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Private tailor-made journeys of a life time
May 13, 2023
By Jinnie Lee
Trung Trang Cave is a marvel of nature which specifically dedicated to Cat Ba Island. Trung Trang Cave, which is 300 meters long and cuts through the mountain about 15 kilometers northwest of Cat Ba town, can attract hundreds of visitors simultaneously. Admiring the thousands of distinctive and sparkling stalactites in Trung Trang Cave, visitors are taken from one surprise to another as if entering a wonderland. Visiting here, tourists can have a chance to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere, fresh air, mysterious beauty of nature and learn a lot of interesting things regarding its structure, local legends and the formation of stalagmites and stalactites. This place is a must-visit destination along your Lan Ha trips.
Due to its location in the tropical belt of Asian monsoon, Trung Trang Cave's weather pattern is typical for tropical monsoon climate and mainly affected by two monsoon movements including north-east monsoon and south-west monsoon. To be specific, the north-east monsoon features a cold dry winter lasting from November to April. Meanwhile, the south-west humid monsoon in summer brings hot and humid weather which runs from May to October.
Its weather is thus composed of four distinct seasons which are characterized with different features. Of which, each season bestows the city with typical landscapes and seascapes making it a worth-visiting place all year round. Thus, what you hope to admire and experience will determine the best time to visit Trung Trang Cave
A view from Trung Trang cave
Although you can pay a visit at anytime, the period from April to November is the best time for visitors to come to Trang Trung Cave and other attractions in Cat ba Island. Because during this period (in Summer and Autumn), the weather is favorable for tourism.
From June to July is the peak tourist season in Cat Ba Island with many different options of cruises, boats, and hotels for tourists who want to take the Cat Ba tours. If you want to visit Cat Ba and Trung Trang Cave at this time, you should book the services, especially transportation and accommodation in advance.
From the center of Cat Ba town, visitors can rent motorbikes or taxis and go in the direction of Cat Ba National Park. The route is not too difficult or complicated, just go straight on the main road, go through Quan Y Cave to get there. Along the way, there will be roadside signs so visitors will not be afraid of getting lost. When arriving at the main gate, visitors park their transports and buy tickets to visit. The cost to enter the cave, which includes admission to Cat Ba National Park and Trung Trang Cave, is 80.000 VND for adults and 40.000 VND for children.
Another way to explore the whole picturesque scenery of Lan Ha Bay and have a chance to go in depth to discover Trung Trang Cave, you should stay overnight on cruise. Nowadays, Trung Trang Cave is included in Lan Ha Bay Cruises or Cat Ba Tours in their itinerary together with other tourist spots in the area such as Dark Cave & Light Cave, Ba Trai Dao Islet, Viet Hai Fishing Village, etc.
Discovered by Vietnamese-French archaeologists in 1938, Trung Trang Cave has been called with different names. In the past, it was called the Bat Cave because it was a home to various herbs of bats. Together with some other caves in Cat Ba island, the archaeologists have found in Trung Trang Cave some fossilized samples of ancient people from around 6000 years ago. The cave was chosen to house the naval command with responsibility for a telecommunication and radio station during the defendant war against the US invasion, which lasted from 1964 to 1968; as a result, the cave was formerly known as Navy Cave. Currently inside the cave still preserves a few traces such as entertainment room, meeting room, water tank to serve daily life for our soldiers.
In front of the entrance cave, there is mermaid statue bowing to tourists with an exciting journey. Due to the rain and soaking through the rocks, quite a lot of beautiful stalagmites appeared in the Trung Trang Cave. Scientists' studies indicate that the stalactites and stalagmites in this area are about 6 million years old. Most notably, there are stone pillars in the cave made when stalactites and stalagmites collide, but if you tap your hand, you can hear the sound like the music. Going far into the cave allows one to admire the splendid scenery of the karst topography that nature gifted. Stalactites remain sharp and iridescent like crystals which are imagined by tourists as different shapes of eagles, crocodiles, football trophies, crowns… The highest dome of the cave is compared to the golf warehouse of the lady of Trung Trang Cave with sparkling stalactites of different colors like treasures on sunny days. Visitors find discovering Trung Trang Cave ecstatic and feel as though they they are wandering in a paradise.
Trung Trang Cave
During the years of resistance against the US by the local people and soldiers of Cat Ba island, Trung Trang Cave with favorable terrain, hidden in the mountains, was used as a place to station troops. Therefore, when visiting the cave, visitors will see a few vestiges left after the war such as water tanks, meeting rooms and living rooms which served our soldiers. This cave was a secret place to exchange information, contributing to detecting the enemy's movements to prepare battle plans.
Beside history values, Trung Trang Cave has contributed to bringing the tourism of Cat Ba island to become diverse and more famous but still keeping the intact beauty. The stalactites in the cave over intervening thousands of years are still there, through the talented hands of Mother Nature created wonderful images that seem to go anywhere visitors can not find.
Today, with many great historical meanings and mysterious and magical scenery, Trung Trang cave is always considered a unique natural wonder that visitors cannot ignore when traveling to Cat Ba Island. Consider our tours if you're interested in Vietnam package tours for the best possible trip to Vietnam.
