When mentioning Ha Long, people will immediately think of deep caves, majestic limestone mountains worthy of being natural masterpieces. Honored as the “grotto of wonders”, Dau Go grotto is a destination that you cannot miss on your Ha Long trip. The grotto possesses a magical and mysterious beauty, suitable for those who love natural landscapes.
Overview about Dau Go grotto
Dau Go grotto (Vietnamese: hang Đầu Gỗ; hang means cave, grotto and Đầu Gỗ means Driftwood) is a limestone cave located in the Ha Long Bay scenic complex. The cave is located about 3 km from Tuan Chau island, about 6 km from Bai Chay tourist area.
The name Dau Go (Driftwood) Grotto comes from the popular story of the resistance war against the Nguyen Mong aggressors. In a decisive battle, Tran Hung Dao was given an order to prepare many sharp bamboo stakes to be planted on the riverbed of the Bach Dang River. They were stored in the grotto where the remaining wooden pieces were found.
Dau Go cave is one of the most beautiful caves in Vietnam, always favored by everyone to visit on their journey to explore Ha Long. Located peacefully on Dau Go island in the Ha Long Bay scenic complex, the grotto has an area of up to 5,000m². It was formed in the Pleixtocene period about 2 million years ago, with a tectonic age equivalent to its nearby neighbor Thien Cung Cave.
Located at an altitude of 27m above sea level, Dau Go Cave possesses a rich flora and fauna system with a massive, majestic architecture. The cave’s climate changes with the seasons, with the cave being usually warm in winter and the temperature ranging from 20 to 22 degrees Celsius in summer. Coming here, visitors will admire a natural masterpiece with stalagmites of various shapes and colors, both wild and ancient.
In 1938, the famous French travel magazine – Merveille de Monde honored this cave as the “grotto of wonders” (Grotte des merveilles).
How to get here?
Being part of the Ha Long Bay scenic complex, there are many ways to visit Dau Go. You can buy a tour to go on a cruise to Ha Long Bay and combine a visit to the grotto during the whole trip. Or if you want to go on your own, you can rent a boat to go on your own.
boat trip to Dau Go Grotto
If you go on your own, you can go to the ferry terminal area of Tuan Chau Island, then rent a boat to go to the grotto on tour “route number 1” Ha Long with a ticket price of 290,000 VND / person.
Impressive beauty of Dau Go Grotto
Seen from afar, the entrance to the grotto appears to be blue, and has a shape similar to that of a jellyfish. After 90 steps up the island, the entrance is reached. The ceiling of the grotto is about 25m. Hundreds of stalactites failing down from the roof of the grotto look like a waterfall.
The grotto is divided into three main parts. In the first chamber, exposed to natural light, many forms can be seen in the rock according to the imagination of the observer.
In the middle of the chamber, on the top of the pillar, there appears to be monk draped in a long, dark cloak with his right hand clasping a cane.
Moving into the second chamber, visitors pass through a narrow “door”, naturally formed through erosion. The light here is mysterious and new images appear in the stone. The third chamber of the grotto is widely opened.
At the end of the grotto is a well of clear water. Looking up in the dim light we recognize that surrounded is the image of an ancient citadel and a scufile of elephants, horses, man with bristly sword and spear. All are making a rush and be petrified suddenly.
In this grotto remains an engraved stone stela singing the praises of Ha Long Bay ordered by Emperor Khai Dinh when he come to visit the grotto in 1917.
Source: collected by An
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