About Halong Bay

A dream holiday to enchanted places

Halong bay
Ha Long Bay is a World Heritage site in Vietnam twice recognized by UNESCO – in 1994 and 1999. With almost 2000 islands rising from the emerald water of the Gulf of Tonkin, Ha Long is an excellent example of a Karst landscape created by a complex chain of millions of years of geological movement.

A local legend tells the following tale of the origins of Ha Long Bay:
“Long ago,  the Viet people were attacked by foreign aggressors. The Jade Emperor sent the Mother Dragon and her band of Dragon Children to help the Viet people fight the invaders. While the enemy vessels were launching massive attacks against the mainland, the dragons descended in flocks from the sky. They spat out innumerable pearls which changed into jade stone islands the moment they touched the water. These islands linked together to form firm citadels that checked the enemy’s advance and smashed their vessels to pieces.

After the invaders were driven out, Mother Dragon and her Dragon Children did not return to Heaven but stayed on earth, right at the place where the battle occurred. The spot where the Mother Dragon landed was Ha Long, and where the Dragon Children came down was Bai Tu Long.”

Vung Vieng floating village
This floating village of about 50 families has a population between 200 and 300 residents, including almost 100 children.

These families have lived in this village for generations. The village is a "floating village” with no structures built on land. Traditionally, income for food and potable water (imported from the mainland) came solely from fishing. Now tourism provides an additional source of income.
Their floating houses look spacious and clean. One community house is where villagers come to have meetings. This is also the place where tourists stop over to buy traditional handmade items.

It is interesting to see the lively children going to “school”. Their bustling calls and the sound of their oars breaking water enliven the atmosphere of the quiet bay. Looking at the small boats driven by tiny oars and the radiant faces of the children going to school, one feels confident in a bright future for the fishing village.

Bai Tu Long bay
Bai Tu Long Bay is a long string of islands which was created when the entire limestone plateau sank below sea level. It lies in Quang Ninh Province just north of the beautiful Ha Long Bay region. It has little tourist infrastructure which makes getting around a bit tougher, but this is more than compensated for by the stunning scenery and less pollution.

 Sung Sot cave (Surprising cave)
Ascending to the grotto, the way is covered by trees and foliage, and consists of great paved stone blocks.
Inside, it is partitioned into two chambers; the first one being similar to a wide theatre hall. Many strangely shaped stalactites hang from the high ceiling.
A narrow passage leads to the second room, where a flow of light meets visitors. The chamber is so immense it could contain thousands of people at one time.
At the deepest point of the grotto, a "royal garden" appears with a clear pond and a seemingly fascinating landscape of mountains. Many birds and plants (benjamin figs, cycads and centenary banyan trees) live here. On fine days groups of monkeys might arrive in search of fruit.

 Lan Ha bay
Situated in the southeast of Cat Ba Island, Lan Ha Bay is 30 minutes by boat from Cat Ba. The large bay with an arched shore welcomes tourists with a number of islands and beautiful beaches.
Lan Ha Bay is famous not only for its beautiful beaches, but also for the imposing caves and ideal fishing location. Many visitors fond of fishing do not want to leave once staying here for a while!

Monkey Island
Yes, the island has monkeys, but you will probably find only a few around the accommodation area. And be careful! These animals, used to getting their food from guests or the bins, are not afraid of humans.

Van Gia fishing village
Visiting the village, tourists have a chance to experience the daily life of villagers as well as the traditional culture and customs of the fishermen living in the World Heritage Area of Halong Bay.
This makes it ideal for anchoring boats where you can see firsthand their spacious and clean floating houses. The well-off families even have tiled roofs, radios, television sets, tables and chairs.

Ha Long Bay - New 7 Wonder of the Wolrd

Hạ Long Bay (literally: "Descending Dragon Bay"; Vietnamese: Vịnh Hạ Long)
is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a popular travel destination, located in Quảng Ninh province, Vietnam. Administratively, the bay belongs to Hạ Long City, Cẩm Phả town, and part of Van Don district. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes. Hạ Long Bay is a center of a larger zone which includes Bái Tử Long bay to the northeast, and Cát Bà islands to the southwest. These larger zones share similar geological, geographical, geomorphological, climate, and cultural characters.
Hạ Long Bay has an area of around 1,553 km2, including 1,960 islets, most of which are limestone. The core of the bay has an area of 334 km2 with a high density of 775 islets. The limestone in this bay has gone through 500 million years of formation in different conditions and environments. The evolution of the karst in this bay has taken 20 million years under the impact of the tropical wet climate. The geo-diversity of the environment in the area has created biodiversity, including a tropical evergreen biosystem, oceanic and sea shore biosystem. Hạ Long Bay is home to 14 endemic floral species and 60 endemic faunal species.
Historical research surveys have shown the presence of prehistorical human beings in this area tens of thousands years ago. The successive ancient cultures are the Soi Nhụ culture around 18,000-7000 BC, the Cái Bèo culture 7000-5000 BC and the Hạ Long culture 5,000-3,500 years ago. Hạ Long Bay also marked important events in the history of Vietnam with many artifacts found in Bài Thơ Mout, Đầu Gỗ Cave, Bãi Cháy.
500 years ago, Nguyen Trai praised the beauty of Hạ Long Bay in his verse Lộ nhập Vân Đồn, in which he called it "rock wonder in the sky". In 1962, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam listed Hạ Long Bay in the National Relics and Landscapes publication. In 1994, the core zone of Hạ Long Bay was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site according to criterion vii, and listed for a second time according to criterion.

System of isles and caves

The bay consists of a dense cluster of over 3,000 limestone monolithic islands (although locals claim there are only 1,969 as this is the year of Ho Chi Minh's death), each topped with thick jungle vegetation, rising spectacularly from the ocean. Several of the islands are hollow, with enormous caves. Hang Đầu Gỗ (Wooden stakes cave) is the largest grotto in the Hạ Long area. French tourists visited in the late 19th century, and named the cave Grotte des Merveilles. Its three large chambers contain large numerous stalactites and stalagmites (as well as 19th century French graffiti). There are two bigger islands, Tuần Châu and Cat Ba, that have permanent inhabitants. Both of them have tourist facilities including hotels and beaches. There are a number of beautiful beaches on the smaller islands.
Some of the islands support floating villages of fishermen, who ply the shallow waters for 200 species of fish and 450 different kinds of mollusks. Many of the islands have acquired their names as a result of interpretation of their unusual shapes. Such names include Voi Islet (elephant), Ga Choi Islet (fighting cock), and Mai Nha Islet (roof). 989 of the islands have been given names. Birds and animals including bantams, antelopes, monkeys, and lizards also live on some of the islands.
Almost all these islands are as individual towers in a classic fenglin landscape with heights from 50m to 100m, and height/width ratios of up to about six.
Another specific feature of Halong Bay is the abundance of lakes inside the limestone islands. For example, Dau Be island has six enclosed lakes. All these island lakes occupy drowned dolines within fengcong karst.

Source: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

ABOUT VIETNAM

The Socialist Republic of Vietnam

National Anthem

Mainland Territory: 331,211.6 sq. km Population: 85,789.6 thousand inhabitants (Apr. 2009) National Capital: Hanoi Lying on the eastern part of the Indochinese peninsula, Vietnam is a strip of land shaped like the letter “S”. China borders it to the north, Laos and Cambodia to the west, the East Sea to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the east and south. The country’s total length from north to south is 1,650km. Its width, stretching from east to west, is 600km at the widest point in the north, 400km in the south, and 50km at the narrowest part, in the centre, in Quang Binh Province. The coastline is 3,260km long and the inland border is 4,510km. Latitude: 102º 08' - 109º 28'  east Longitude:  8º 02' - 23º 23'  north Vietnam is also a transport junction from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. Climate: Vietnam lies in the tropics and monsoon (detail)

Transport to Halong Bay