Đồng Tiền

Useful Information

Location:	Ninh Hải, Hoa Lư, Ninh Bình. 7 km from Ninh Binh city center. From Ninh Binh follow QL1A south 3.8 km, turn right on DT491C to Hoa Lư 3.4 km. Turn right 2 km to Ninh Hải, turn left 200 m, turn left 500 to Chùa Linh Cốc parking lot at the end of the road. (20.2151685, 105.9212502)
Open:	All year daily. [2024]
Fee:	Adults VND 20,000. [2024]
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	Incandescent Coloured Light
Dimension:	L=108 m.
Guided tours:	D=30 min.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	Michael Laumanns (2014): Karst and Caves of Ninh Binh Province (northern Vietnam) Berliner Höhlenkundliche Berichte, Volume 55 online
Address:	Đồng Tiền, Tel: +84-.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1258	temple built during the reign of King Tran Thanh Tong.
2013	surveyed by I. Ermakova.

Description

Đồng Tiền (Coin Cave) is the name of the through cave which crosses a karst tower above the Chùa Linh Cốc temple. The signs show "Chua Linh Coc Dong Tien", which is obviously a concatenation of the temple and the cave name. For the cave visit drive to the tempel, one of the monks there will guide the cave. On the way to the cave, on the right side of the road the cave exit can be seen, but it is gated and closed, so go on to the temple where the cave tour starts.

When you reach the temple, take your time to look at the temple, then climb the staircase to the cave entrance. In the cave entrance there are two small chapels with Buddha statues, but the cave is gated. One of the monks or nuns at the temple will follow you and bring the key, and make a sort of guided tour. The cave is a single passage, rather narrow but high. It is heavily used, mainly for religious purposes, there are pots for incense, and pots for collecting the dripping water. The cave has a sort of main chamber, then it narrows again, and at the end, right before the exit, it is necessary to stoop. The guide will open the closed door at the exit for the visitors, then return through the cave. Outside the cave, there is another cave temple with Buddha statues, which is freely accessible. There are two altars with figures of saints, decorated with fresh flowers, and lots of rubbish, right outside the iron door. A staircase leads down to the road, and the visitors have to walk back about 100 m to the car park.

This is a small cave and not very spectacular. But beneath all the tourist traps, the caves with huge numbers of visitors, this cave is almost unknown. It is rarely even mentioned in tourist guidebooks. And the fee is ridiculously small, about a Euro. So if you want to flee the crowds and see a cave off the beaten track, this is the place.

The Linh Coc Temple dates back to the reign of King Tran Thanh Tong in 1258.