Tam Coc

Ninh Binh is a famous tourist destination that attracts both local and foreign tourists every year, due to beautiful landscapes with famous cultural and spiritual places of interest. Tam Coc - Bich Dong is one of the most attractive places to visit in Ninh Binh.

Tam Coc from above

Tam Coc - Bich Dong currently has a total area of 350.3 ha, located 7km away from Ninh Binh and about 100 km away from Ha Noi. The whole area is a complex including limestone caves and historic relics that have been retained from the Tran dynasty of Vietnam. It’s location is in Ninh Hai, Hoa Lu and Ninh Binh province. Tam Coc - Bich Dong consists of approximately 20 spectacular sightseeings with exciting activities like yachting, cycling and walking.

Tam Coc, which means "three caves", consists of Cả cave (the First cave), Hai cave (the Second cave),  and Ba cave (the Third cave). All three are created by the Ngo Dong (Ngô Đồng) river that pierces through the mountain.  The “Cả” cave is 127m in length, passing through a big mountain with many limestones in various forms; the mouth of cave’s width is over 20m. The second one is nearly 1km away from Ca cave with the length of 60m; and the ceiling of the cave has many strange stalactites. The third is 50m, being quite close to second cave; the ceiling is like a stone arch, and lower than the other two caves.

Passing through Cave in Tam Coc

Visiting Tam Coc, you have the opportunity to row across the Ngo Dong river through the mountain cliffs, discover mysterious caves, observe the golden rice fields. These all create a "fairy place" that make many visitors amazed and suprised every time they get there. One of the most special things while visiting Tam Coc – Bich Dong is that, there’s only waterway to travel around this destination. From Văn Lâm (Van Lam) wharf, visitors can follow 19 different tourist routes to discover. On the route to Tam Coc, every season, the background scenes changes.

The second interesting place is Bich Dong - a famous picturesque cave, named by Nguyen Nghiem Minister (father of talented Vietnamese poet - Nguyen Du) in 1773. Bich Dong consists of a “dry” cave lying on the middle of the mountain (there is Bich Dong Pagoda - an ancient temple attached to a rocky mountain); and a cave, in which water stabbing through the mountain (called Xuyen Thuy Dong).

Boat trip in Tam Coc

If you want to see the golden color of ripe-rice fields,  you should visit between lately May to early June. At that time, the scenery of rice field is so wonderful with lively colors. Besides, the best travel time is from January to March of the lunar calendar. Since the weather is good for sitting on a boat, visiting Tam Coc and enjoying the spring breeze. There are also many festivals taking place here so that you can combine with travelling or praying in New Year’s Eve.