Ninh Binh province is famous for the eco tourism complex of Trang An including Bai Dinh pagoda - one of the greatest pagodas in Vietnam and it is also a Buddhist center in the Northern Vietnam. Besides the famous attraction of Trang An and Bai Dinh pagoda, Tam Coc is another well known attraction in Ninh Binh that we can miss to visit when coming to Ninh Binh. Tam Coc is located in Ninh Hai Commune, Hoa Lu District, Ninh Binh province. It is really a natural complex with immense space and view.
Tam Coc means "three grottos" and it is also known as "Halong Bay on land and on rice field". Tam Coc is considered the central relics of Vietnam with a lot of limestones and historical sites. Tam Coc has the area of 350,3 hectare. It is divided into the first cave, second cave and the third cave. Three caves are created by Ngo Dong River throughout the mountain. To enjoy the beauty of Tam Coc, tourists can take a boat and travel along to the Ngo Dong River. Tourists will enjoy the immense and stunning beauty of nature. Especially, the color of rice paddies in green and yellow at two sides of rice field along the river will bring visitors different feelings.
To enjoy the beauty of Tam Coc, tourists can take different tour routes to travel to beautiful landscapes in this place. The idea route may be Tam Coc - Thai Vi Temple - Thien Huong Grotto. During the route, tourists will take the chance to visit Tam Coc, Thai Vi Temple and Thien Huong Grotto. First of all, traveling on boat to admire the majestic and immense beauty of Tam Coc in various colors of rice paddies. The natural landscape with the combination of rice field and romantic river, the river in the shape of Dragon meandering to give tourists wonderful and interesting experience.
The boat crosses the Tam Coc and brings tourists to Thai Vi Temple. The temple is the worship place of the Tran dynasty including Tran Thai Tong, Tran Thanh Tong, Tran Hung Dao, Tran Quang Khai and the Queen Tran Thi Dung. From the marina boat, tourists can walk to Thai Vi temple and worship to the kings of Tran dynasty. The end of route is at Thien Huong grotto. The grotto has the height of 60 meters, depth of 40 meters and width of 20 meters. The open peak of grotto is often called "Dong Troi". Inside the grotto, there is the worship temple of the Queen Tran Thi Dung.
Furthermore, on the trip discovering Tam Coc, tourists can take a visit to Bich Dong. Here, tourists can go to visit Bich Dong pagoda with the composition of 3 structures: Have Pagoda, Trung Pagoda and Thuong Pagoda. The grotto name means "green cave" and it was named by vizier Nguyen Nhiem - the father of great poet Nguyen Du.
Tam Coc was ranked as special national relics by Prime Minister and recognized as the World Heritage by UNESCO. Let's come to this place to enjoy the beauty of nature and immerse yourself into the landscape of water, mountain and immense rice field.
