The Driftwood Cave

Halong bay in Vietnam’s Northeast Region is quite possibly the most beautiful place on earth. A high claim for sure, but not one stated without good reason. 500 million years in the making this UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the Seven Wonders of Nature is spectacular, magnificent and completely without equal. There is much to see and do in this area, and one must see location has to be The Dau Go or Driftwood Cave Located on an island of the same name it is a remarkable place. Seen from a distance, the entrance to the grotto looks to be blue. It is shaped like a jellyfish.

After landing on the island tourists have to walk up 90 steps in order to reach the entrance. This cave is mightily impressive. The ceiling of the grotto is about 80 feet high. There are literally hundreds of stalactites hanging down from the ceiling, so many in fact that they take on the appearance of a waterfall. Dau Go Cave is divided into three main chambers: The first chamber is a room with a vault, with plenty of natural light, filtering in from above. Here the rock formations take on many forms, visitors can use their imaginations to make of them what they will. Access to the second chamber is through a narrow passage. The light here will play tricks with your eyes as you try to pick out the many shapes that Vietnamese people say are hidden within sight of everyone. The third chamber of the grotto has a wide opening. At the far end, is a well holding crystal clear water.

Legend has it that here there are the images of an ancient citadel and a herd of elephants, horses & men carrying swords and spears. They appear to have been frozen in time, as if by some magic. The Driftwood gets its name from a popular tale of the resistance war against the Yuan – Mongolian aggressors. In battle, Tran Hung Ðao was given the order to prepare many ironwood stakes to be planted on the riverbed of Bach Dang River. The remaining wooden pieces found in the cave created its name. In the book, “Marvels of the World,” published in France in the late 1930s, the author called it “Grotte des Merveilles”, the site of many marvels. It truly is and many people now visit it to see them. The tour guides are informative and humorous and help you pick out the rock formations about which many legends have been born.