing none can miss when traveling to this area, which is discovering Halong Bay caves. Today, Go Viet Trip want to share with you the best caves to visit during your trip to Halong.
None can ignore the beauty of this place in Halong Bay. Sung Sot cave was first known in 1901 by a French man. It is located on Bon Ho Island, with an area of more than 10.000 square meters. You can walk 200 meters inside and discover all the beauty of it.
There is a legend associated with this cave about Thanh Giong. It is said that after winning the battle, he left his sword and horse in here to give peace to the people. Many believe that small ponds in the cave were the footprints of the horse in the story. Although no one can know how Sung Sot was founded, all have to consider its beauty.
In 2012, Sung Sot entered the top 10 most beautiful grottos globally by the Czech Association of Travel Agents and Brokers. Nowadays, this is on the list of things must-do in Halong for tourists all around the world.
Visitors explore Sung Sot
Thien Cung Cave is one of the most beautiful caves of Halong Bay. This is named Thien Cung because there is a layer of phosphorus emitting a magical light like a palace in the cave. It is located in the North of Dau Go Island, near Dau Go grottos. Many consider this area an underground paradise. The area covered nearly 10,000m2. The structure consists of many compartments with countless stalactites and stalagmites with strange shapes.
In the first compartment, visitors will be able to visit and admire many images of fairies singing and dancing, with countless stalactites like crystal chandeliers. The second compartment is a large-sized pillar with carved shapes of people, flowers, and birds, ... The third compartment is a fairy space with a clear pond. Visitors can visit, take photos, and experience one of the fascinating places in Halong.
Dau Go Cave is one of the places you can not miss when coming to Halong Bay. This place was honored by the French magazine Merveille de Monde as "Grotte des Merveilles", which means "The grottos of wonders". It is about 3km from Tuan Chau Island and 6km from Bai Chay Beach. Dau Go Cave is located at a place 27m above sea level. Its area is about 5,000m2 with the entrance 17m wide and 12m high, full of light. Scientists believe that this was formed about 2 million years ago. This place impresses with rich flora and fauna and massive and majestic architecture. There are many stories related to the name of the Dau Go cave. But from its shape, which looks like a log and has holes, people think of the name "Dau Go". This is also the home of many swallows.
Dau Go - The grottos of wonders
Luon Cave is located in an exceptional location on Bo Hon Island, 14 km south of Bai Chay.
This place is surrounded by charming natural scenery with clouds, mountains, and green trees. The archway of the cave with a natural shape of about 60m is always reflected in the cool blue seawater and the lovely boats passing by, creating a beautiful ink painting.
Today, Luon Cave is chosen as a top tourist destination to freely experience kayaking or bamboo boats to experience and explore the bay. Most Halong day tours, 2 days 1-night tours, or overnight cruises go through this attractive tourist spot.
Our clients are doing kayaking in front of Luon cave.
Dark and Bright Cave has long become a prominent tourist destination attracting the attention of many tourists. This place has a wild and mysterious beauty with a system of impressive stalactites. Located at the intersection between Lan Ha Bay and Halong Bay. Many tourists often visit Dark and Bright cave. This area consists of two parts, including Bright and Dark areas. The Bright part is an open space with mountains, trees, and clouds. The dark part is somewhat dangerous, so you need someone to show you the way when exploring. The beauty that most tourists feel about this cave is the peace and grandeur.
This is the next place we want to introduce to you. This is a romantic cave with a love story. It is said that a girl fell in love with a fisherman. But her family forced her to get married to a rich man instead. To save the love, she must move to the Virgin cave to wait for her lover. The fisherman also brought on a boat to find the girl, but he faced up with such a strong storm that he could not meet the lover but stayed at Drum cave instead. The two could only see each other until the girl died. Until now, Drum cave is still opposite Virgin cave, sadly as the end of the love story. Do not miss this amazing place during your Halong Bay tour next time if you have a chance to visit.
Drum cave
This place is opposite Drum and far from Sung Sot cave, about 3km to the southeast.
Continuing with the story above, enter into Trinh Nu cave. Visitors will see right in the middle of the cave is a stone statue of a girl, lying with her long hair, eyes looking out to sea, tired of waiting and despairing.
After refused because she had a lover, that boy was fishing to prepare for their wedding day. Unable to do anything to her, the owner exiled her to a deserted island to subdue her will. She was hungry and exhausted. On a terrible rainy night, the girl turned to stone here.
In 2000, archaeologists discovered in the cave the relics of prehistoric inhabitants of Ha Long Culture (about 4,000 years ago) with traces such as layers of ash, animal bones, pottery pieces, and relics, stone objects..
Archaeologists have discovered fossils of animal bones, pottery fragments, seashells, and ancient tools in the Tien Ong cave. It means the place can be about 8,000-10,000 years old. You can also find many stone artifacts dating back to 10,000-2,000 BC. If you want to visit the cave, you need to travel 20km from Ha Long center. It has a mouth of 50m wide, 10m high, leading to a giant underground dome. The whole area can be about 1,000 square meters. This is not as crowded as Sung Sot area, but it is very charming. Tien Ong cave officially welcomed visitors in 2010. If you have time, book a tour to enjoy the beauty of this Halong bay do not forget to visit here.
The beautiful stalactites inside
Me Cung Cave is located at a place 25m above sea level on Lom Bo Island. This area is 2km southwest of Ti Top Island. It has a very complex topographical structure, including many compartments stretching along a 100m corridor. Scientists estimate the lifespan of the cave is about 7,000 - 10,000 years. This area has many mussel shells, seashells, snail shells, and even Pleistoncen yellow soil of ancient people. These are signs of early HaLong Culture. At the top of Me Cung, there is a small lake with many rocky mountain walls. You can even find coral species and many creatures. This is a geo-ecological zone with outstanding research and exploitation value even in the future.
If you are interested in one or more of the top 9 listed above, why not book a trip to explore the one you like. We highly recommend you take a Halong Bay cruise tour. You can book for 1 day, 2 days 1 night, or 3 days 2 nights. This is one of the best way to explore Halong Bay. Visitors can enjoy the trip without any worry about transportations, hotel, entrance fees… and have more time to enjoy complete activities such as kayaking, swimming, cooking class, sunset party… which are included in the price.
Some tips for visitors
Some of them require climbing quite a lot, such as Sung Sot and Trung Trang, please pay attention.
Some caves are very crowded, especially in the afternoon like Sung Sot, Thien Cung, and Dau Go because both cruises & overnight cruises visit there in the afternoon.
Do not bring food and drink on board, especially plastic waste.
Do not litter indiscriminately at tourist sites to keep the bay as clean as possible.
Visit caves in Halong Bay are must-do activities during the day visitors should not miss when traveling to this destination.
We have shared with you many amazing Halong Bay caves. If you want to discover one of them, let us help you more with our tour to this area. Contact us through email: Goviettrip@gmail.com or hotline +84968667589. We are guarantee about quality and prices. Get a full refund if you do not feel happy with our services.
Author Hoan Nguyen
He has over 10 years of experience working in the tourism sector and operator. He has traveled to many places in Vietnam and around the world.
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