LATEST POSTS
Phong Nha – Ke Bang has many spectacular cave systems, which were discovered by chance several centuries ago and given many different names. Among countless number of small and big caves in Phong Nha – Ke Bang area, Phong Nha was known earliest and most.
In history, Phong Nha cave, according to Dai Nam marshal, has another name, Thay Tien cave or Nui Thay cave. The mountain that has Phong Nha cave is called Tien Coc. Phong Nha has been explored and investigated by many explorers and scientists. At the end of 19th century, a French priest called L.Cadiere came to Phong Nha cave not only for sightseeing but also for researching and investigating. In a dug-out canoe, Cadiere went into the cave about 600m. There, he discovered an extra passage on the right and remains of an altar and Champa words carved in the cliffs away from main passage 20 m. In December 1899, in the letter sent to Monis Firot – Director of Bac Co Far Eastern School, Mr. Cadiere wrote: “ The remains are valuable for history. Keeping it is useful for science”. After this discovery, with 97 letters carved in the cliffs, the extra passage was named Bi Ky grotto.
Later, another French called L.Pavis came to Phong Nha. After a long time of research, he discovered that on the right of the cave entrance, there was a brick alter of Chiem Thanh’s people re-plastered by An Nam’s people. In the old days, there was a stone statue on the altar, his legs were overlapped, there was a Van word in front, the ox-head turban covered the scarf of the neck. Pavis also found that in the branch of sub-cave, there is track of a brick altar; the brick is 27 cm long, 16 cm wide and 5 cm thick. The bricks are tiled in a cycle with diameter of 4 m.
In July 1924, an English astronomer called Baton explored Phong Nha cave during 14 days and nights. Baton commented that Phong Nha cave was beautiful as a maze not less than Padirac cave in France or cuevas del drac in Spain, the beautiful caves that are well-known in the world. In 1928, Antoni, a teacher of Quoc Hoc School in Hue and several French officials also explored Phong Nha cave. On May 24, 1929, based on guidance map of previous explorers, Charly, Pas Qualaggi and Bouffier (French) explored Phong Nha cave. The explorers prepared carefully for the trip. They prepared fuels, food, torch and a small electric generator. The diary of this explorer team wrote: ” The second day we were in the cave, on the both sides there were several rough stone of strange amazing and naive shapes with all colors of a rainbow, in which stand out light pink of Vatteau’s picture and blue of Raphael’s picture, celandine and pure coloring with dazzling bright red and never fade copper blue, all reflected in the water”.
In spite of not having enough conditions like French explorers, many Vietnamese explorers and scientists at that time paid attention to investigation and announced the results in some means of communication. Thai Van Kiem in his essay in French wrote ” La prememiere merveille du Vietnam: Les goste de Phong Nha ( Phong Nha cave – top ranking wonder of Viet Nam), which won the first prize in Indochinese youth general commission of sports held in 1942. It described Phong Nha cave: “… We entered the cave at 8 a.m. A splendid and legendary scenery appeared. A cold, profoundly respectful and frightened feeling came to us, while my heart was beating rapidly, we had a feeling of being in the center of a church, a train tunnel, or in other words, a gulf …” Geographer Le Ba Thao in “ Vietnamese nature” had an impression “… Phong Nha cave, the really wonderful thing is all shapes is still original. People who visited the cave had deep feeling like taking part in a real expedition when thinking that they are in the earth’s womb below a 800-900m high mountain”. Professor Hoang Thieu Son in “Vietnam’s green mountains and blue waters” contains the paragraph: “nowhere in the country is endowed with beautiful pillar rows like in this Water Kingdom. Two pillar rows occupy themselves vertically in the both sides of the cave.
It can be said that no pillar is similar with another but contains unique characteristics and features, among which the most beautiful things are the pillars with various folds like small segments arranging layer on layer. Moreover, each segment has special form that is expanded on the top part and tapered in the bottom part. Around the pillar are supple folds creating eye-catching view…”
Although Phong Nha is endowed with heavenly beauty, for a long time, very few tourists visited this place. Maybe it is partly because of violent war; therefore, tourists did not have opportunities to reach Phong Nha, or because of inconvenient traffic situation that kept tourists from visiting here. In addition, Phong Nha is not widely promoted and advertised, it is supposed as a hidden treasure in the forest.
Since the beginning of 90 decade of the previous century, the secret of Phong Nha cave and some other caves belonging to Ke Bang limestone massiff was let out to the public by two expeditions of the British Cave Research Association – BCRA. This association is composed of experienced explorers and professional equipments. The exploring team in cooperation with famous geological scientists in Vietnam working for the Geological and Geographical Department of University of Natural Sciences – Hanoi National University such as Professor Nguyen Quang My, Nguyen Hoan, Tran Nghi, Doctor Vu Van Phai, Ta Hoa Phuong, Le Duy Nga… visited to explore Phong Nha and other caves in the region.
The first exploration was carried out from April 28 to May 01,1990: the exploring team rowed a boat into the cave with the length of 1500 m and came across beautiful underwater rocks with many designs on the marble surface. The explorers passed the underwater rocks to investigate further 2000 m. With nearly 4000 m from the cave entrance, the explorers carried out measurement, took a lot of gorgeous photos about Phong Nha cave, especially the photos of the underwater rocks site.
The second exploration was carried out from March 18 to April 18, 1992: This time, an exploring team of 12 members continued the investigation of Phong Nha at deep passages. During 30 days and nights of hardship and efforts the explorers still kept courageous and insisting on investigating the underground river passage hidden in the heart of Truong Son range. The record made by the exploring delegation stated that: “ We were extremely surprised at the magnificent beauty and variety of stalactites. What a wonderful view was! The stalactite pillars were sparkling like the roots of glass old trees falling down from the arch of the forth chambers at the height of 40 m. On the cave arch of the seventh chamber, pink stalactite was reflected twinkling through weak light as an absolutely seductive aerial curtain. At 90 m from the location at which we were standing, we recognized a yellow stone lion made by the nature that was extremely impressive. At that time, the thermometer showed 170C; however, all of us were sweating not because of heat but nervousness. We used specialized devices and equipments to dive through or pass by the edge of risky and high rocks over this river so that we could go deeper inside.” This time, the explorers carried out investigation, drew the maps and measured the total length of 7729 m, among which the highest point was 50 m. Normally, the depth of the cave was 83 m. Also in this survey, explorers surveyed along Road 20 – Quyet Thang (belong to Ho Chi Minh Road System) and explored Vom cave belonging to the upper source of Chay river. Here, they measured that the length of the cave was 13,690 m.
The third exploration was carried out in March of 1994. At that time, the team continued to survey Phong Nha cave and other caves in the surrounding such as Ruc Mon, Ruc Ca Roong, En cave, Dai Cao cave, Thung cave… making the total length of caves in the Ke Bang area to tens of km.
Mr. Howard Limbert – leader of the exploring team at a meeting with the Standing Board of Quang Binh provincial People’s Committee organized in April 1994, said: “ Phong Nha cave is one of well-known caves in Vietnam, and one of the two most beautiful caves in the world. Phong Nha cave is in connection to various caves in the region. We believe that caves in this area may be connected to each other via underground passages; therefore, Phong Nha is the longest cave in the world;(The Report on geomorphologic exploration of Vietnam/ United Kingdom – April, 1994).
Professor, Doctor Nguye Quang My, chairman of Vietnam’s Cave Association – a citizen of Quang Binh province commented:” During nearly 30 years of surveying caves in Karst area throughout the country, it can be said that the Nature is generous to endow Phong Nha with such a statuesque landscape. Stalactite pillar rows glitter with silver light, diamond thrones, light pink stalactite bundles on the underground river that is rarely found in other caves”.
At the fourth exploration was carried out in January 1997, the explorers aimed at doing the exploration of other caves. At that time, the team discovered three more new caves, making the total number of investigated caves to 31 caves with the total length of 100 km in the area. However, the most important thing drawn after this exploration was the comments provided by Vietnamese and British scientists as follows: it was possible that all the caves in the area may be formed by two main underground river systems. Phong Nha cave system had underground river flowing through Khe Ry cave, Thung cave, Cha Ang cave, Phong Nha cave and may connect to many other caves with 44 km long. The Vom Cave system was composed of Ruc Ca Roong cave, Dai Cao cave, Ho cave, Maze cave… and Vom cave. The explorers said that the exploration of cave in Phong Nha – Ke Bang area was interesting. The explorers came across many open-air passages of Underground River in Vom cave system. Moreover, inside the cave, explorers discovered various open holes by chance, through which they could see the sky, or many cave branches leading to stone mountains.
After the exploration carried out in 1994, the British Cave Research Group took many beautiful photos. They introduced Phong Nha on the International Cave Magazine that was distributed widely in the world. Various articles and photo albums about Phong Nha cave were posted or introduced at 14 famous universities in Europe. Since then, Phong Nha – Ke Bang has been well-known as the First Wonder.
The value of Phong Nha – Ke Bang is discovered, announced in various channels by not only the British Cave Research Association but also other international and local organizations and individuals such as members of CNRS (France), researchers of Gunung Mulu (Malaysia), WWF Vietnam, Sidney University, Nottinham University, Australian Geological Association, Experts of Vietnam Conservation and Museum Department, members of Forestry Investigation and Planning Institute, other experts including Nguyen Quoc Dung, Vu Dung, Le Huy Cuong, Truong Quoc Binh, Dang Van Bai… These organizations and individuals made contribution to the investigation, exploration, development and improvement of profile to request for the recognition of the heritage. Especially, as being requested by UNESCO, two experts from IUCN Mr. Elery Hamilton Smith and Hans Friedrich carried out a field trip to assess of Phong Nha – Ke Bang area from January 29 to February 04, 1999. Their comments and assessments were the key basis for the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO to carry out research and recognition of Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park as the World Natural Heritage
Phong Nha caves, discover the mysterious depth
Terraced rice fields are located in the northern mountainous provinces. Due to the steep feature, fertile soil thanks to it was created by weathered granite rock and mountain cliffs often stock water, local ethnic minority people can grow rice and establish terraced rice fields, one after another, from the foot to nearly top of mountains. Generations to generations of these people have made terraced rice fields as we see today.
.jpg)
Rice terraced fields Sapa Vietnam
.jpg)
When being seen from afar, the terraced rice fields look like a picture of nature with heart- catching beauty keeping tourists to stay for admiration for a while. This picture however has its colour changed seasonally, exhibiting its most alluring charm when the new crop begins, green rice grows and the field is lush with ripening rice.
.jpg)
Rice terraced fields Sapa Vietnam
.jpg)
As usual in April and May when the local people water their fields at full to prepare for a new crop, the surface of terraced fields shines like a mirror reflecting the contrast of the reddish brown of soil, the deep blue of the sky high above and the green of surrounding forests. Embankments surrounding these terraces look like threads softly lined by the painter.
.jpg)
Rice terraced fields Sapa Vietnam
.jpg)
In June and July, The terraced rice fields with fully-grown paddy rice and forest trees spread the green out to the entire area, from the foot to top of mountains, before disappearing in mist. The green of paddy rice grown on the terraced field makes tourists think of it as a hand-made creation of uniqueness which cannot be found anywhere else.
.jpg)
Rice terraced fields Sapa Vietnam
.jpg)
In September and October when autumn ends, tourists can feel prosperity all over the area as rice in all terraced fields is ripe, giving the gold colour. During the time, the terraced rice fields look like golden silk scarves flying over in the wind above green mountain slopes, making the mountainous landscape astonishingly beautiful.
.JPG)
Rice terraced fields Sapa Vietnam
.JPG)
Striking terraced rice fields coupled with distinctive cultural practices of local ethnic minority groups have created the uniqueness of the northern ountainous area.
.jpg)
Rice terraced fields Sapa Vietnam
.jpg)
The tourists can visit some famous terraced rice fields in the northern mountainous area such as: terraced rice fields in Sa Pa (Lao Cai Province) were voted as one of seven most beautiful and impressive terraced rice fields of Asia and the world by readers of American magazine named Travel and Leisure, terraced rice fields in Mu Chang Chai (Yen Bai Province) were recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as national heritage in 2007, terraced rice fields in Hoang Su Phi (Ha Giang Province)…
Rice terraced fields Sapa Northern Vietnam
The Po Nagar Tower is the name of the main temple in a complex of Cham towers on a knoll at the river-mouth of the Cai River, 2km north of Nha Trang City. Nowadays, the name Po Nagar is usually used to refer to the whole complex.
Po Nagar Cham Towers Nha Trang Vietnam
Nha Trang was called Kauthara, a principality of the ancient Champa Kingdom whose territory stretched in the Central Region of Vietnam, from Quang Binh Province to Binh Thuan Province nowadays. The population of the kingdom was the Cham who followed mainly Hinduism and Muslim. The Cham community at Kauthara followed Hinduism and they built temples to worship their kings, queens, gods and goddesses. Po Nagar was believed to be the Goddess that taught the local people civilization, taught them to do agricultural work and protected their life.
Po Nagar Cham Towers Nha Trang Vietnam
Originally, there had been a wooden temple on the same site which was dedicated to Jagadharma, the Queen who ruled Lam Ap Kingdom ( Champa Kingdom) from 646-653 A.D. The temple was later rebuilt of bricks and stones, and was dedicated to Yan Po Nagar (Thien Y Thanh Mau in Vietnamese), who is believed by scholars nowadays, the Goddess Bhagavati (or Uma, Parvati..., God Shiva's wife).
In 774, looters from Java came, they destroyed the temple and took away the gold statue of Bhagavati. The Cham King Satyavarman ordered to restore the temple later and works were completed in 784. Later kings also added more towers to the complex. It is said that the complex had had six temples altogether arranged in two parallel lines, only four of them left nowadays.
Po Nagar Cham Towers Nha Trang Vietnam
Visiting the Po Nagar from Nha Trang, you can follow Tran Phu Street to the northern outskirt of Nha Trang City. Once you come to the bridge, the Po Nagar can be seen on the far left hand side. All the temples of Po Nagar face east like other Cham temples. You'll start your visit at the gate and follow all the steps to the top of the knoll.
The original gate of the complex was destroyed and you don't see the Gate Tower nowadays. Near the gate, there are lines of brick pillars leading to the main temple. There used to be a roof on top of these pillars but it was destroyed in the past. This was a house without wall for the pilgrims to rest and to get prepared before entering the temples. There is a path with small and steep steps from this house to the main temple, but this path is no more used by the visitors.
Po Nagar Cham Towers Nha Trang Vietnam
Nowadays, there are performances by the local Cham people showing some aspects of the Cham culture to the visitors at Po Nagar every morning and afternoon. The festival of Po Nagar Temple takes place on 21st-23rd of the 3rd lunar month every year.
Getting closer to the pillars and rub your hand on them, you'll see they all have very fine and smooth surface without moss (waterproof bricks...?). And you won't see any glue-like materials in between the bricks. This is still a secret of ancient Cham construction skills. From time to time, someone claims to have found out the glue which is resin from a type of trees available in the Central Region of Vietnam. But, keep in mind that the Cham ruins in Vietnam are still in degradation and there haven't been good solutions protecting them yet. Definitely, it's necessary to understand the materials and techniques the ancient Cham used to protect their architectural heritage.
Po Nagar Cham Towers Nha Trang Vietnam
On top of the knoll are located the four towers, the Po Nagar Tower is 23m high and is the highest of the towers. This is the main tower which houses a statue of the Goddess Po Nagar, made of black stone. The French had hacked the head and took it away, the current one is made of cement only. Above the entrance to the main temple, there is a pediment with figure of the Goddess Durga standing on the sacred Nandin Bull with four arms holding a lotus flower, a hatchet and a discus (?).
Other towers of the complex are believed to worship the God Shiva, the God Ganesha and the God Skanda. Also, there are different stone steles which date back in 781, 918, 1050... which were erected by the successive kings of the Champa Kingdom to provide more information about the kingdom as well as local customs of the times.
Po Nagar Cham Towers Nha Trang Vietnam
Situated in the North-East region of Vietnam, Halong Bay is a bay in the Gulf of Tonkin comprised of regions of Halong City, the township of Cam Pha, and a part of the island district of Van Don. Halong Bay borders Cat Ba Island in the southwest, the East Sea in the east, and the mainland, creating a 120 km coastline.
Halong Bay is made up of 1,969 islands of various sizes, 989 of which have been given names. There are two kinds of islands, limestone and schist, which are concentrated in two main zones: the southeast (belonging to Bai Tu Long Bay), and the southwest (belonging to Halong Bay). This densely concentrated zone of stone islands, world famous for its spectacular scenery of grottoes and caves, forms the central zone of Halong Bay, which has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The bay itself has an area of 43,400 ha, consists of 775 islands, and forms a triangle with the island of Dau Go (Driftwood Grotto) to the west, the lake of Ba Ham (Three Shelter Lake) to the south, and the island of Cong Tay to the east.
Viewed from above, Halong Bay resembles a geographic work of art. While exploring the bay, you feel lost in a legendary world of stone islands. There is Man's Head Island, which resembles a man standing and looking towards the mainland. Dragon Island looks like a dragon hovering above the turquoise water. La Vong Island resembles an old man fishing. There are also the islands of the Sail, the Pair of Roosters, and the Incense Burner, which all astonishingly resemble their namesakes. The forms of the islands change depending on the angle of the light and from where the islands are viewed. At the core of the islands, there are wonderful caves and grottoes, such as Thien Cung (Heavenly Residence Grotto), Dau Go (Driftwood Grotto), Sung Sot (Surprise Grotto), and Tam Cung (Three Palace Grotto).
Halong Bay has many links to the history of Vietnam. For example, there are such famous geographical sites as Van Don (site of an ancient commercial port), Poem Mountain (with engravings of many poems about emperors and other famous historical figures), and Bach Dang River (the location of two fierce naval battles fought against foreign aggressors).
It has been proven by scientists that Halong was one of the first cradles of human existence in the area at such archeological sites as Dong Mang, Xich Tho, Soi Nhu, and Thoi Gieng. It is also a region of highly-concentrated biological diversity with many ecosystems of salt water-flooded forests, coral reefs, and tropical forests featuring thousands of species of animal and plant life.
With all this in mind, the 18th meeting of the Committee of the World Heritages of UNESCO (in Thailand on December 17th, 1994), officially recognized Halong Bay as a natural heritage site of worldwide importance.
I. Grottoes
Dau Go (Driftwood) Grotto
Dau Go Grotto is found on Driftwood Island, formerly known as Canh Doc Island. The name Driftwood Grotto comes from the popular story of the resistance war against the Nguyen Mong aggressors. In a decisive battle, Tran Hung Dao was given an order to prepare many ironwood stakes to be planted on the riverbed of the Bach Dang River. The remaining wooden pieces were found in the grotto and, as a result, the grotto was given its present name. The entrance is reached via 90 steps up the island. The grotto is divided into three main parts. In the first chamber, many forms can be seen in the rock, depending on the imagination of the observer. In the middle of the chamber, on the top of the pillar, there appears to be a monk draped in a long, dark cloak, with his right hand clasping a cane. Moving into the second chamber, visitors pass through a narrow "door", naturally formed through erosion. The light here is mysterious, and new images appear in the stone. At the end of the grotto is a well of clear water surrounded by four ancient walls.
In this grotto, there remains an engraved stone stele singing the praises of Halong Bay ordered by Emperor Khai Dinh when he came to visit the grotto in 1917. Dau Go is 40 minutes from Bai Chay. Admission is 15,000 VND per person, 5,000 VND for children under 15, and children under 6 are free.
Trinh Nu (Virgin) Grotto-Trong (Male) Grotto
The Virgin Grotto is situated in the island range of Bo Hon, in the system comprised of the Surprise Grotto, Dong Tien Lake, and Luon Grotto. The grotto is 15 km south of Bai Chay Beach. For some fishermen, the Virgin Grotto is home, while for young lovers it is a popular romantic rendezvous site.
According to legend, there once was a beautiful fisherman's daughter, whose family was so poor that they were in service of the rich administrator of the fishing zone, who forced the family to give him their daughter as a concubine. However, the fisherman’s daughter already had a lover and refused to marry the administrator. The administrator got angry and exiled her to a wild island where she suffered from hunger and exhaustion. One frightful night she turned to stone. On this same night, her lover, knowing of her danger, rowed his boat in search of her. However, a tempest destroyed his boat, and he floated to a nearby island. In a flash of lightening, he saw his lover in the distance, but his calls were driven away by the wind. In his final exhaustion, he also turned to stone (today’s Male Grotto).
When visiting the Virgin Grotto, you can still see the petrified girl with her long hair hanging down and eyes looking towards the mainland. Opposite the Virgin Grotto, the Male Grotto is still home to the lover whose his face is turned towards his mate. At times, his passionate calls and blows against the walls of the grotto can still be heard.
Thien Cung (Heavenly Palace) Grotto
This recently discovered grotto is one of the most beautiful in Halong Bay. Thien Cung is situated on the southwest side of the bay, 4 km from the wharf outside of Halong City. It is located in a small range of islands that resemble a throne embracing two superb grottoes at its core. The way to Thien Cung is perilous, covered on both sides by thick forest. After entering a narrow gate, the magnificent, 130 m long grotto opens up.
According to legend, a beautiful young lady named May (cloud) caught the eye of the Dragon Prince and he fell in love with her. They were betrothed and got married in the very center of the grotto. All of the scenes of their wedding, which lasted for seven days and seven nights, have been seemingly fossilized in the grotto.
In the center, there are four large pillars supporting the "roof of heaven". From the base to the top, many strange images seem to exist in the stone, including birds, fish, flowers and even scenes of human life. On the north wall of the grotto, a group of fairies seems to be singing and dancing in honor of the wedding. Under the immeasurably high roof, stalactites form a natural stone curtain. There is also the sound of a beating drum made by the wind blowing through the stone.
In the last chamber of the grotto, a natural gushing stream of water babbles throughout the year. Here there are three small ponds of clear water. One path meanders out of the grotto.
Quang Hanh Grotto
Located 9 km west of Cam Pha, Quang Hanh Grotto is the longest grotto in Halong Bay. It is 1,300 m long, and stretches throughout the stone mountain of Quang Hanh. The French named it "Le Tunnel," or Tunnel Grotto.
Quang Hanh Grotto is accessible by either boat or car, but the entrance only appears when the tide is out. Ba Co Shrine (shrine of three girls) is in the grotto beside a smooth stone block. Legend tells that three girls, who were once journeying on the sea, came to the grotto to take shelter from the rain. They were so engrossed with the beauty of the grotto, that they did not notice the rising tide. They drowned, only to become water goddesses.
Quang Hanh Grotto is extremely beautiful. A small boat will take you through the stone passageway by flashlight, casting magical colors on the hanging stalactites.
II. Islands
Bai Tho Mountain (Poem Mountain)
Bai Tho Mountain is 106 m high. It runs along the coast, half on land and half in the sea. Sailing in the bay, one or two hundred meters from the mountain, one can see a poem carved on a flat stone cliff.
In 1468, Emperor Le Thanh Tong, who was also a poet, made an inspection tour of the North-East region. He stopped at the foot of the mountain, and inspired by the magnificent beauty of his surroundings, he wrote a poem. Later, he had the poem engraved on the wall of the mountain. It is very interesting to climb the mountain and enjoy the panoramic view of the bay.
Tuan Chau Islet
Situated 3 km west of Dao Go Islet, Tuan Chau Islet has an area of 300 ha. On the islet, there is a very simple bamboo house built by the inhabitants of Quang Ninh for Uncle Ho to rest after visiting Halong Bay. The house is now carefully preserved by the locals.
III. Beaches
Bai Chay
Bai Chay is a resort located along the coast of Halong Bay. This is a windward ocean resort which has a year round average temperature of 20oC (68oF).
Bai Chay is a low gently sloping range of hills that runs along the sea for more than 2 km. Blended in among the pine trees are large hotels and small villas with distinguished architectural styles. Traveling down the asphalt road along the coast, visitors see long white stretches of sand and green rows of Casuarina trees, tucked under which are small family-run restaurants. After swimming at the beach, tourists can enjoy cold drinks and cool off in the breeze that sweeps in from the sea.
Ha Long Bay - UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Considered Vietnam’s most famous seaside resort-town, Nha Trang attracts foreign tourists for not only its stunningly pristine beaches but also the urban atmosphere of a young tourist city.
Location & History
Nha Trang is a seaside town, also the capital city of Khánh Hòa Province – on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. Nha Trang is becoming increasingly popular in recent years thanks to its pristine beach, best scuba diving center of Vietnam as well as lots of interesting places and delicious food to enjoy.
According to historical records, Nha Trang was known as Kauthara under the Champa, as it is still home to the famous Po Nagar Tower built by the Champa. Until the French colonization, Nha Trang used to be no more than small fishing villages. The French recognized Nha Trang as a perfect place for bathing, so they invested in the transformation to turn Nha Trang into a resort town.
Nha Trang has consistently maintained its position as one of the most beautiful bays of the world. The town is about 450km north of Saigon and 1200km south of Hanoi. With the 4-km- long main strip of beaches, Nha Trang Bay covers the area of 405km2 including 19 large and small islands. As viewed from high above, the bay looks like the aquamarine stone sparkling in the sunshine, bounded by miles of smoothly golden sands.
What to do in Nha Trang
Together with the heavenly beaches, the hot springs, diversified kinds of fish, and the colorful coral reef underwater have made Nha Trang become one of the best spots for scuba diving and snorkeling. Coming to Nha Trang in the period from January to August, one will have the chance to experience the most wonderful weather for swimming and sunbathing.
>>> An entertainment paradise
Nha Trang is known as the famous entertainment center of Vietnam, with series of complexes such as Vinpearl Land, Tri Nguyen Aquarium, Hon Tam Resort, to name a few. Designed to be an independent recreational spot,Vinpearl Land complex is built in an island, including the five-star international resort system Vinpearl Resort Nha Trang and Vinpearl Amusement Park. With the area of more than 200,000 m2; the park contains many modern and unique large-scale facilities. Some typical features of this complex are its Guinness record 3,320- meter long sea -crossing cable car system, Water Park, Under Water World, Amphitheatre, Shopping Mall and Food Village. Vinperal Land used to host many international beauty competitions such as Miss Universe or Miss Earth.
On the other hand, Hon Tam Resort is the harmonious combination of modern restaurants, swimming pools with wild beaches and tropical forest.Tri Nguyen Aquarium, with the design of a go-aground ship, is also worth visiting.
>>> A unique place for zen tourism
In developed countries with high living standard, zentourism is becoming more and more popular. Nowadays, people pay money for both travelling, relaxing and finding inner peace of mind. Khanh Hoa Province, in general, andNha Trang, in particular, owns many places with the untouched nature which are very potential for zentourism development such as Hon Ba, Suoi Do, Ba Ho, Van Phong Bay. Besides visiting other famous tourism destinations and find out more about local culture, tourists will also take part in activities of practicing meditation and yoga in order to get rid of stress and mix completely with nature.
> Tran Phu Beach, Doc Let Beach, Dai Lanh Beach: best places for surfing and diving.
> Hon Tam (Silkworm islet): Vinh Nguyen, Nha Trang
> Hon Tre (Bamboo islet): Vinh Nguyen, Nha Trang
> Tri Nguyen Aquarium: Hon Mieu Island, Tri Nguyen Lake, Nha Trang
There are some other must-see spots for foreign tourists to visit, such asNational Oceanographic Museum of Vietnam (01, Cau Da Street), Nha Trang Live – a place to get free city maps, drinks and tour travel guide books, also the largest collection of local paintings (Thong Nhat Street & 2 Thang 4 Street).
What to see in Nha Trang
Surrounded on all three sides by mountain ranges, Nha Trang also offers the picturesque vista of primary forest, water fall and high mountain peak floating in soft could. Located 60km far from the city center, with the height of 1578m, Hon Ba Peak is regarded as “the second Da Lat of Vietnam”. Ones will need to drive about 25km of mountain pass and bendy slopes until reaching this area. Being overheated by the temperature of sunlight and ocean? The pure air and cool temperature here will definitely ease your feelings. Scientists estimate that there are more than 40 rare floras and 60 endangered species living in Hon Ba Mountain. If you are tired of beaches, Hon Ba may be a great place to visit.
Other tourism destinations for your consideration in Nha Trang:
> Long Son Pagoda: Thai Nguyen Street
> Po Nagar Cham Towers or Thap Ba: 2 Thang 4 Street
> National Oceanographic Museum of Vietnam: 1 Cau Da street
> Nha Trang Live – a place to get free city maps, drinks and tour travel guide books: intersection of Thong Nhat and 2 Thang 4
Read more about Nha Trang's attractions.
What to eat in Nha Trang
Coming to Nha Trang, tourists will be amazed at its delicacies, mostly from various kinds of seafood. Nha Trang is well-known for producing the highest quality with best flavor fish sauce in Vietnam, thus, fish sauce plays an important role in the secret recipe of cooking Nha Trang’s specialties and making dipping sauce.
Among many dishes, grilled fermented pork roll, grilled beef, rice vermicelli with grilled fish and jellyfish, fresh seafood are most favorite. In addition, the swallow’s nest soup – with bird’s nests collected from the wild, is regarded as the best in Vietnam. Read our introduction to 5 cannot-miss food in Nha Trang for more ideas.
Some must try cuisines in Nha Trang includes: Cha ca (Fish patties), Cua (Crab), Nem Nha Trang (Nha Trang pork rolls).
More photos of Nha Trang, Vietnam.
.jpg.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.JPG)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Have fun!
Tags: nha trang viet nam, nha trang sea, nha trang beach
More photos of Nha Trang, Vietnam.
.jpg.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.JPG)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Have fun!
Tags: nha trang viet nam, nha trang sea, nha trang beach
Nha Trang Vietnam - One of the most beautiful beaches
Dalat, the central city of Vietnam highlands!
Dalat with the beautiful names
Dalat is the capital city of Lam Dong province, Vietnam (Dalat or Đà Lạt in Vietnamese) is the City of Flowers and honeymooners with lovely French villas, the fresh air, the beautiful waterfalls and gorgeous lakes sits in a lush and green valley of postcard beauty. Dalat’s specific sights are pine forest (forming the name: “City of thousands of pine trees”) with twisting roads and tree marigold, cherry blossom in the winter. The city’s temperate weather stands in contrast to Vietnam’s otherwise tropical climate. Mist covering the valleys almost year-round leads to its name “City of eternal spring”, Spring is eternal and “unique season” in Dalat.
It’s also called “Little Paris” (“Le Petit Paris” in French) due to its French architecture villas and its replica of the Eiffel Tower built by the Telephone Company that looks like it fell into a pool of red and white colour. And really, after driving through tea gardens, coffee and rubber plantations, one feels almost transplanted to Europe. Indeed, in the past when Dalat still had been under France, The French Officials want to set up this city as “Le Petit Paris” (A Little Paris), the ideal resort city, the meaningful education center for their life in Indochina, the place was far from their native land – remote France. So, Dalat was the capital of the Federation of Indochina during World War II.
Beside above names, Vietnamese also called Dalat under many lovely names such as The City of Love, The City of Poetry, The Green City…
History of formation
Dalat was developed as a tourist destination after Alexander Yersin, a Swiss scientist with a taste for adventure, trekked 1839 into the region and persuaded the French colonial administration of its value as a highland resort.
Geographic location
Dalat sits approx. 1500 m (4921 ft) above sea level on the Langbiang Plateau in the southern parts of the Central Highlands, and is surrounded by lovely mountains, according to a local, carry lyrical names like Elephant’s Head and Lady’s Body. So, you do not be surprised when someone called Dalat as The City in the Forest.
The land of natural richness
Dalat has been calling as Vietnam’s “vegetable garden” due to its year-round cool weather. Dalat supplies temperate agriculture products for all over Vietnam. Indeed, Dalat is renowned for its orchids, roses, vegetables, and fruits. There are nascent wine-making and flower-growing industries in the region of Asia (main flower consuming market is Singapore, Hongkong, Korea, Japan). Every 2 years, The National Flower Festival hold in this city with many participants over the world.
An ideal destination of Vietnam
This destination still is the summer retreat of the rich and powerful. The last emperor, Bao Dai King, shared the coolness of hot Vietnamese summers with concubines in his summer palace before he was permanently sent to exile to the French Riviera.
The majority of visitors are Vietnamese. It seems to be the preferred place to get married. Honeymooners spend their memorable day amongst the artificial carved nature around the man-made Paradise Lake (also called Tuyen Lam Lake), shooting photo album and paddling on somewhat kitschy swan boats on the picturesque lake.
As Dalat was the most romantic place of Vietnam, great natural landscapes. Hence, almost singers of Vietnam and Overseas have highly preferred to shoot their music videos or movies in Dalat.
In addition of charming nature and architecture, Dalat has the grand variety of cultural life of Ethnic Minority People. Many cultural festivals of Ethnic Minority People were hold at the Ethnic Minority villages in outskirt of Dalat.
.jpg)
