Trang An: Vietnam’s Inland Bay of Limestone, Caves and Rice Fields

The province of Ninh Binh lies at the southern edge of the Red River delta, about 90 kilometres from Hanoi. Here the plain meets a block of limestone that has been worn into hundreds of steep towers, with flooded valleys between them. Small rivers run through the valleys and pass from one to the next by low caves. The Vietnamese call it Ha Long Bay on land.

UNESCO inscribed the Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex in 2014. It is a mixed site, listed for both nature and culture, the first in Vietnam. The property covers 6,226 hectares, with a buffer zone of almost the same size. It includes three areas that visitors usually treat separately: the boat circuit of Trang An itself, the river of Tam Coc with the temples of Bich Dong, and the old capital of Hoa Lu.

Trang An by boat

At Trang An, seven kilometres west of the town of Ninh Binh, visitors board small rowing boats, each rowed by a local boatman or boatwoman. The circuits last two to three hours. The boat crosses still green water under cliffs hung with vegetation, then enters a cave so low that passengers must duck, and comes out into another enclosed valley. Temples and shrines stand on the banks at intervals, and the boat stops at several.

There are no engines, and the quiet is part of the attraction. The landscape is rich in plants and animals: more than 600 species of plants and 200 of animals have been recorded.

Tam Coc and Bich Dong

Tam Coc means three caves. Boats leave from the village of Van Lam and follow the Ngo Dong river through rice fields and through three natural tunnels in the rock, then return the same way. The rowers are known for working the oars with their feet. The trip is at its best when the rice is ripening and the fields on either side of the river are yellow.

Bich Dong, nearby, is a group of three temples built in 1428 on the side of a hill, one above the other, the middle one half inside a cave. The climb ends at a view over the valley.

Hoa Lu

Three kilometres north of Trang An is the site of Hoa Lu, the capital of Vietnam from 968 to 1010. Dinh Bo Linh chose it when he founded the first independent Vietnamese state of the period, which he named Dai Co Viet. The limestone hills served as its walls, and earth ramparts closed the gaps between them. The Dinh dynasty and the Early Le dynasty that followed ruled from here until 1010, when the founder of the Ly dynasty moved the capital to Thang Long, now Hanoi.

Nothing of the palace is left above ground. Two temples dedicated to the kings Dinh Tien Hoang and Le Dai Hanh stand on the site, in a setting of rocks and old trees.

The viewpoints and the pagoda

At Hang Mua, about 500 steps cut into the side of a peak lead to the best view in the region, over the river of Tam Coc and its fields. Bai Dinh, on the edge of the protected area, is the largest Buddhist temple complex in the country, an old cave temple with a very large modern addition. The Van Long reserve, a wetland visited by rowing boat, is the place to look for the rare Delacour’s langur.

For travellers

Ninh Binh can be seen as a long day from Hanoi, but it is better with a night or two, which allows a boat trip early in the morning before the day visitors arrive. Trains, buses and private cars link it with the capital. The area around Tam Coc is flat and pleasant to cycle.

The best months are March to May and September to November. July and August are hot, with occasional storms. Trang An and Tam Coc offer similar scenery, and most visitors need only one of the two boat trips: Trang An is longer and has more caves, and Tam Coc has the rice fields.

Ninh Binh combines naturally with Hanoi and with a night on the water in Ha Long Bay, which has the same limestone, standing in the sea. The SJourney train makes Ninh Binh its first stop on the way south. Our account of the boat trip gives the practical details.