Tam Coc-Bich Dong is called “Halong Bay on land’” or “Nam thien de nhi dong”, an importance tourist destination in Vietnam.
Tam Coc-Bich Dong covers a system of limestone grottoes and historical relics regarding Tran dynasty. Tam Coc was recognized as special national relics by Vietnam’s Prime Minister.
Situated in Ninh Binh, Tam Coc-Bich Dong is a harmonious architectural complex that features magnificent scenery of mountains, waterways, fields, and sky.
Tam Coc and Bich Dong are 2 popular landscapes of this place. Tam Coc means “three caves”. It is also known as Xuyen Thuy grotto including the First, the Second and the Third caves which were formed by Ngo Dong river flowing through the mountain.
Thousands of limestone mountains lie along the river that creates a spectacular setting. To reach Tam Coc, tourists have to depart from center wharf by boat and row along sinuous Ngo Dong to pass Xuyen Thuy cave and rice fields.
The First cave of 127 m long lies through a big mountain, across Ngo Dong river. The entrance of the cave is about 20 m wide. When entering the cave, you immediately feel the cool fresh air and imagine an old man sitting and fishing from the outer view of the cave. It was said to be the picture of a fairy man fishing. In distance, on the mountain slope, the herds of goat are leisurely eating leaves.
Tran Thai Tong King built a small hermitage on a high ground near the First cave. This place still remains vestiges of a area called Hermitage Garden with more than a pole large, over 1 m higher than rice-field surface. The First cave of Tam Coc is beautiful but out of the way.
The second Cave is nearly 1 km away from the First cave, the cave’s ceiling has many stalactites in miraculous shapes. With a length of 50 m, the Third cave is quite close to the Second cave. The temperature in this cave is the lowest because it is the shortest cave that owns few stalactites which most of them are man-made rock arches.
Based on geologic structure, this place used to be the sea millions years ago. This terrain resulted from the occupation of land after centuries and erodibility of waves to mountains that formed natural grottoes. We can see the erosion traces of sea water on ranges of limestone mountain. Bich Dong means “green grotto”, named by Nguyen Nghiem, father of great poet Nguyen Du in 1773.
Bich Dong is called “Nam thien de nhi dong”, that means the second most beautiful grotto in Vietnam (the first is Hong Tich grotto). In front of the grotto is Hoang Long river snaking along flanks, the other side of its is rice fields.
Situated in the middle of mountain ranges is sinuous Ngo Dong river which constitutes charming natural scenery. This place also possesses marvelous grottoes and ancient pagodas.