Van Long Lagoon - Lost In Fairyland In Ninh Binh

Come to Van Long Lagoon to experience a wild, peaceful Ninh Binh with the beauty of the immense lagoon. Hãy nghe Trần Thuỳ Thanh Xuân (Đồng Nai) một travel blogger nổi tiếng bật mí .

Recently, Van Long Lagoon has become an attractive destination for tourists because of its wonderful natural beauty. With a peaceful and pristine landscape, this place brings a quiet and relaxing space different from crowded tourist destinations. Even more unique, Van Long Lagoon appeared in the famous movie "Kong - Skull Island". This is an ideal destination for those who love nature and want to enjoy moments close to the majestic landscape. For an interesting and economical journey, follow me to explore Van Long Lagoon!

1. Where is Van Long Lagoon?

Van Long Lagoon is located in Gia Van Commune, Gia Vien District, Ninh Binh Province, 80km from Hanoi. This is not a natural lagoon, but was formed by the construction of a 30km long flood barrier dyke on the left bank of the Day River by local people. Since then, Van Long has become the largest wetland in the Gulf of Tonkin, with rocky islands and caves. The diverse, pristine natural landscape, along with many species of animals living here, have made Van Long an impressive destination.

                                                                                                      Image source: Collected

With an area of ​​over 3,500 hectares, Van Long Lagoon is the largest wetland nature reserve in the North, established in 1998. This tourist area is proud of its unique ecosystem including wetlands and forests on limestone mountains, creating a source of life for thousands of diverse species of animals and plants. Notably, this is home to the largest herd of Delacour's langurs, an endemic species of Vietnam, in the country.

The landscape of the tourist area not only includes beautiful nature but also historical landscapes with unique caves and cultural relics. Van Long Lagoon possesses a wild, majestic beauty in a rustic landscape painting. For those who want to find relaxation after busy days, Van Long Lagoon is definitely an ideal destination not to be missed.

2. When should you visit Van Long Lagoon?

With a diverse ecosystem and vegetation, Van Long Lagoon is beautiful in every season. Therefore, visitors can come here at any time of the year. However, each season of Van Long Lagoon will have its own unique characteristics. If you are passionate about checking in and want to see the lotus flowers in full bloom, you should definitely come to Van Long in the summer around May and June, because at this time the green space of the ecological area is covered in the gentle pink color and fragrant scent of lotus flowers.

An equally interesting option is to visit Van Long Lagoon in the dry season from November of the previous year to April of the following year. At this time, visitors will be able to fully enjoy the beauty and diversity of flora and fauna in the ecological area. Absolutely do not go in the rainy season because the gloomy weather is not suitable for enjoying the scenery, besides there are many restrictions when traveling.

                                                                                                      Image source: Collected

The best time of day to visit Van Long Eco-tourism Area is early morning or late afternoon. If in the early morning, visitors will enjoy the cool and fresh sunrise scene with a peaceful, relaxing feeling close to nature, then in the late afternoon, there will be a masterpiece of sunset and dusk that is so beautiful that it touches the heart. These are also the only two times of the day when you can witness the scene of birds flying in flocks in the sky when foraging and when returning to their nests.

3. Van Long Lagoon entrance fee

With its wild and poetic natural scenery, Van Long Lagoon has become a famous tourist destination that attracts many visitors from all over the world. The entrance fee to Van Long Ecological Area is as follows:

- Entrance fee to Van Long Lagoon

   + Adults: 20,000 VND/person.

   + Children under 1m: 10,000 VND/person.

   + Elderly people (60 years old and above): 10,000 VND/person.

- Ferry ticket price at Van Long Lagoon

   + Adults: 50,000 VND/trip.

   + Children under 1m: 25,000 VND/trip.

   + Elderly people (60 years old and above): 25,000 VND/trip.

                                                                                                      Image source: Collected

4. Travel guide to Van Long Lagoon - Ninh Binh

For places with geographical locations near Ninh Binh such as Hanoi, you can choose a free motorbike as a means of transportation to be more proactive in traveling or you can choose a bus to the bus station or a Limousine to pick you up at the place with ticket prices ranging from 80,000 VND - 200,000 VND. Then to travel to Van Long Lagoon, visitors need to take a taxi or rent a motorbike.

You can rest assured that currently most accommodation facilities such as hotels, homestays, resorts provide motorbike rental services, you can rent a motorbike without having to rent a room there.

For visitors in the Southern or Western provinces, according to the experience of traveling to Van Long Lagoon Ninh Binh, you need to travel by plane, after landing at Noi Bai airport, you need to book a car to go straight to Ninh Binh. You can also choose to travel by train, which is also a quite new and interesting experience if you are bored with traveling by plane.

                                                                                                      Image source: Collected

5. What is there to do in Van Long Lagoon in Ninh Binh?

5.1. Experience rowing a boat on the lake

Let your soul drift on the boat on the water, leaving behind all the worries, hustle and bustle and unfinished deadlines, leaving only the freshness and poetic, lyrical scenery with undulating mountains, clear blue water, birds singing, flocks of storks flying straight, and colorful flowers of Van Long Lagoon.

People always compare Van Long Lagoon to a bay without waves because the water surface is calm all year round, clear like a giant mirror, as if you can see all the way to the bottom. In addition, Van Long eco-tourism area has more than 1000 different caves such as: Fish Cave, Bong Cave, Turtle Cave, Chanh Cave, ... for visitors to slowly visit.

                                                                                                      Image source: Collected

5.2. Explore the caves near Van Long Lagoon

Van Long Lagoon is home to 1,000 beautiful caves for you to explore. The caves are decorated with stalactites of various shapes and sizes, sparkling under the light. Not only beautiful, the caves are also home to many species of animals. Among them, there are famous caves such as Hang Ca, Hang Bong, Hang Rua, and Hang Chanh.

Among the large caves, Hang Ca is a place worth exploring. This cave has a raised and submerged part, creating a beautiful scene. You will take a boat to visit the cave, and see many species of fish swimming, the characteristic that creates the name of the cave.

                                                                                                      Image source: Collected

5.3. Visit the surrounding temples and pagodas

Not only possessing the wild beauty of mountains, rivers and mysterious caves, Van Long Lagoon is also a spiritual destination with many historical temples and pagodas. These temples and pagodas bear the mark of time, with ancient architecture from ancient dynasties.

Temples with long histories such as Thanh Mau Temple, Thanh Son Pagoda and Dich Long Pagoda are waiting for visitors to come and explore. When visiting these temples and pagodas, visitors will have the opportunity to connect with the past, and learn about the development of spiritual culture through each historical period.

                                                                                                      Image source: Collected

5.4. Admire the Meo Cao cliff

A unique spot that cannot be missed at Van Long Lagoon is Meo Cao mountain, a vivid and outstanding natural picture. Meo Cao mountain is one of the beautiful mountains in the limestone mountain range surrounding Van Long Lagoon. The mountain has a vertical cliff, on the cliff there are scratches that look like the scratches of a cat.

Notably, on the cliff, you will discover a unique painting created from ochre, a material used to paint murals. Just splash water on the cliff, the dark red lines of the painting will gradually appear, extremely interesting. The painting on Meo Cao cliff depicts a man with a fierce face, along with a mysterious hieroglyphic line. Come here to decode the mystery of this painting!

                                                                                                      Image source: Collected

The vast lagoon landscape, majestic caves, and historical and cultural imprints combine to create a unique space of Van Long lagoon. Visit Van Long lagoon once - the land that preserves the peace of the soul to feel the tranquility and freshness along with the poetic and lyrical beauty of this place!

Trần Thuỳ Thanh Xuân (Đồng Nai)