Located 120 km
from Hanoi, Tam Coc-Bich Dong is part of the Hoa Lu limestone mountain range.
For hundreds of years, the place has preserved the primitive beauty that has
attracted countless visitors.
The Tam Coc
complex includes Tam Coc and Bich Dong, which are situated in Van Lam village,
Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh province. Recognized as a special national heritage,
Tam Coc is often called ‘Ha Long Bay on the land’ for its system of limestone
grottoes and historical relics from the Tran dynasty in the 13th and 14th
century.
To reach Tam
Coc, you must board a small boat at the wharf and get rowed up the sinuous Ngo
Dong River past Xuyen Thuy cave and pockets of rice fields. In Vietnamese, it
is called ‘Ba hang’. Hang Ca is the first cave, ‘hang Hai’ is the second cave,
and ‘hang Ba’ is the third cave. It
takes 2 hours to visit all three caves.”
Tam Coc is
charmingly beautiful in any season. In spring, bright green rice fields spread
along the river banks, turning into silky yellow beds in the fourth lunar
month. In the summer while traveling on the Ngo Dong River, visitors will enjoy
an enticing lotus fragrance while listening to the locals recounting legends
about each cliff or mountain in the shape of a tortoise or dragon head.
“Hang Ca is the first cave and the largest of
the 3. It is 127 meters long and its mouth is 20 meters wide. Many stalactites
hang down from the ceiling, some of which look like clouds and some of which
drip water all day and are compared to a mother’s breast. The cave looks very
dark from the outside, but the further you go into it, the brighter it is.”
The beauty of
Tam Coc is the beauty of the 3 caves with the Ngo Dong River running through
them. The second cave, Hang Giua, which is about 10 minutes from the first
cave, has a length of 60 meters and a multitude of flat, horizontal
stalactites. The third and final cave, Hang Cuoi, is the smallest. It is about
50 meters in length and is only 100 meters from the second cave.
Its geology
suggests this place was under the sea millions of years ago. The land emerged
gradually over centuries and waves eroded the limestone mountains to form
grottoes.
After the 2-hour
excursion returns you to Tam Coc wharf and go an additional 2 km to Bich Dong,
considered the second most beautiful cave in Vietnam. The Bich Dong area
consists of a cave and a pagoda built on a limestone hill in 1428 under King Le
Thai To.
Now turning in
the opposite position, you will soon reach Bich Dong pagoda, which is situated
at the grandiose Ngu Nhac Mountain. The Pagoda is divided into three levels: Ha
Pagoda (lower pagoda), Trung Pagoda (middle pagoda), and Thuong Pagoda (upper
pagoda).
Ha pagoda
On the mountain peak stands the statue of a scholar Mandarin looking
at the horizon with the hope of viewing the spectacular landscapes of Hoa Lu.
Visiting Bich Dong grotto, tourists have a great chance to turn back to the
Post Le Dynasty’s legends.
After praying to
Buddha in Bich Dong Pagoda, visitors climb 21 stone steps to Toi cave (Dark
cave) whose stalactites are shaped like fairies, errand-boys, hovering dragons,
swimming tortoises, elephants, and tigers. 40 more steps take you to go to the
Upper Pagoda, from where you can enjoy the best views of Bich Dong.
From the upper
pagoda, one has the most magnificent view of Bich Dong, which is romantically
charming in terms of architecture and history. The location for this pagoda was
chosen in 1428 after two monks were charmed by the view of the river and the
mountains. Later, King Le Canh Hung wrote a poem in honor of the beautiful
pagoda and landscape.
Bich Dong means
“Green Grotto” or “Pearl Grotto”, which reveals its magnificent natural
beauties. Colors, shapes, and sounds of the shining stalactites converges in
such a captivating miracle that no one could refuse to touch, knock and
contemplate them in deed. Honorably, amongst the most fascinating caves in
Vietnam, “Fairy Grotto”, part of Bich Dong, is regarded as an “Elysium on
Earth”. "Surrounding mountains full of water during 4 seasons, Rattan boat
lightly drifting, Covered with mist and clouds, is Pagoda landscape” are
beautiful lines of verse offered to Bich Dong pagoda grotto, a rare natural
work of Art.
Source: Colection
