Ninh Binh Province has been stamped with the footprints of sovereigns from the Dinh, Le, Pre-Le and Ly dynasties.
The province’s land comprises of three different types of landscape – wetlands, coastal delta and uplands – and is endowed with many places of particular interest such as Tam Coc-Bich Dong Grotto, Cuc Phuong National Park and Van Long Nature Reserve.
Trang An Eco-tourism complex is a popular option for tourists visiting the province.
Covering an area of 2,168 hectares, Trang An boasts Hoa Lu Ancient Citadel preserved area, a center area, grottoes and Bai Dinh Pagoda. The site is endowed with 47 grottoes and caves, 31 valleys and the hallowed cultural area of Bai Dinh Pagoda. Cruising around the area, tourists will have a chance, like kings from ancient times, to use the mountains as walls, the rivers as roads and the caves as palaces.
The tourist site lies on eight communes in Hoa Lu and Gia Vien districts in Ninh Binh City. Your first impression of the site is normally the dozens of boats anchoring in lines waiting for tourists to start their journeys.
Tourists to Trang An often choose cruising for a three-hour sight-seeing tour through the temples of Trinh, Tran and Khong and the grottoes of Dia Linh, Toi, Sang, Si, Sinh, Tinh, Ba Giot, Nau Ruou, Phu Khong and Quy Hau.
Caves are dozens to hundreds of meters long and often link together by valleys, making the setting more attractive and mysterious. Each cave has its own beauty with many stalactites in a profusion of colors, arousing visitors’ imaginations. Once touring Trang An, travelers surely will get lost in a land of myths and fantasies to leave behind daily stresses and worries. And while rowing through Trang An grotto in the quiet, fresh air of the highlands, with only the sound of birds and oars stirring in the clear water, surrounded by magnificent forested mountains upon which the white goats graze, visitors will enjoy a slice of heaven on earth.
Another highlight is Bai Dinh Pagoda, located near a range of limestone mountains in Gia Sinh Commune, Gia Vien District which is famous for its huge size and 500 stone Arhat statues. Covering over 700 hectares, the site with its elegant architecture and solemn atmosphere attracts many pilgrims daily.