Động Vân Trình

Useful Information

photography — View from the cave entrance, Động Vân Trình, Vietnam. Public Domain.

Location:	Thượng Hoá, Nho Quan, Ninh Bình, Vietnam. 30 minutes from Kenh Ga by boat. Mo Mountain, Thuong Hoa Commune, Nho Quan District. (20.306830427964577, 105.80006111533196)
Open:
Fee:	Adults VND 50,000. [2024]
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	Incandescent Coloured Light
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Động Vân Trình, Thượng Hoá, Nho Quan, Ninh Bình, Tel: +84-1629123529.
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History

Description

Động Vân Trình (Van Trinh Cave) is quite off the beaten track and hard to find. Nevertheless, it is a show cave, as it is gated, mostly horizontal and easy to walk, has electric light, and there is an entrance fee. We read some comments about dark parts, it seems the cave is either not fully lighted or visitors tend to leave the official paths. However, we guess bringing a lamp is always a good idea. Good walking shoes also, there are some parts without trail, and some stairs made of rock, which are rather uneven and probably slippery. The cave has nice speleothems, mostly stalagmites, but also some rimstone pools with calcite crystals. The cave also has some parts with openings at the ceiling, which allows daylight to enter. The results are cave chambers with spectacular rays of light. Fortunately most of the lamps are white, although there are some coloured spots.

Van Trinh is famous for its main hall, which has a floor size of some 3,500 m², and thus is about the same size as the famous Showcave Dong Thien Cung in Ha Long Bay. There is a legend abut a fairy connected with this cave.

Once a young fairy discovered the cave and found it so marvelous, she chose it as her living quarters. The cave lake is called the fairy's swimming pool and is always filled with clear water. The fairy was very friendly and helped the local people to feed their children. So the people were building a temple in her honour at the foot of Mo Mountain. When poor people sought the fairy's help by leaving a piece of cloth in the temple as an offering, the cloth had been replaced with a baby's jacket when they returned. But this was not simply a gift, it also had magic powers and helped the child grow quickly.

Van Trinh Cave is one sight of the Kenh Ga - Van Trinh tourist area. It is located in the 100 m high Mo mountain, a karst tower in the middle of a fertile plain, the entrance is almost halfway up, so it is necessary to climb 40 m.