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Tien Ong is a famous natural cave lying between the stunning limestone of Halong Bay. Discovered by J.G. Anderson, a Swedish explorer in 1938, the cave has since become not just a natural beauty but also a valuable archaeological site.
Tien Ong in English means “Man Fairy”. This interesting name is because the cave is home to a giant stalagmite shaped like a male fairy with happy face, long white bread seems to blessing the cave and Halong Bay.
Unlike others in the bay, Tien Ong Cave is a strong proof of ancient Vietnamese. Through various research and findings, archaeologists and bay management had found thousands of relics and artifacts that date back 10,000–8000 years. These relics are in various forms, like stone axes, fishing hooks,… All was dedicatedly made and became important evidence for the research about ancient Vietnamese life in the past. Thanks to these valuable findings, Tien Ong is the one and only cave allowed to act as a live museum, and exhibit important findings in the cave and other areas of the bay.
Getting to Tien Ong Cave
The only way to travel to Tien Ong Cave is by boat. From Tuan Chau Marina, you could buy the entrance ticket for Travel Route No. 3, which covers Tien Ong together with Cua Van Village, Ba Dam Lake, and Ba Men Temple. The cost of a ticket is 290,000 VND per person.
But that’s only for the entrance. You’ll also need to rent a boat, which costs about 4,000,000 vnd (~167 USD) for 6 hours.
Best time to visit
The museum inside Tien Ong is open all year, so there’s no need to be too picky when choosing the right time to visit the cave. However, if you’d like to enjoy the dryness and clear sky of the scenery in the surroundings of Tien Ong, we suggest you travel from March to April. The weather at that time is cool, with very little rain and a decent temperature (18ºC ~ 30ºC).
November and December are the busiest months in Tien Ong Cave and Halong Bay, so avoid traveling during these months if you don’t want to be in a long queue.
