Ninh Binh’s Attractions
Hoa
Lu Ancient capital
Hoa Lu Ancient Capital
is the tourist destination which will bring you to a few imperial capitals of
the country in the ancient and medieval eras. Visiting Hoa Lu, you will not
only have a fun and exciting time, but can learn more about culture and history
as well.
Hoa
Lu covers 300ha with the inner citadel, the outer
citadel and the southern citadel. It lies in a flat valley surrounded by Trang
An limestone mountains, which form a natural wall protecting the old citadel.
The sides of the mountains are linked by sand and brick and the citadel’s
foundation is 10m high. The East has the Cot Co Mountain, which has the
national flag of Dai Co Viet. The temple area, to worship kings Dinh and Le,
was built there in the 17th century and sculpted of stones.
Entering the main yard, tourists can view the king’s
bed made from a carved stone and two statues of lions made from enormous
monolithic stones. The two areas to worship the two kings are 50m from one
another. They lie in a quiet atmosphere of the ancient capital with many green
trees. About 200m farther from King Le Dai Hanh’s temple is Nhat Tru Pagoda,
which was built in the reign of King Le Dai Hanh. In front of the pagoda there
is a 4.16m high stone pillar of eight sides having the Lang Nghiem prayers
inscribed on them by the king. Phat Kim Temple, worshiping the third princess
of King Dinh Tien Hoang, is also worth visiting.
Trang
An Grottos Area
Coming to Ninh Binh, tourists cannot miss the chance
to visit Trang An – an amazing grottoes complex located just 4
km Southwest of Hoa Lu ancient capital. The Trang An Grottoes
covers an area of 1,500 hectares including limestone ranges, valleys, caves and
rivers. All these factors make Trang An a fanciful and romantic atmosphere.
There is a system of unique grottoes like Ba Giot, Dia Linh, Toi (Dark Cave),
Sang (Bright Cave), Ao Trai Cave and Seo Cave. There are many valleys like Tran
Temple valley, May valley, Khong Valley, Nau Ruou Valley (Wine brewing valley).
In archeological excavations, people discovered
valuable relics like bows, dishes, pots, bricks, tiles and ancient money.
Moreover, Trang An Grottoes Area also has old architectural
constructions like Vuc Vong temple, Khong residence. The Beauty of new long
trans-water grottoes will surprise tourists.
Trang
An Grottoes Area is considered as a great rock – garden
locating in a vast lake. It is said that, this is the place where Dinh Bo Linh
trained his navy soldiers. All the scenes seem to be mingled with which create
a particular and interesting space awaking a wide range of mythical
imagination.
Tam
Coc – Ha Long Bay on Land
Tam
Coc has long become an ideal destination for all
visitors to Ninh Binh. Tam Coc means three caves which were made due to the
transformation of geology, seawater and rainwater that have worn cliffs in a
long period of millions of years. Known as "Ha Long Bay on land",
Tam Coc can only be reached by boats rowed along a meandering
river which makes its way through three caves before unveiling a secluded
watery valley.
Tam
Coc consists of the Hang Ca, Hang Hai and Hang Ba
grottoes which are adorned with beautiful stalactites and stalagmites of
different shapes and colors sparkling like gemstones.
The first cave the tourists reach is called Ca
cave which is located at the foot of a big mountain that crosses over
Ngo Dong River. It is called Ca cave, as it is the first cave and also the
longest and broadest cave of Tam Coc. If visiting the cave in the morning, you
can see that a cliff at the entrance to the cave is sparkling and colorfully
reflected by water surface when the sunshine passes by. When the tourist boat
goes inside the cave, the atmosphere is very cool; the bowels of the cave are
widely opened with sparkling stalactites dripping water to the river. The sound
of water lapping to the boat sides and the sound of rowing boat make a clear
and miraculous sound. As the cave is relatively long, you will have a feeling
that the time is passing by more slowly with only some flickering light rays
from the end of the cave gate.
Getting out of Ca cave, the tourist boat glides on
shadows of mountain and clouds. In the distance, on the right, there is an
impressive range of mountains with many big stones heaped together. The stones
have been eroded by seawater for millions of years that creating regular long
and straight lines. Continuing the way, we will see the Ham Rong Mountain and
the Kim Quy Mountain with the image of grazing goats and ancient cycad trees.
Meandering partly along the river, getting access to
Hai Cave (the second cave); tourists seem to be lost in the
heaven because of the never- ending stretching lotus ponds with their specific
perfume, and beautiful picture of mountain, river and water. Hai Cave rests
under shadows of trees; the cave is 60 meters long and 18 meters wide; it is
also situated at the foot of a mountain that crosses over Ngo Dong River. From
the entrance to the ceiling of the cave, there are many stalactites with
different shapes. When we are rowing our boats in the cave, we have the feeling
of rowing among clouds of stalactites silhouetted against the water. The
stalactites project down to the river from the ceiling of the cave so low that
tourists can touch them.
Getting out of Hai Cave, the scenery is very
imposing with mountains surrounding a part of Ngo Dong River which meanders
through green rice seeding fields. The river between Hai Cave and Ba Cave is
rather short; only around 100 meters. Therefore, when we have just got out of
Hai Cave we can see Ba cave (the third cave) at the corner of
the river. In the mountain, on the right hand there is a big cave; it is Bat
Cave (Doi Cave) where flocks of bats live. There is another cave on the left,
which has a big stone standing next to the entrance. The stone has the shape of
a maiden girl sitting cross-legged, enjoying the view of tourists bobbing on
boats in the river. Ba Cave appears with an entrance like a cross-fracture of
the mountain, it is the smallest of the 3 caves but it is the coolest and has a
pleasant breeze. The ceiling of Ba cave is low, the reflected light make
tourist feel like heaven.
Say goodbye to Ba Cave, tourists can go ashore to
relax, enjoy the scenery of mountains and valleys and from a far distance, and
aroma of lotus ponds.
Bich
Dong Pagoda
Not far from Tam Coc sits Bich Dong Pagoda.
In 1773, Mr. Nguyen Nghiem (the father of the great writer Nguyen Du) visited
this cave. After viewing the whole scenery of the mountains, waterways, fields,
and sky covered in green mist, he gave the cave a very beautiful and romantic
name, Bich Dong (which literally means “Green Pearl Grotto”). Bich Grotto is
said to be the second most beautiful cave in Vietnam.
Bich
Dong Pagoda, built on Ngu Nhac Mountain, is divided
into three levels: Ha Pagoda (lower pagoda), Trung Pagoda (middle pagoda), and
Thuong Pagoda (upper pagoda). On the mountain peak stands the statue of a
scholar Mandarin looking at the horizon in hope of viewing the spectacular
landscapes of Hoa Lu.
From the upper pagoda, visitors shall enjoy 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. He
was the one who said that Bich Dong Pagoda was the second
nicest pagoda in Vietnam, just after Perfume Pagoda in Hanoi
(old Ha Tay Province).
Bai
Dinh Pagoda – the biggest Pagoda in ASEAN
Located behind a range of limestone mountains in Gia
Vien District, Ninh Binh Province, Bai Dinh Pagoda is famous
for its great size and imposingness. Its back leans against the Bai Dinh
Mountain with the height of 200m. The area of Bai Dinh Pagoda is 80ha, which is
located on the mass of “Bai Dinh Pagoda hallowed culture” belonging to Trang An
Tourism Area. In front of Pagoda valley is a huge semicircular lake, which is
taken water from the river crossing to create a landscape of “on shore and
under boat” like the Yen Stream flowing under the foot of Huong Tich Pagoda.
The most important emphasizing point of these great
religion works are still Tam The (Past, Present and Future) Temple and Dharma
Temple. The area of two Temples up to 1.000m2 (area of the main sanctuary of
traditional pagodas is maximum about 150m2 because it is limited by
compartments - stipulated by the length of wood beam). The height of Dharma
Temple is up to 22m, it contains four achieving record statues inside.
Four statues - three bronze Tam The statues and one
Great Buddha Sakyamuni statue - are the pride of “Owners” of Bai Dinh pagoda.
Each statue of Tam The weighs 50 tons, 12m high, Great Buddha Sakyamuni statue
with 16m high and weighs 100 tons, which are casted by the pure bronze bought
from Russian, casted and installed by the famous Artisans of casting bronze
statue in Y Yen, Nam Dinh. A “great bell” with the weight of 60 tons was casted
and located on the top of hill on the way come to the main sanctuary. The Great
Bell is so big that it is estimated if wanting to sound the bell, it will need
a big log of wood and four pullers to prod into the bell.
The astonishing one is the “collection” of 500 Arhat
statues on the hill in the right of Dharma Temple. The 500 Arhat statues with
the height of 2.3m were carved out of Ninh Binh stone. According to the
supervisor for executing at the site, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Truong - investor and his
collaborator came to China to learn and take the sample drawings of 500 Arhat’s
legend and brought to home country for the painters, carvers to make the sample
statue of gypsum, after that the craftsmen carved the statues again by
monolithic green stone.
Ecologically and historically rich, the Bai Dinh
Pagoda Mountain was recognized as a cultural and historical heritage site in
1997. Bai Dinh Pagoda has become the largest religious tourist
centre in Viet Nam. As a great historical relic, Bai Dinh Pagoda cherishes both
enchanting scenery and deep history.
Kenh
Ga Floating Village
Not far from this Vietnam's ancient capital
lies the small fishing village of Kenh Ga. The name may be still
unfamiliar to many tourists, but then this is often the case with well-kept
secrets. The name actually means Chicken Canal and is derived from a local hot
spring which water is used to soak chickens to make it easier to pluck their
feathers.
Set on the banks of the Hoang Long River, Kenh Ga is
a remarkable place, not only because it is surrounded by the same massive rocks
that dominate Hoa Lu, but also because for most of the year the entire
community lives on the water itself. The floating village of Kenh Ga receives
relatively few visitors compared to nearby Hoa Lu and the peoples' aquatic way
of life has changed little over the centuries.
The principal reason for its lack of visitors is
that the village is accessible only by boat. Gliding along the river and
canals, weaving one's way through the boathouses and fishing vessels of Kenh Ga
is a unique experience for there is no other place in Vietnam that combines the
stunning backdrop of the limestone cliffs with an authentic floating village.
Phat
Diem Stone Cathedral
Phat Diem Stone Cathedral
is one of the most famous and beautiful churches in Vietnam with special architecture of an
elegant combination between Western church architecture style and Vietnamese
religious building.
It took 24 years to build this stone church from
1875 to 1898. And as its name suggests, it was completely built of stone and
wood that are readily available in the mountain area of Ninh Binh.
The preparation phase, mainly extracting materials from limestone mountains,
took the local almost 10 years to finish.
Phat
Diem Stone Cathedral is a complex comprising of a lake,
a cathedral, a stone church, Phuong Dinh (bell house) and three artificial
grottoes. At first sight, visitors are easily attracted to square lake on the
main road to the cathedral. In the middle of the lake, there is a small island
with statue of Jesus Christ. Phuong Dinh easily becomes the nest eye-catching
monument, with stone carvings on both sides of the walls. It is 25m high, 17m
wide and 24m long with three stories. The first floor is covered by large
flagstones. The middle and upper floors house a large drum and a big bell
respectively. As visitors leave Phuong Dinh, they will see a great cathedral
which was built in 1891 with the official name “Nha Tho Duc Me Man Coi”. The
cathedral is 74 m long, 21 m wide and 15 m high with four roofs. It was built
of 6 rows of monolithic ironwood. Within the cathedral are four small churches
of different styles. Next to the grand cathedral is a stone church with initial
name “Nha Tho Trai Tim Vo Nhiem Nguyen Toi Duc Me” but now people usually refer
to it as “Stone Church” because from its walls, pillars, grounds, bars to tie
beams are made of stone. The inside of the church has many sophisticatedly
carved relieves, with chrysanthemum, bamboo, fir tree and apricot tree that
symbolize four seasons in a year. Around Phat Diem Stone Cathedral, there are a
lot of stone caves and artificial mountains.
With artistic design and skillful technique, Phat
Diem Stone Cathedral is a pride of many local Ninh Binh people.
Cuc
Phuong National Park
Established in 1962, Cuc Phuong National Park,
45km from Ninh Binh and 120km southwest of Hanoi, is one of
the most important nature reserves in Vietnam. The botanical richness of the
forest is impressive as it supports a wide variety of flora species and patches
of primeval forest, including ancient trees with thick clusters of roots, and
parasitic plants and ligneous creepers.
Some tree species in Cuc Phuong Ninh Binh have been introduced from
Burma, India, and Borneo. Clusters of orchards grow near cave entrances, where
the moisture conditions and light are ideal. Varieties include thousand-year
dracontomelum and parashorea trees which can be visited in a one or two hour
hiking, and coral, vanilla, snow-white, and butterfly orchids everywhere. Large
mammals inhabit the park including panthers and bears, but rarely appear, so
the most popular animals you can see are monkeys, gibbons, flying squirrels and
pheasants. There are also over 120 species of birds and many varieties of
beetles living here, and April and May arrive swarms of butterflies. At night,
millions of cicadas create a deafening din, and millions of fireflies flicker
about.
What
to do?
First place to visit in
Cuc Phuong National Park is the Visitor's Center, where we can find
general information about Cuc Phuong. Dozens of trails cut through the forest
make different trekking type from simple to strenuous one. Then we also choose
the route to the Cave of Prehistoric Man, the Botanical Garden, the Endangered
Primate Rescue Center or homestay with Muong minority people.
When
to go?
The best time to pay a visit to Cuc Phuong National
Park is in the dry months from October to
March. From April to June it becomes increasingly hot and wet; from July to
September, the rains arrive and bring lots of leeches.
Travel
Tips
The trails in the park can be slippery, especially
after rains. Make sure to bring sturdy shoes, raincoats, torch, antiseptic and
some bandages. With environment around, please dispose of trash properly,
"left nothing except your foot steps".
If staying at Muong village, please be aware that
accommodation is in basic condition. Mattresses and mosquito nets are provided.
