Ha Long Bay
Ha Long Bay is a beautiful natural wonder in northeast Vietnam near the Chinese border. 500 years ago Nguyen Trai praised the beauty of Ha Long Bay in his verse Lo nhap Van Don, in which he called it “rock wonder in the sky”. Ha Long Bay is the most sought after and most visited tourist destination in Vietnam. A unique UNESCO World Heritage Site, the bay receives an astounding 6 million tourists a year. Literally “the Bay of Descending Dragons”, it features a 120-kilometer coastline, some 2,000 limestone islands, 59 discovered caves and grottoes, and dozens of beaches.
Nature lovers and adventure-seekers are drawn to Ha Long Bay to appreciate its captivating landscape and diverse wildlife. Junk boat tours and sea kayak expeditions take visitors past islands named for their shapes, including Stone Dog and Teapot islets. The region is popular for scuba diving, rock climbing and hiking, particularly in mountainous Cat Ba National Park.
The best way to get to Ha Long City is by private van from Hanoi City which is only 170km away. Ha Long Bay is a center of a larger zone which includes Bai Tu Long Bay to the northeast, and Cat Ba Island to the southwest. These larger zones share a similar geological, geographical, geomorphological, climate, and cultural characters. Sung Sot Cave, Titop Island, Thien Cung Cave, Monkey Island, Dark & Light Cave, Ba Trai Dao, Trung Trang Cave, Viet Hai Village, Me Cung Cave, Cannon Fort (Phao Dai Than Cong), Soi Sim Island, Vung Vieng Floating Village, Ban Chan Beach, Lan Ha Bay, Tra Bau Area, Co To Island, Tuan Chau Island, Bai Tho Mountain are the beauty of Ha Long Bay.
