When viewed from above, Halong Bay, with its rocky peaks rising from emerald waters, looks like a wonderful work of art created by the Creator himself. Exploring it, you feel lost in the fabulous world of stone islands that form a sea landscape of fantastic beauty. Due to the characteristic topography, most of the islands are uninhabited and hardly affected by human activities.
Halong Bay, located in the Gulf of Tonkin, bordering the East China Sea (in the east), has an area of just over 1,500 square kilometers. It is the center of a large area that includes Bai Tu Long Bay (in the northeast) and Cat Ba Island (in the northwest). All areas have similar geographical, geological, geomorphic, climatic and cultural features. The coastline is 120 kilometers. This part of the country, close to the border with China, is known as Dong Bac (Northeast Vietnam). Halong bay -the area of residence of many fishing communities, including four communes (Kiaavan, Kong Tau, Vong Vieng, Bahang) with a population of more than 1600 people. People live in houseboats mounted on barges, engage in fishing and aquaculture.
Geologists explain the formation of this submerged karst landscape as follows: in the Paleozoic era (between 543 and 250 million years ago), the place was in the open sea. Then a thick layer of precipitation formed. As a result of the movements of the earth's crust, which pushed out the seabed, rocky systems were formed. Rains and underground streams have carved out numerous grottoes over the course of geological time. The collapse of some grottoes added to the formation of a fabulous landscape, composed of a group of conical peaks (fengkong), rising an average of 100 meters (sometimes more than 200 meters) above sea level, and isolated turrets (fenglin) with a height of 50 to 100 meters. Many of them have vertical walls on almost all sides and continue to change as a result of falling rocks and boulders.
The extensive limestone caves that characterize Halong Bay are divided into three main types. Old phreatic, formed below the groundwater level, ancient karst, formed at the foot of rocks due to lateral erosion, and marine - at sea level. Erosion due to constant successive regressions and progressions of the sea is another important factor in addition to the natural process of erosion of rocky islands. The main trench, dug along the entire length of the rocky coast -wonderful illustration of this. Gutters are a common feature of rocky escarpments all over the world, but Halong Bay, with its picturesque formations in various places in the form of arches and grottoes, is especially revealing. Large islands are distinguished by an abundance of lakes.
One of the most famous is Ba Ham on Dau Be. It is a lake system enclosed by rocks on all sides, consisting of three large sea basins connected by narrow and winding cave tunnels. At the entrance to the first one, visitors are greeted by a forest of stalactites and stalagmites, forming bizarre images of different sizes and colors. Several types of orchids, fig trees, palm trees grow on the island. Among the representatives of the animal world, the main inhabitants are golden monkeys, flying squirrels, bats, and several species of birds. Despite the fact that Dau Be is located at a distance of almost 25 kilometers from the coastline, it is considered one of the main tourist areas in the area.
To enjoy the magnificent nature of the area, you can join the cruise tour. Many travel agencies offering excursions are located not only on the shores of the bay, but also in Haiphong and Hanoi. In general, in Vietnam, one of the most recommended routes for tourists is Halong Bay. Hotels in major cities in the country where tourists reside also offer cruise booking services.
