Cat Ba Island – The true heaven
Cat Ba archipelago consists of 367 islands located south of Ha Long Bay. Among them, Cat Ba Island is an attractive destination for tourists. This place has the typical scenery of Ha Long Bay with limestone mountains and calm blue sea.
- Meaning of the name and historic stories.
Cat Hai island district has many legends and myths woven with the wisdom and emotions of the island’s people for many generations.
Islanders today tell each other that, for a long time, this limestone island was once the base of the women who planted, gathered, and provided food for the men at the front to fight against the enemy. so the ancients named this island Cac Ba Island and later incorrectly called it Cat Ba Island.
According to another folk tale of the Northeast region, Cat Ba island was originally the harem of the first man to explore and break rocks in this area. When he discovered a precious bay with many beautiful islands that was later named Ha Long, it was also the time he had to support many lonely girls at the same time, whose husbands had never returned. After many uncertain sea voyages. Then, in order to have free time to explore the Hon Gai and Bai Chay areas, he gathered all the women to live on a beautiful, prosperous, isolated island in the middle of the sea, located in Lan Ha Bay. Therefore, later, the land of Bai Chay and Hon Gai was called Grandfather’s Land, and the other island was called Cac Ba Island. Through many changes, ups and downs, now there are two remaining places, Cua Ong (Quang Ninh) and Cat Ba (Hai Phong), which were created by different names.
There is another story associated with Vietnam’s history of defending the country that, when fighting against the invading Yuan army, national hero Tran Hung Dao chose this Northeast sea area as a place to gather, train troops, and store troops. Herbs. The caves in this sea area are all mobilized to hide military supplies and hide our military ships and boats. Therefore, the sea area on the Ha Long side was chosen as a military area – today there is also Dau Go Cave, which is said to be the place where our troops hid the iron-covered wooden stakes that made the famous Bach Dang victory, and the sea area The side of Lan Ha Bay is the place to store food and provide medical care, and is the area governed by the Ladies. That’s why it was called Cua Duc Ong, Dao Cac Ba, later changed to Cua Ong, Cat Ba…
- What to see and visit in Cat Ba Island.
- Lan Ha Bay.
The bay is located in the east, and is a member of the Most Beautiful Bays in the World (MBBW) Club Association. This place has calm and blue waters.
At Cai Beo wharf, tourists buy scenic tickets for 2 USD per person, then take a boat or boat to Lan Ha. Private boat rental prices are about 90 – 230 USD for 2.5 – 4 and 6 hours respectively, the boat can carry 25 people. Motorboats cost 20 – 40 USD, corresponding to the type that can carry 5 – 10 people.
Tourists should buy a tour to save money, about 7 – 10 USD per person with lunch. Popular itineraries include visiting the bay and ancient fishing village, swimming and scuba diving at some pristine beaches, and free kayaking.
- Cai Beo ancient fishing village.
The village is also called Vung O, considered the oldest fishing village in Vietnam. Coming here, visitors can learn firsthand the lifestyle of people for thousands of years. Stepping onto the raft house, rowing between floating rafts, buying seafood… are experiences not to be missed. This is the destination of a popular one-day exploration tour from Cat Ba island.
- Monkey Island.
Previously, it was also called Cat Dua because it grew many wild pineapple trees. On the island there are more than 20 monkeys. When many tourists come, they become more bold, go to the beach to play and ask for food. There are two arc-shaped beaches, Cat Dua 1 and Cat Dua 2, where visitors can avoid crowds. All beaches have food services, resort bungalows, and rental of bathing suits, life jackets, and kayaks. One day tour to explore Lan Ha Bay stops by here.
- Cat Ba National Park.
This is also a world biosphere reserve. Visitors can choose to climb the mountain for 4 – 8 hours, or a shorter route of about 2 hours. Walking, cycling, motorbike or car for 2 – 3 hours is also the choice of many people. Visitors can go through the green Kim Giao forest, go to Ngu Lam peak to see the panorama of the national park, see wild animals at night, explore caves…
- Military Hospital Cave.
This is a unique destination, about 8.5 km from the town center, on the way to the national park. The cave is a field hospital, built from 1963 – 1965. Entering the cave, many visitors are surprised to see a system of 17 rooms located on three floors; There is a treatment room, a rehabilitation exercise area, a movie theater…;. has a bomb-proof door design, born during the war.
- Trung Trang Cave.
Located in the same direction as Quan Y cave, visitors should visit the cave, about 300 meters long through the mountain, and can accommodate hundreds of people. The system of stalactites and stalagmites here is large, multi-shaped, sparkling, about 6 million years old, and continues to be formed by dripping water. This place also contains archaeological remains of ancient Vietnamese people.
- Cannon Fort.
To both visit and rest, visitors can go to the Than Cong fortress relic area, also known as Peak 177. The two large cannons and trench system on the top of the mountain were built in the 1940s and are still quite good. intact. What attracts many tourists is the high location, from here you can have a panoramic view of the bay. This place is suitable for watching the sunrise and sunset on the island.
- Beautiful beaches on Cat Ba Island.
If you don’t have time to explore the islands outside the bay, go to the central beaches. Among them, Cat Co beach and Tung Thu beach are visited by many people. These beaches are spacious, calm, with blue water and easy to navigate.
- How to go from Cat Ba to Ninh Binh.
The distance from Cat Ba to Ninh Binh is 190 km. Currently there is no airport near Ninh Binh, so the most suitable means of transportation you can choose to get to Ninh Binh is the passenger car. The average travel time from Cat Ba to Ninh Binh is about 4-5 hours, including taking the ferry from Cat Ba to Hai Phong.
Many bus options are possible, limousine bus (16 USD) or normal seater bus (14 USD)
Don’t forget to contact Trang An Ecorest Resort & Spa – (+84 915 702 099) or visit us at www.tranganecorestresort.com if you need any support!
Trang An Ecorest Resort & Spa
Image source: Internet
