When mentioning Ha Long, people will immediately think of deep caves and 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, mysterious beauty, ideal for those who love natural landscapes.
Overview of 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 the 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 visitors on their journey to explore Ha Long. Located peacefully on Dau Go Island in the Ha Long Bay scenic complex, the grotto covers up to 5,000 m². It was formed in the Pleistocene period about 2 million years ago, with a tectonic age equivalent to that of its nearby neighbor, Thien Cung Cave.
Located at an altitude of 27m above sea level, Dau Go Cave features a rich flora and fauna, with a massive, majestic architecture. The cave’s climate changes with the seasons, usually warm in winter, with temperatures ranging from 20 to 22 degrees Celsius in summer. Upon arriving here, visitors will admire a natural masterpiece featuring 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?
As part of the Ha Long Bay scenic complex, Dau Go offers many ways to visit. 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.
If you go on your own, you can go to the ferry terminal area of Tuan Chau Island, then rent a boat to visit the grotto on tour “route number 1” in 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 falling 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, depending on the observer’s imagination.
In the middle of the chamber, on the top of the pillar, there appears to be a 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 open.
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 sculpture of elephants, horses, and a man with a bristly sword and spear. All are rushing and are suddenly petrified.
In this grotto remains an engraved stone stela that sings the praises of Ha Long Bay, commissioned by Emperor Khai Dinh when he visited the grotto in 1917.
Source: collected by An
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