Ha Long Bay's FACTS

Halong Bay as known as a UNESCO World Heritage Site is famous because its stunning limestone mountains raising up from emerald waters that formed from thousand years ago. You also can have a chance to explore amazing caves as well as the culture of Ha Long.

The whole of Halong Bay or sometimes referred to as the Gulf of Tonkin has an area of around 1,500km2, which contains approximately 1,969 islands and islets made from karst limestone towering like skyscrapers throughout the bay, formed through millions of years. A long history and tremendous values lie within Halong magnificent limestone mountains. Normal limestone mountains are usually found on the ground, however, the Halong Bay’s limestones are raised from above the water. It’s taken 500 million years to form Halong Bay to 2000 limestone islands as today.

HLB
HLB
HLB

Fun fact about Ha Long Bay

The movie Kong: Skull Island was shot in Ha Long Bay. It was a mega hit!

Kong movie in HLB

Its name translates as the “Bay of Descending Dragons” and it’s not hard to understand why Ha Long Bay has such mythic appeal. The most visited tourist attraction in Vietnam blends spellbindingly beautiful coastline with an emerald sea that ripples with limestone monoliths by the thousand. Throw in spooky stalactite-spiked caves, picturesque islands and miraculously built floating fishing villages and you have a veritable bucket list destination.

Kayaking in Ha Long Bay

One of the best things to do in Halong Bay is discovering the place yourself on your own kayak. The emerald water of Halong with calm water and many hidden tunnels make a perfect setting for kayaking. There are a total of 8 hot-spots where kayaking is allowed: Ba Hang Fishing Village.

Kayaking

Explore Sung Sot Cave

Among the 1,969 sunken limestone towers submerged in the indigo waters of Halong Bay are a series of ancient caves and grottoes – many of which remained unexplored. To date, there are 59 caves listed on the official registry (this includes the most recent discovery of 23 ‘new’ caves), all of which have a special belonging in Halong Bay’s distinctive ecosystem. Undoubtedly the most famous of them all is Sung Sot Cave, which has rightfully earned its near-legendary status among visitors to the world-famous bay.

Sung Sot Cave was allegedly first discovered by the French in 1901, who took it upon themselves to name it “Grotte des Surprises”, or Surprising Cave, because of its ‘surprising’ beauty (although the name didn’t catch on until a good 40 years later). The cave welcomed its first visitors in 1993, a mere one year before Halong Bay would receive its first bestowment of World Heritage site status from UNESCO.

From 520-470 million BC, Halong Bay was subject to intense tectonic plate movements, along with severe rainfall and flooding which caused the formation of underwater mountains. Millions of years on, the Halong Bay area began to experience a period of extreme heat and drought. The change in weather patterns is what eventually contributed to the emergence of the thick limestone formations that we can still see today. The steady erosion of these sea mountains eventually delivered to us the much-coveted caves of Halong Bay. The advancement of the sea and its effects on the formation of the caves can be seen on the ceilings, where a ripple-like pattern is often visible.

Sung Sot Cave

Sail to the Cua Van Floating Village

Cua Van floating village belongs to one of Halong Bay’s tourism development programs, including other famous tourist attractions like Ba Ham Lake, Tieng Ong Cave… To be more specific, the village is situated 20km away from the Tuan Chau Island nearby, which is equivalent to an approximately 2-hour trip by boat.

Cua Van of former times used to be among the biggest floating villages of Halong Bay residential area. Despite being in the middle of the sea, Cua Van village is not disturbed by the strong wind blowing in different directions. The main reason behind that is the surrounding cluster of islands which prevents the rush of air from completely getting through, acting as an important contributing place for boats to anchor themselves when a storm hits the zone.

Cua Van
Cua Van

Visit the Quang Ninh Museum

Quang Ninh Museum is located in a cluster of museums - libraries in Hong Hai (Ha Long City) on the shore of Ha Long Bay - a natural wonder of the world. This architectural design by Salvador Perez Arroyo has helped the Museum - the Quang Ninh Library win the Works of 2013 prize.

With the idea of the image of coal - the mineral characteristic of Quang Ninh, this clusters of works is standing as a symbol on the most beautiful coastal road of Ha Long. With bold architectural methods, the building looks like a giant mirror reflecting the world natural heritage - Ha Long Bay.

Quang Ninh Museum

Take a Stroll Over Bai Chay Bridge

Take a stroll through the city and along the bridge, where you can watch a spectacular light show as Halong is bathed in colour. The bridge is also wonderfully decorated and provides the perfect family photo spot. Bai Chay Bridge connects the bay area and the city, making it a major landmark in Halong Bay.

Bai Chay Bridge