DAU RONG MOUNTAIN TOURISM AREA

Dau Rong Mountain cave complex is located in Zone 3, Cao Phong town, Cao Phong district, only 15km from the center of Hoa Binh city, Hoa Binh province (nearly 80km from Hanoi). Cao Phong is a land with a long history, with many beautiful landscapes containing many legends, mountains, and many places that have been appeared in poems and compositions like legendary stories. Among the relics of the Cao Phong district, the highlight is the Dau Rong Mountain cave complex which has been classified as a National monument by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism (Decision No. 2134/QĐ-BVHTTDL of June 6, 2012).

The Dau Rong mountain is stretched like a giant dragon that is prostrating which creates a southeastern city wall of Cao Phong town, nearly 500m to the east of Highway 6. This mountain range’s length is more than 1km, the height is approximately 200m above the foot of the mountain. The beautiful caves linked together to form a landscape complex with a world of shimmering stalactites. Each cave is a wonderful wonder on the land of Cao Phong that is bestowed by nature, including Hoa Son Thach cave, Khong Day cave, Phong Son cave, Nhan Long Son cave, Hang Nuoc, and Thanh Thuy cave. Those are fairly evenly distributed in the mountains range, the distance among the caves is only a few hundred meters.

The whole mountain range is shaped like a dragon, its 2 eyes are 2 lakes (water flowing from the inside of the mountain, providing water for orange, sugarcane, vegetables and for most people in the Zone 3 of Cao Phong town).

Among the beautiful and famous caves in Dau Rong mountain, it must be mentioned Hoa Son Thach cave. This is one of the longest and most beautiful dry caves. When entering the cave, visitors will be overwhelmed by the forest stalactites. The deeper the cave is, the more stone pillars rise, the space is more mysterious. Here, visitors can feel every cave in the complex has its own beauty. Hoa Son Thach cave has a length of 500m and is divided into 5 main rooms, each room has its own attractive beauty, one is like a royal garden where beautiful flowers have been created by skillfully hand of the nature which created a fairy tale about the eternal love; one is like a junction between heaven and earth; one has a clear blue lake all year round and the water is not exhausted. One is also endowed with stones with many beauty, different shapes, etc. All of the beauty are the gift from the Mother Nature.

Nhan Long cave (Dragon’ Eye) (lying on the left eye of the dragon) is like a Zen temple with countless Buddhas and Saints in the spirit world. The whole complex is a complete work infatuated with people's hearts.

Tourists continue to visit Khong Day cave which also known as the gold cave, silver cave, because there are many stalactites in the cliffs, (the cave has a length of about 200m including the niches). The cave is located in the west of Hoa Son Thach cave. It is located at an altitude of about 120m above the ground, that means it is a bit lower, and is located inside Hoa Son Thach cave. Inside the cave, there is a deep well, its pit ring is about 10m x 7m wide. When holding a large stone thrown into the crater, you cannot hear the echo like a bottomless pit. So far, no one including the best local climbers has not dared to explore. That's why the local people called the cave with the name Khong Day (bottomless). The cave is quite long, its floor is dry, the winding road creates many rooms. Each room has beautiful scenes that captivate people.

Next, tourists come to Nhan Long Son cave which is located in the Southeast of Dau Rong mountain range, about 50 meters from the Khong Day cave to the Northwest. The cave is located at an altitude of 40 meters above the foot of the mountain. It has a length of 150 meters (excluding niches). The cave entrance is wide and airy, natural light can reach inside to about 10 meters. From the cave entrance, looking down over the whole Cao Phong town with fields of sugarcane and bright orange hills. Here visitors will admire the soft lines of stone pillars, stalagmites, standing majestically amidst the cave as an eternal symbol of the past.

Tourists also can hardly ignore the Phong Son cave which is located halfway up the mountain. The road to the cave is under the forest canopy, following the rocky cliffs, close to the cave entrance, the first thing that visitors feel is a very strong, a bit cold wind from the mountain out, dispel all the heat, tired on the way, perhaps that is why the people here have named Phong Son cave (mountain wind cave).

Hang Nuoc is located in the northwest of Dau Rong mountain, 300 meters from Thanh Thuy Cave to the southeast. The cave entrance is near the ground to the Northwest. The cave is 400 meters long (excluding niches). Visitors will find inside the cave is a stream of cool, clear water flowing gently from the mountain. If tourists want to explore inside, they must go by boat, the water level in the cave is shallow to only the calf, the depth from 5 meters to 8 meters. A boat floating gently, probably not easy to forget because of the beautiful scenery of the cave, what a strange beauty. But the more vivid feature is that there are a lot of bats inhabiting, they wrap together in clusters chants to call their partner. It is so romantic.

The next destination is Thanh Thuy cave. If the entrance of Hang Nuoc is the outflow of water, the Thanh Thuy cave entrance is rising water of the underground water near the middle of the cave erupting (called the upper stream) flowing into the cave, then at the end, it joins with the bottom stream flowing from east to west. The water which gushes up from the underground water is so clear that people in this area are called Thanh Thuy cave (clearwater cave). During the high water season, the water in the cave rises high, visitors cannot visit inside. When stepping down, in front of tourists' eyes is beautiful scenery. On the right-hand side, from the vertical, rough cave walls, they will see a waterfall is flowing down the cave. On the left-hand side, there are the gray stalactites, solid and strong like the musketeers standing guard. 

The tourist destination Dau Rong mountain and caves complex welcomes tourists to visit on the occasion of celebrating Year of the Horse (February 3, 2014). Through the first 6 months of 2014, the destination has welcomed more 12,000 domestic and international visitors.

Cao Phong tourism potential has been known for its historical and cultural relics such as the revolutionary base of Cao Phong Thach Yen, Flower garden in Coi mountain, Khanh pagoda, Quoen Ang pagoda, Thac Bo temple, Cu Chinh Lan monument, etc. Now, the Dau Rong mountain and cave complex with the magical beauty is associated with the mysterious sacredness, creating attraction and spreading for tourists to research and visit annually in Cao Phong district, Hoa Binh province.

Address: Dau Rong mountain tourism area

Zone III, Cao Phong town, Cao Phong district, Hoa Binh province