Exploring scenic landscape of Dau Rong Mountain

4/1/2021 - 5:46:10 PM

(HBO) – Stretching for more than 1km, Dau Rong (Dragon Head) Mountain in the shape of a giant dragon prostrating is not only an imposing landscape complex in Cao Phong town of Cao Phong district but also home to a large number of historical relics related to the local land and people.

Located in Cao Phong town (Cao Phong district), Dau Rong Mountain with a magnificent cave system is an attractive destination for many visitors.

Dau Rong Mountain houses a complex of six main caves, namely Phong Son Cave, Nhan Long Son Cave, Hoa Son Thach Cave, Khong Day (Bottomless) Cave, Thanh Thuy Cave, and Nuoc (Water) Cave.

The first cave in this system is Hoa Son Thach, which is described as a waiting room. It has a depth of about 300 metres and features five main spaces filled with colourful stalactites and stalagmites.

This place is attractive to tourists also thanks to a fairy tale behind it. Legend has it that denying a forced marriage with a rich man, the most beautiful girl in the Muong Thang area left her home to live alone in the cave. Sorrowing and missing her lover, she wept until exhaustion. The Heaven Emperor pitied the girl and transformed her soul into a fairy keeping the palace that was the cave. The palace was splendidly decorated with numerous stalactites hanging down like curtains, along with a crystal clear lake inside reflecting the rocks above.

Located more than 100 metres from Hoa Son Thach Cave, Khong Day Cave is known for not only sparkling stalactites and stalagmites in various shapes but also a very deep pit that seems to be bottomless. Many tourists have tried to measure the depth of this pit by throwing stone into it, but most of them didn’t hear the falling sound.

On the left of the mountain is Nhan Long Son Cave, dubbed a dragon eye. It features countless hollow stalactites that create different sounds when struck. The sounds resemble those of gongs and panpipes, making the stalactites here lively.

Phong Son Cave, located halfway up the mountain, has the highest altitude – nearly 200 metres above the foot of the mountain. It is one of the caves with the most colourful stalactites. One of its unique features is the sound of wind blowing into the cave, turning the site into natural wind chimes.

Dau Rong Mountain is special thanks to not only high-altitude caves but also the ones deep under the ground. Apart from the four dry caves, there are also two wet caves named Nuoc and Thanh Thuy. To explore Nuoc Cave that is about 400 metres long, visitors can go by boat. Meanwhile, the 300-metre-long Thanh Thuy Cave is home to groundwater arteries, an alluvial ground about 20 metres long and three – five metres wide, as well as a flock of hundreds of bats.

Thanks to its uniqueness in terms of geology and biosphere, Dau Rong Mountain was listed as a national landscape by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. A temple named Bong Lai at the base of the mountain was rehabilitated by Cao Phong authorities, adding to the attractiveness of this site to tourists from far and wide./.

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