Hang Mua

Useful Information

Location:	Khe Ha Village, Ninh Xuan Commune, Hoa Lu District (20.229388, 105.933953)
Open:	All year daily 7-18. [2021]
Fee:	Adults VND 100.000. [2021]
Classification:	Stone Forest Karst cave
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Hang Mua.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

Description

Hang Mua (Cave of the Dance) became quite famous for both Vietnamese and international travelers after it appeared in the movie King Kong. This cave is located in the foot of Núi Ngoạ Long (Lying Dragon Mountain), a peak with a long series of stone staircases with 500 steps leading to the top. The outlook from the karst tower is breathtaking. The karst tower is only 500 m long and 200 m wide, the limestone rock is darkened by the rain and shows pinnacles and karren. The actual cave inside is not very spectacular, there is not a single picture on the web of the cave, only of the outlook. Actually, it would be better to call it Mua Outlook. That's the reason why we classified this site as a karst feature, the main thing here is the karren, the stone forest, and the view. The pinnacles alone make this site well worth a listing.

Nevertheless, there are actually two caves, Hang Mua (Cave of the Dance) and Dong Hoang Ho (Tiger Cave). King Tran arrived in Ninh Binh and built the Thai Vi Temple. During the construction, Mua Cave was used for dance performances of beautiful women. As a result, the cave was named Cave of the Dance or Hang Mua in Vietnamese. Tiger Cave is a tiny cave with an altar and a huge, more than life-size tiger sculpture inside. On the top of the mountain is an altar for Quan Am, the Goddess of Mercy. It has a huge statue of the goddess made of white marble.