Tràng An complex – an outdoor geological museum of Vietnam
Located in Ninh Binh, about 100 km away from Hanoi City, Trang An complex, Trang An grottoes is one of the most beautiful and charming karst region in Vietnam and also in the world. You would find no place that have such thick forest floor covered by imposing conical towers of 200 meters in height, with self-contained hollows, surrounded by array of mountains, swamps connected thoroughly via the underground spring system with total length is up to 1 km. The harmonization of the mountain, the river, the forests and the sky of Trang An would create a vivid natural land, make it become a mysterious wonder right in the middle of Ninh Binh province. Let’s contemplate the most interesting things of Trang An as below:
Stunning Trang An grottoes and lakes
Trang An grottoes is the evidence for the final stages of the Karst evolution during the wet tropical climate. The multiform in term of geology and geo-morphology in Trang An is the result of continuous geological activities for hundreds of millions years from the Trias Age to the Fourth Age. During this time, the geomorphology depression as well as the partition of giant Limestone sediment occurred there, accidentally created charming mountainous areas, valleys, and hollows as nowadays.
With total 48 caves and grottoes, whose names attached to many stories like Hang Sinh, hang Dia Linh, Hang Ba Giot, Hang Nau Ruou, Hang Quy Hau, etc., (hang means cave) Trang An is the only place in Vietnam that has most inter-connecting caves in which there is a cave with a length of up to 2 kilometers. Thanks to these amazing connection that will let you discover the caves in a perfect round circle. When your boat pass through these stunning caves of Trang An, you even have to lower your head to avoid being touched by the cave’s ceiling from your head.
More magically, in Trang An, not only the grottoes but also the lakes are inter-connected and making a perfect self-contained system, rather assembling as a labyrinthine battle array or common sayings as a uninterrupted map.
Special Thi Tree
Thi Tree (a kind of fruit tree) is at the Khong Thien temple. No one really knows the real ages of this tree, and also the mystery of its fruit: two types of fruits (round shape and flat shape) on the only one tree. Whenever autumn season comes, the fragrant of the tree’s fruit would spread out on a vast surrounding. One more amazing thing of this tree is that no fruit of this tree is wormy.
Magnificent bird garden
That is the Thung Nham bird garden with the natural flooded forest eco system on the vast area of about 334.2 ha, in which 19 ha still is in primeval status. It is estimated that there are 46 bird species are living in Thung Nham bird garden, among them are those written in red list like: Giang Sen, small Coc De etc. This is also the only bird garden in Vietnam that has a thousand years old Duoi Tree (streblus). The Duoi tree is located right at the center of the grandiose limestone and its shade spreading broadly on the ground. You would be astonished at what you see when arriving at this ancient tree in the middle of the forest.
