North Vietnam takes pride in having natural beauty and strong culture. To relish more of this, another place to visit during a North Vietnam trip is a small city known as Ninh Binh.
Ninh Binh which is situated in the Red River delta (ask the guide to tell the history of Red River) is around 100kms from Hanoi and is a one day trip. My suggestion would be to pre-book the trip including guide, lunch and pickup and drop-off. The trip starts early as it takes almost around 3hrs from Hanoi city.
There are quite a few areas to explore in Ninh Binh like
1. Hang Mua Peak
This is the very first place you should visit because you will need all your energy. You have to climb up almost 500 steps to reach the top of the peak and its not easy specially on a rainy day. But take your time. While climbing up enjoy the every bit of the view around, feel your heavy breathing and don't just focus to reach the top. The view from the top is really soothing. Since the peak is a small space so you might feel bit crowded. Spend sometime here. You can see an entire stretch of the Sao Khe River, forest laden landscapes. You would love the breeze specially. At the top you will also find Buddha in the form of a lady! (something to find out). If you plan to visit it at last then come around the time of sunset I heard its extremely beautiful.
2. Mua Caves
After hiking the peak you can come down to visit the Mua Caves. These are naturally created opening in the mountains and serve as a resting place after hike and adore the nature further.
During the summers or the dry season one additional thing that adds to the beauty of the place is the rice fields around. Since I have visited during the monsoon so I missed that. As you know and I have mentioned in my other articles as well that every season have its advantages and disadvantages.
3. Boat Trip at Sao Khe River
One of the best experience of the Ninh Binh trip for sure. This boat ride lasts along 2 hours covering the entire stretch of the Sao Khe river. This ride will take you through caves, mountains walled stretch and small valleys. Contradictory to the rugged beauty around the water is not that clean so better to keep off it. I will try to give a feel of it with the picture. But do watch the video for a much better experience.
4. Cycle/Bike Ride
Well this is not an attraction and you may have done it in a lot of places but still I will suggest you do it again. I feel a cycle or a bike ride around a place gives you the feel of the place. You can ride from the boat station of the Sao Khe river to the Bich Dong Pagoda. The road is smooth and experience is peaceful. On the way you will find something wonderful like in the pictures.
There is a detour from the main road that takes you through the road side village and the route must be known to your guide. But I suggest you to take the route only if its a dry and sunny day.
5. Bich Dong Pagoda
This is an old structure and very similar to other pagodas but the glamour is very close to the nature unlike other pagodas. The pagoda compound is very peaceful and there is a cave adjacent to it. To reach this cave you have to again climb up like 100 steps.
Your trip will end here and the journey back to Hanoi city begins. In this entire one day trip the other things that you can do is taste local cuisine and explore the markets around. There are some places to see like a Bird Garden, some villages, temples etc but the major ones are mentioned above. You must keep a day for this place when you visit North Vietnam.
Do share your thoughts in the comment section below. And if you have missed my other articles on Vietnam the link is given below.
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