The Best Caves to Visit in Halong Bay

With all of the outwardly proud and statuesque beauty of Halong Bay, it can be easy to forget that there is a whole inner world to the doubly recognized UNESCO World Heritage location. Most of the best caves in Halong Bay are hidden away from sight, situated deep within the magnificent karst towers that visitors to the bay, and many that have never stepped foot in Vietnam, are so familiar with. It took millions of years for the hand of nature to contour these caves and their incredible limestone innards into existence, and now passengers on cruises in Vietnam’s northeastern corner can reap the benefits. These are the 5 best caves to visit in Halong Bay.

Dau Go Cave

In the legend, it was the Mother Dragon of Vietnam that defended her precious homeland from invaders. In the documented history, it was the kings of the Tran Dynasty, who stockpiled wood in Dau Go Cave in order to repel the rampant Mongols on their attempted naval invasion via Halong bay. ‘Hàng Đấu Gỗ’ translates to ‘Wooden Stake Cave’, as much of the wood here was sharpened and planted below the surface of the water, cleverly impaling Mongol boats as they chased the tactically retreating Vietnamese.

The stalactites and stalagmites that comprise much space in Halong Bay’s most interesting caves are certainly noticeable in Dau Go and take the form of three different shapes in the three distinct chambers where they feature. Through the large gaping entrance, visitors can find rock formations that tour guides will attempt to convince them are in the shape of a congress of gnomes, alongside the more standard tigers, elephants and dragons that make up many of the legends of Halong Bay’s caverns. The second chamber imitates the tall and thin rock columns in the bay outside, while a lake in the final chamber collects the drippings of the hanging limestone forms above them.

Dau Go Cave

Hospital Cave

One of the more unique Halong Bay caves to visit on a trip to the Gulf of Tonkin, the Hospital Cave is a lesson in history and a window into beauty. Located on Cat Ba Island in Halong Bay’s southern section, Lan Ha Bay, the Hospital Cave served its purpose entirely out of the eye-line of American soldiers between 1963 and 1975, treating Viet Cong soldiers in medical rooms built directly into the rock. The feat of keeping the cave a secret for 12 years was an ingenious one by the commanders, who drew as little attention to it as possible with small roads and much tree coverage.

Despite the horrendous injuries sustained by Viet Cong soldiers and the primitive apparatus used to treat them, it wasn’t all doom and gloom within the cave. Commanders kept the mood light by installing a swimming pool and a theatre room into the more cavernous areas of the cave, along with command centers and weapons storages for the more serious business. From the entrance and exit of the elevated cave, sweeping views over Cat Ba’s gorgeous green landscape stretch for miles. 

Sung Sot Cave

It’s fair to say that much of the success of Halong Bay is due to its main and most widely-visited cave. Sung Sot cave, also known as the Surprising Cave or the Amazing Cave, is a tour de force of fascinating geology, immense natural splendor and intriguing local legend. It is consistently listed amongst Halong Bay’s most beautiful caves to visit and seems to contain magic about it that draws tourists in. Or maybe it’s the fact that the majority of Halong Bay day tours and overnight tours make a stop here, dropping off hundreds of tourists daily onto its doorstep.

Even factoring in its fame, Sung Sot cave remains one of the best caves to visit in Halong Bay; not because of its popularity with throngs of camera-toting tourists, but because of its many inner wonders. Again, imaginations run wild with the naming of its shapely rock formations, with ‘images’ of the Buddha, gigantic tortoise and a congregation of stone golems, all lit in colorful and dramatic lighting. One of the more popular formations is a ‘fertility symbol’ that reaches out proudly from the wall, but we’ll say no more about that.

Sung Sot Cave

The Dark and Bright Caves

Wet caves are no rarity in Halong Bay, but this one in Lan Ha Bay offers one of the Gulf of Tonkin’s most beautiful experiences. The Dark and Bright Caves are two neighboring cave systems with a strip of water running through each, accessible via kayak or a sampan boat ride provided by one of the locals of Lan Ha Bay. As you might have imagined, the Dark Cave is rather dark, requiring headlamps to head through so as not to row directly into the hanging stalactites from the low ceiling above.

The Bright Cave is less of a cave as it is an extended archway, which frames a beautiful enclosed lake on the other side. Here you will find exquisite streaked limestone columns sporting forests atop them and casuarina pines at their bases. They circle a shimmering lake that exudes an atmosphere of total serenity, experienced during a luxury day cruise with the V’Spirit Explorer. During our unique 8-hour, one-day itinerary, we take passengers on a tour of the Dark and Bright Caves on a sampan boat, taking in the beauty of one of the most peaceful caves in Halong Bay and Lan Ha Bay, as shown to us by a local resident. Please click here for more.

Dark and Bright Cave

Tien Ong

We finish our list of Halong Bay’s top caves to visit with potentially its oldest one. This is most easily recognizable at the entrance to Tien Ong cave, which is covered in a brightly colored moss as a result of thousands of years of sea erosion, lending the cavern an ancient and otherworldly appearance. The cave was earmarked for excavation in 1938 after a Swedish archeologist found examples of simple tools chipped from the rock, which later researches placed as evidence of inhabitation by the Hoa Binh people, residents of the cave and the floating villages of Halong Bay for 8000 years from 10,000 BC.

Various plant and animal fossils were also discovered inside and as such, Tien Ong is a fascinating museum of a cave, spanning millions of years of history and still welcoming guests through its wide entrance today. Those passengers looking to get their fix of local legend will not be let down by Tien Ong cave, which features a crocodile and peacock, as well as a ‘Fairy Godfather’, translating to ‘Tien Ong’, who guards the interests of the ancient Hoa Binh people with a watchful eye.

Tien Ong Cave

How to visit those caves in Halong Bay

For visiting those caves in Halong Bay, you can take a boat tour to Halong Bay. There are 2 itineraries you can take. That is Halong Bay Day Tour and Halong Bay overnight cruise. For Halong Bay overnight cruise, you can take 1 night Halong Bay itinerary or 2 night Halong Bay itinerary.

For booking a cruise in Halong Bay please contact  travel consultant of Vietnam Escape Tours Travel.  Halong Bay is must thing to visit in your travel package to Vietnam.