Grottos more than a picture

      There’s a reason why Tam Coc tourist site in the northern province of Ninh Binh rivals Ha Long Bay on the tourist must-see list.
Tam Coc, also known as Ha Long Bay on land, is home to an awesome stretch of giant limestone karsts jutting out of the rice paddies surrounding a small river.
Located about 8km southwest of Ninh Binh City, or 100km south from Ha Noi, Tam Coc, which literally means "Three Grottos", is a secluded oasis away from the big city.
The journey to Tam Coc starts from the Van Lam wharf – where visitors can step inside a typical scene from a northern village. There’s an ancient banyan tree, a river wharf surrounded by bamboo boats and a communal house.
"The landscape is seemingly untouched by time and that’s the way locals want it to stay," says Vu Thi Tuyet Nhung, a tour guide for Tam Coc-Bich Dong Tourism Site’s Management Board. "Although tourism has developed over the past few years, they still want to keep the original features of the region."
Tourist Tran Mui from HCM City, agrees. "Nobody uses motor boats here because they would disturb the natural landscape," he says, gesturing to the bamboo boats tethered by the jetty.
"Although the boats look flimsy, they are a defining feature of this place."
Bobbing up and down on one of the bamboo vessels, surrounded by the beautiful landscape and breathing in the fresh air – it’s idyllic, says Linh Nham, a visitor from Hoang Mai District in Ha Noi.
"Coming here makes me feel light-hearted and calm."
Rocking boat
Once you push off from the jetty, your little boat will take you down the river, which winds like a silk ribbon around the limestone mountains.
Colours change with every season. The bright green paddies that stretch out alongside the water turn golden when the harvest season comes in June. And come the wet season from August to September, the river is covered with purple water lillies.
It’s difficult to take a bad photograph here.
Krist Van Laere, a Belgian tourist, says he came to Tam Coc after seeing a photo of the area in his travel guide.
"I was really impressed by the photo. It was taken from above and showed the winding river, speckled with tiny boats, meandering through the rice fields. When I came here, I realised the picture was completely faithful to reality. It’s so relaxing and peaceful here."
Grotto extraordinaire
Floating downstream, visitors eventually come to Ca Grotto – the first of three grottoes on the Tam Coc tour. This natural piece of art, dripping with stalactites and stalagmites, is known across the country as Nam thien de nhi dong (the second nicest grotto in Viet Nam). It is the longest and widest in the area.
If visitors come to the cave in the morning, they can see the cliff at the grotto’s entrance sparkling with the reflection of the dawn.
Once you enter the cave, it is dark and all other sounds seem muted apart from the gentle swish of oars as they sweep through the water.
Navigating the bamboo boats through the cave takes skill, says Hanoian tourist Nham.
"The rowers must be really good because they never bump into one another and seem to know exactly where they are going in the darkness," she says.
Having emerged into the sunlight again, the next cave over the river is 60m-long Hai Cave, which opens like an enormous mouth filled with long, sharp teeth. Droplets of water fall from the tips of the stalactites into the river.
The final grotto is only around 100m from there – named simply Ba Cave. It’s the shortest and the lowest cave on the journey. Visitors can reach up and touch the roof with their hands if they don’t mind being dripped on.
The next leg of the tour is on dry land – a trip to a small temple built by a local resident to worship the King of the Forest – Ong Ho (Mr Tiger).
According to tour guide Nhung, in the future, the tour will not end at this spot, but will go on to nearby Trang An Eco-Tourism complex and Hoa Lu, the capital of the country between AD 968 and 1009.
"The new trip should start in 2010," she says.
By prolonging the tour to equally tranquil spots that are more than easy on the eye, you can’t really go wrong.