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Halong Bay’s clear waters and limestone formations make it one of Vietnam’s biggest tourist attractions.
Less well known is a “dry Halong Bay” 100km (62 miles) south of the capital, Hanoi, with similar features just as dramatic as its famous counterpart.
To explore it, we step into a gently rocking sampan rowed by a guide at a leisurely pace through a landscape of towering karst cliffs, lush rainforest and a labyrinthine system of caves.
This is Trang An, at the centre of a region criss-crossed by the wide delta of the Ngo Dong River, which has shaped this extraordinary landscape over time.
There are advantages to its landlocked location, says our guide, Quy Vu – the Trang An landscape is less crowded than Halong Bay, which lies 170km east of Hanoi.
“There are no cruise ships here, either,” adds Quy, 34, who comes from Ninh Binh and brings guests from Hanoi to his hometown – the bus ride takes around two and a half hours – several times a week.


As soon as we leave behind the last suburbs of the capital, bustling with mopeds, we are in a landscape of rice paddies. Water buffaloes doze in the sun and, in villages, people sit in front of their stores and workshops. The pace is leisurely – a lifestyle adapted to the hot and humid temperatures.
But there is hectic movement at the Trang An jetty, just a few kilometres from the provincial capital of Ninh Binh. Here, boat tours set off into the karst landscape of Trang An, which was declared a World Heritage site by Unesco in 2014.
Rows of sampans are bobbing up and down on the water. Boats come and go as they pick up and return guests from their tours. It is a quick turnaround, as tours are tightly scheduled to prevent jams of boats forming at the entrances to the caves.
Everywhere is silence, aside from a collective “aah” from the passengers as our boat rounds what appears to be a pagoda built directly in the water.
“Keep your head down,” says Quy Vu as the boatman heads for a barely noticeable crevice. The flat-bottomed boat glides into the 320-metre (1,049ft) Hang Thanh Truot cave. This is the longest of the nine stalactite caves the boat traverses during a three-hour tour.

We step out of the boat and head to the Suoi Tien temple during a stop on land. A few steps lead to a palatial wooden building with a pagoda roof, inside which visitors can kneel and pray in front of ornate golden statues.
A short walk on, Dia Linh – a mountain bulging up out of the water – comes into view. It is one of the most famous photo spots in the region.
This landscape is so picturesque that it was chosen as one of the filming locations for 2017 Hollywood movie Kong: Skull Island.
You can still visit a thatched hut village built especially for the fantasy adventure.
Attractions like these, the Unesco recognition and its stunning landscape have made Trang An famous on social media – and now the region is bracing for an uptick in visitors. Quy Vu would like to open a bed and breakfast soon, perhaps even with a small restaurant.

Those wanting to explore Trang An can do so by bike as well as boat, if they wish – narrow side roads wend through settlements with small farms, past vegetable gardens and rice fields framed by tropical wooded mountains.
Our destination is the old royal city of Hoa Lu, which was built in 968AD as a military fortress and experienced its heyday under the Dinh, Le and Ly dynasties in the 11th century. Two temples were rebuilt in the 17th century on the remains of their old foundations. Today they are venues for spiritual and cultural events.
Whether you are travelling by boat or by bicycle, you can see wild mountain goats scrambling up the steep rock faces. They are the unofficial heraldic animal of Ninh Bình, as well as a culinary speciality.
“You haven’t really been here if you haven’t tried goat,” says Nguyen Van Quyet, chef of the Thang Long restaurant, where large groups of guests are sampling goat dishes at long tables.

The restaurant’s small souvenir shop has something that particularly catches the eye: home-made rice wine with pickled ginger, apples and goat penis. According to the chef, this guarantees “a strength and potency booster for men”.
Strength and energy are required by all for the subsequent hike to Hang Mua, around 10 kilometres away. The highlight is not the cave, but a viewing platform on the mountain above.
It is a sweat-inducing climb up 500 steep steps to the top, 65 metres above the river; with the high humidity, regular drink breaks are a must. The spectacular 360-degree panorama of the seemingly endless karst hills, the bright green rice fields and the meandering river more than reward your effort.
The landscape is one of the most beautiful in Vietnam. And, as the view from above makes clear, one thing it certainly is not: dry.


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Trang An, Vietnam’s ‘dry Halong Bay’ in Ninh Binh, worth a visit by bike, boat and on foot

Find Vietnam’s Halong Bay too crowded? There is a similar limestone landscape inland at Trang An in Ninh Binh, with scenery just as stunning but fewer visitors. Photo: Shutterstock

Tourists tour the wonders of Trang An, Vietnam, by boat. Photo: Shutterstock

Karst cliffs and rainforest in Trang An. Photo: Shutterstock

Boats come and go as they pick up and return guests from their tours of Trang An. Photo: Shutterstock

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Those exploring Trang An can do so by bike as well as boat. Photo: Shutterstock 

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Travel & Leisure

Towering limestone cliffs? Check. Lush rainforest? Yes. Crowds? No. Likened to Halong Bay but inland, Trang An in Vietnam deserves a visit


Towering limestone cliffs? Check. Lush rainforest? Yes. Crowds? No. Likened to Halong Bay but inland, Trang An in Vietnam deserves a visit.


Travel Destinations

Vietnam

Trang An, Vietnam’s ‘dry Halong Bay’ in Ninh Binh, worth a visit by bike, boat and on foot

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Towering limestone cliffs? Check. Lush rainforest? Yes. Crowds? No. Likened to Halong Bay but inland, Trang An in Vietnam deserves a visit

Towering limestone cliffs? Check. Lush rainforest? Yes. Crowds? No. Likened to Halong Bay but inland, Trang An in Vietnam deserves a visit