Interesting facts about Ha Long Bay, a must-visit destination once in a lifetime-Travel

The destination is like a watercolor painting of nature, endowed with perfect beauty by nature.

Ha Long Bay is a small bay on the west coast of the Gulf of Tonkin in the Northeastern Sea region of Vietnam, including the sea and islands of Ha Long city in Quang Ninh province. Is a world famous scenic spot with emerald green water and soaring rocky islands covered with dense tropical forests.

In 1994, Ha Long Bay was recognized by the World Heritage Committee – UNESCO as a world natural heritage bay with outstanding global value in terms of aesthetics.

1. Ha Long Bay is made up of nearly 2 thousand islands

Ha Long Bay is limited to an area of ​​​​about 1,553 km² including 1,969 large and small islands, most of which are limestone islands, of which the core area of ​​​​the bay has an area of ​​​​335 km² densely clustered with 775 islands. The limestone tectonic history of the bay has spanned about 500 million years with very different paleo-geographical circumstances.

Most islands are named based on their format and appearance.

The island looks like someone’s face facing the mainland (Human’s Head Island); the island is like a dragon hovering over the water (Dragon island); the island is like an old man sitting fishing (La Vong island); In the distance are two brown sails turning the waves to the sea (Canh Sail Island).

2. Ha Long Bay has been inhabited for a long time

Archaeologists have found evidence of humans living on the islands dating back 18,000 years.

In 1937, Mr. Vu Xuan Tao was digging sand to make glass materials by accident when he discovered a stone ax on Ngoc Vung island. This discovery caused a stir among French archaeologists at that time, initially determining that Ha Long was not only a natural wonder but also the cradle of prehistoric people.

There have been more than 40 archaeological sites in Ha Long Bay with many relics from different eras such as Soi Nhu culture (16000 – 5000 BC), Cai Beo (5000 – 3000 BC) or Ha Long (3500 – 3500 BC) culture. 5000 years ago).

3. Unique floating village in Ha Long Bay

Ha Long Bay is home to a number of small communities living on floating villages hidden behind the mountains. Currently, there are only 4 floating villages left, namely Cua Van, Vung Vieng, Cong Dam and Ba Hong, which are considered the most unique villages in the world.

Now those villages are gradually being restored and renewed with many inherent values. Since 2016, Ha Long Bay Management Board has chosen to restore more than 20 raft houses and 2 classrooms in Cua Van and Vung Vieng areas, recreating the cultural space of the old fishing village to form a product complex. tourism featured.

4. Not every island in Ha Long Bay can be stepped on

Not all islands in Ha Long Bay can be visited or roamed around. Many of the islands have steep, treacherous landscapes, some of which have never even been inhabited by humans.

5. Ha Long Bay is a paradise of wild animals

Ha Long Bay is home to biodiversity with 2 typical ecosystems: “tropical moist evergreen closed forest ecosystem” and “marine and coastal ecosystem”.

Ha Long only reaches a depth of about 10 meters, but it is home to an incredible variety of marine life. Experts have recorded around 1,000 marine species in the area, including 450 different species of mollusks and at least 200 species of fish, making it a destination for scuba diving and snorkeling.

On land visitors can get up close to animals such as monkeys, birds, lizards and antelopes. Cat Ba National Park is home to 32 mammal species, including most of the remaining 65 species of golden-headed langur, the world’s most endangered primate.

6. Legend of Ha Long Bay

Ha Long” is also associated with the legend of the origin of the Vietnamese people as “The Dragon, the grandson of the Fairy”, associated with the legend of the herd of dragons coming down to help the Vietnamese fight foreign invaders and protect the country.

The story is said: “Once upon a time, when the Vietnamese were just establishing their country, once when Vietnam was invaded by foreign invaders, heaven sent the Mother Dragon to bring a flock of baby dragons down to help the Vietnamese fight the enemy. When the enemy ships from the sea rushed to attack the shore, the dragons also descended. The Dragons immediately spewed out countless pearls, which suddenly turned into countless towering stone islands, linked together like a solid wall, suddenly blocking the enemy’s advance.

The enemy ships that were rushing at a fast speed were suddenly stopped and crashed into the rocky islands, crashing into each other and smashing into pieces. After the war was over, the mother dragon and baby dragon did not return to heaven, but stayed in the lower world – where the battle had just taken place. The place where the mother dragon descends is Ha Long, where the baby dragon descends is Bai Tu Long. The tail of the dragon wagging white is Long Vi

7. Ha Long Bay is home to important caves

Ha Long Bay is likened by many tourists to an ink painting of nature, endowed by nature with a perfect beauty. And in that ink painting, in addition to “water and rock” as many people often say, this place is also famous for its beautiful and unique caves. Some of the most famous caves include Sung Sot Cave on Bo Hon Island, Thien Cung Cave on Van Canh Island…

During the resistance war against the Yuan – Mongols. Here, Tran Hung Dao prepared many spiked ironwood stakes to plug into the Bach Dang river bed, creating a resounding naval battle in history. Because there are still many pieces of wood left over, the fishermen called it Dau Go cave.