Trung Trang Cave Cat Ba Island

Fun Facts you must know about Trung Trang Cave

Vietnam is famous for its vast Karst topography system with Halong Bay, Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, and Son Doong Cave - the most extensive limestone cave in the world. However, there are so many smaller but beautiful caves that you might not know about before, and Trung Trang cave on Cat Ba island is a good example. What do you know about this fantastic cave?

• Local people called it Bat Cave because there are thousands of bats with many different species living in the cave.
• This is a natural cave through the mountain with a length of about 300m. Over millions of years of formation, inside the cave is a stalactite ecosystem with many unique shapes.
• Trung Trang Cave is also associated with legendary stories associated with the Cat Ba archipelago - the story of the legend of Lady Trung Trang, a hero (or possibly a god) who protects Cat Ba Island.
• Although it is a gift of nature, inside Trung Trang cave, there are many strange shapes of human products such as the natural map of Vietnam, crocodile lake, the way to heaven, etc., the way to the underworld…
• They also found traces of the ancient Vietnamese who lived on the island about 6000 years ago in the cave

Trung Trang cave represents over 150 large and small caves in the Cat Ba National Park. Here are the fossil bones and stone tools of the ancient Vietnamese. This is also the place to save the heroic history of the army and the people on the island. Let’s explore this more clearly majestic Cave!

Where is Trung Trang Cave?

Trung Trang Cave is located in Trung Trang Valley, about 1km from the center of Cat Ba National Park and 15km northwest of Cat Ba town. Trung Trang is known as one of the typical and largest caves in the cave complex in the Cat Ba Biosphere Reserve. 

Trung Trang Cave Entrance

Why is it called Trung Trang Cave?

The legend of the name “Trung Trang” Cave

According to the stories of the local people, Cat Ba has long been a beautiful pearl archipelago with countless large and small caves. Therefore, this is considered a “delicious piece of cake” for foreign invaders always looking for opportunities to invade. At that time, to protect the entire territory of the country, Lady Chua Trung Trang - an ancient hero, summoned the young men in the region to the sea to fight the enemy to protect the land.

After successfully repelling the enemy, Lady Chua returned to live in this cave to cultivate and protect the lives of the island's inhabitants. Since then, appreciating Ba Chua's heart, the people in the area named Trung Trang Cave.

Visit Trung Trang Cave

Other names of Trung Trang Cave 

Found in 1938, Trung Trang Cave is called by many different names. 

In the past, it was called the bat cave because inside, the cave was home to many herds of bats. 

During the defendant war against the US invasion, from 1964 to 1968, the cave was selected as the location of the naval command with the task of telecommunication and radio station, so the cave used to be called Navy Cave. The cave still preserves a few traces, such as an entertainment room, meeting room, and water tank ... to serve daily life for our soldiers. 

Best time to visit Trung Trang Cave

In the Cat Ba archipelago, the limestone cave system is enormous, there are totally more than 150 caves in different shapes and sizes. And because of the protection of the local government in Ha Long and moderate tourism exploitation, Trung Trang Cave always keeps its mysterious beauty all year. Therefore, you can visit this “gold treasure cave” any time of the year. 

The majestic beauty is stunning all the year

However, you should consider visiting Halong Bay as Trung Trang Cave in the stormy season of the year, which is usually in August and September. In those months, the weather in Halong is awful. Your journey could be canceled if the weather is too terrible. And in this case, the travel agent or Cruise team can’t do anything because this depends on local policy on tourism.

Moreover, it is a little bit hard for you to visit this cave in the rainy season (from June to September). Because when it rains, the road to the cave is slippery, so you can be felled while climbing the stairs to enter the cave.

Maybe you will need: Best Time to Visit Halong Bay for Perfect Weather & Great Deals

Things to do in Trung Trang Cave

Trung Trang cave was formed tens of millions of years ago when water flowed through the hollow, eroding limestone mountains. Trung Trang cave has a length of about 300m through the heart of the mountain. It has thousands of stalactites with numerous various shapes.

The fantastic Road lead to the Cave

Entering the cave entrance, visitors will immediately see the image of a young woman nestled on a cliff. On the cave door, visitors also come across the image of a Python, said to be the mascot given to guard the cave by Trung Trang’s princess. Keep going around 100m into the cave, you will arrive at a compartment with stalactites glittering under the dim light. There are stalactites with different shapes, such as a crown and a strip of brocade. Then 3 Phuc Loc Tho - the 3 deities in Vietnamese belief who are blessed for luck, prosperity, and longevity … Local people call this cave “gold treasure” or “princess’s treasure”. 

Trung Trang cave has an ecosystem in mysterious darkness, home to many species of creatures such as bats, birds, insects, and reptiles. The lighting system is minimal to preserve the characteristics of the ecological environment in the cave. 

End of the journey to discover more than 300 m, Trung Trang cave is the creeper door with many shapes as incredible sculptures of creativity. From here, visitors will step into a green space with thousands of trees and vines of Cat Ba Biosphere Reserve.

How to get to Trung Trang Cave

Trung Trang Cave is a famous tourist destination in Halong, and to get inside this “Princess’s treasure”, you have to pay for that. The entrance ticket for Trung Trang cave is 80.000 VND or around 3.5 USD.

Belong to the Cat Ba Archipelago, the only way to visit Trung Trang Cave is you have to travel to Halong Bay. If you start from Hanoi without personal transportation, the easiest way is to take a bus from Hanoi to Cat Ba and sleep until someone wakes you up and says you’ve arrived. 

But if you want to go there yourself, here are 3 ways to come to Trung Trang cave, two from Hai Phong City and another from Halong Bay. 

1. Speedboat or Hydrofoil

• From: Binh Harbor in Hai Phong City directly to Cat Ba town
• Price: Around 8-10.5 USD
• Note: Only departs 2 or 4 times daily, so try not to come late. Otherwise, you will have to wait a very long.

2. Ferry

• From: Got Harbor to Cat Ba
• Price: The ticket fee for a guest is only half a dollar, 2 USD for a motorbike with its driver, and for a private car under 9 seats, it’s around 8.3 USD.
• Note: From Halong City, a ferry departs from Tuan Chau Island to Cat Ba every 1.5 hours

It takes around 20-30 minutes for the ferry to arrive at Cai Vieng harbor, which is around 30km away from Cat Ba town. There are also speed boats in Got Harbor at a better price than in Binh Harbor. You only have to pay 2.2 USD for the speed boat and 1.3 USD for the bus from Cai Vieng station to Cat Ba town. The best thing about this way is that this ferry runs through the center of Halong Bay and is beautiful. From Tuan Chau, it takes 1 hour to arrive at Gia Luan harbor on Cat Ba island, you may book a pick-up service from your hotel or catch the bus from here to the center with the price of 1.3 USD. Trung Trang cave is on the way.

3. Overnight Cruise

• From: Tuan Chau Habor (Halong Bay) to Cat Ba Island
• Price: Depend on the type of cruise that you are choosing (from luxury to budget)
• Note: Please choose the one which has visit Trung Trang Cave in the itinerary

Enjoy a wonderful overnight cruise on Halong Bay, you not only visit the magnificent Trung Trang Cave (only each cruise has visited this Cave in its itinerary) but also visit various charming attractions on Cat Ba Island and participate in excellent beach activities, such as kayaking, swimming and many outstanding onboard activities (Vietnamese Cooking Class, Squid Fishing, etc)

Once on the island, you can catch a taxi or rent a bike. Trung Trang cave is around 15km north of Cat Ba town. It’s very easy to go to Trung Trang cave as the transportation infrastructure here is really easy and simple, with one main road running through the island. Trust me, with google maps, it’s nearly impossible to get lost in Cat Ba. 

Travel Tips

• Wear a sneaker instead of high heels if you don’t want to get hurt and be difficult while exploring the cave.
• The temperature in the cave is lower than the outside. Therefore you should bring a light jacket to warm your body.
• When discovering the cave, you should choose comfortable outfits and avoid tight suits. It will be convenient for you while conquering this magnificent cave.
• Remember to avoid planning your trip in August and September. This is when Halong Bay has bad weather, and your journey could be affected by storms.
• Some cruises in Halong Bay have a route that will visit Trung Trang Cave in their itinerary. If you want to explore this cave more clearly and experience various beach activities such as kayaking, swimming, Taichi class, and squid fishing,... all at once, you should choose the cruise package for your visit to Halong Bay.