With its wild beauty created entirely by nature, without human impact, Nguom Ngao Cave (Cao Bang) becomes even more attractive, majestic, and magnificent.
Geographical location and origin of the cave’s name
Nguom Ngao Cave is also known as Ngao Cave. The cave was discovered in 1921, put into tourism exploitation in 1996 and recognized as a national scenic spot in 1998. This majestic cave is hidden in the heart of a mountain in Gun village, Dam Thuy commune, Cao Bang province.
The cave has a very strange name, Nguom Ngao, but beneath it lies a fascinating legend. Nguom Ngao in the Tay language means “Tiger Cave”. Legend has it that in the past, many fierce tigers lived in the cave; they often entered the surrounding villages to prey on local livestock. The local people set traps to catch all the tigers and have been living in peace ever since. Therefore, the Tay people named the cave Nguom Ngao.
However, there is another story about the name Nguom Ngao: it is due to an underground stream with a meter-high accumulation of pebbles that flows into the Quay Son River, murmuring day and night and echoing off the cave walls like a tiger’s roar, hence the name of the cave.
Unique landscape inside Nguom Ngao Cave
The part of the cave surveyed by the British Royal Cave Association in 1995 is 2,144m long with 3 main entrances: Nguom Ngao, Nguom Lom, and Ban Thuon. According to scientists, this limestone cave contains many fossils of corals and sea lilies and was formed in an ancient sea about 400 million years ago. In the summer, the cave’s temperature makes visitors feel cool; in the winter, it is very warm.
According to the 2016 survey results of the Institute of Geology and Minerals, Nguom Ngao Cave is 2,769.6m long, 61.1m deep, with 2 active cave floors (at stream level) and fossil floors (about 50m higher than the stream). The cave has 5 doors at altitudes ranging from 420 to 507m above sea level.
Currently, the Cave Management Board has only exploited tourism for a section of the cave 945.8m long with 2 doors.
Entering the cave, visitors are overwhelmed by the natural landscape with many strange stalactites.
In the cave, there are many chambers, floors, stairs, corridors of all sizes; many stalactites, stalagmites, columns, stone borders… of all shapes, associated with coral trees, ships, golden falls, silver falls, upside-down lotuses, lonely stone pillars, terraced fields. All are created by nature, with a magnificent, magical landscape that is “one of a kind.”
In particular, the stalactites in the cave have a different color from those in other local caves because of the amount of calcium mixed with various impurities, which reflects shimmering, magical light.
Not only are the stalactites impressive, but inside the cave, there are also many small streams. The water flows murmuring, making a pleasant sound. Because of the stream, the air here is always cool. And when they come in here between May and September, visitors can take a boat tour through the cave, which is very interesting.
Source: collected by An
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