Ha Long
Halong is called the bay of the “Descending Dragon” from an old Vietnamese legend. Over 3000 beautiful islands in the bay were created by a dragon a long time ago who was ordered to halt an invasion. By flinging herself into the bay she dug the deep valleys and created the islands with bits of jade. This bay is located in the Gulf of Tonkin area which is about 1500 square kilometers. This is the only place in the world where you can see so many beautiful islands of limestone emerging from emerald water all with intriguing and varied shapes.
The islands in Ha Long Bay are mainly limestone and schist islands most lying in the two main areas: the southeastern part of Bai Tu Long Bay and southwestern part of Hạ Long Bay. These islands represent the most ancient images of a geographical site having a tectonic age of from 250 million to 280 million years. They are the result of many times of rising and lowering processes of the continent to form a karst. The process of nearly full erosion and weathering of the karst created the unique Hạ Long Bay in the world. In a not very large area, thousands of islands with different forms look like glittering emeralds attached to the blue scarf of a virgin. The area where many stone islands concentrate has spectacular scenes and world-famous caves and is the center of Ha Long Bay Natural Heritage, including HaLong Bay and a part of Bai Tu Long Bay.
Although the name Ha Long Bay is often used to describe the entire area, it refers only to a section of a vast archipelago of thousands of limestone pinnacles stretching nearly a hundred kilometers from Haiphong to the east.
The almost perpendicular peaks conceal the remains of many caves and grottos, their entrances exposed when part of the tower wall collapsed, but now concealed by subsequent rock falls and dense vegetation.
Some caves were already known, and others have been discovered recently, but expert opinion is that they represent only a fraction of those still hidden from view. Three large caves in the heart of the area protected as World Heritage have been made accessible to visitors. Many smaller caves can be visited, but often require a scramble across rocks and through unlit passages.
In the southwest corner of Ha Long Bay is Cat Ba, a large ‘karst’ limestone island full of small mountains covered in verdant forest. Part of the island is a National Park, rich in flora and fauna including one of the most endangered species of monkey in the world. Cat Ba also boasts two small, but pleasant, sandy beaches.
To the east is Bai Tu Long Bay. Although not quite matching the range of geological attributes of its illustrious neighbors, it is equally attractive and benefits from being less visited. Bai Tu Long, and particularly Quan Lan island, has by far the best beaches in northern Vietnam. Most are more or less empty, but tourism facilities are limited.
Hạ Long Bay is also attached to glorious pages of Vietnamese history, with famous sites such as Vân Ðồn, a bustling trade port in the 12th century, charming Bài Thơ Mountain, and not very far away from here is the Bạch Đằng River which witnessed two famous naval battles of the Viêt’s ancestors against invaders. Also, Hạ Long is one of the cradles of human kind with the glorious Hạ Long culture in the late Neolithic age, discovered at such archeological sites as Ðộng Mang, Xích Thổ, Soi Nhụ and Thoi Giếng. Hạ Long is also home to great biodiversity with typical eco-systems like mangrove forest, coral and tropical forest. It is also home to thousands of plants and animals of numerous species, for example shrimp, fish and squid. Some species are particularly rare and can be found no where else. Because of its beauty and rich natural resources, Halong Bay was recognized by UNESCO as Natural World Heritage Site in 1995 and again in 2000 for its wealth of biological forms. The area is recognized as the World Natural Heritage that is the area of 434 sq. km with 775 islands. It looks like a giant triangle with Ðầu Gỗ Island (in the west), Ba Hầm Lake (in the south) and Cống Tây Island (in the east) as its three angle points.Visit to Halong bay, it seems like you come to different mysterious world in the fairy tales, leaving behind all the stress or worry of the busy life.