Halong Dark-Bright Cave

At the water-level, an arched entrance leads to the grotto, just at the base of the island. Passing through the pretty entrance, you come across a tranquil round lake, surrounded by luxuriant trees and high dangerous stone walls.

There are Benjamin fig trees shade the landscape and many orchids hang their sweet-scented flowers. In the lake, many species abound: shrimp, fish, crab and cuttle-fish.

This is an enclosed group of islands. It connects with the sea via a 4-meter-wide, 100-meter-long, and 3-meter-high mouth. Inside the grotto, the 1-km2 brackish lake is surrounded by mountains. On the cliff one still find traces of fossils of fresh-water snails, which prove that men used to live there and this must have been a deep valley then.

The beauty of the site, is the mingling of a number of factors: the mountain's size and form, the color of the water and the clouds.

Why is the name: "Dark and bright cave"?: It's very easy:

Dark cave: Because it's long and very dark. Passing this cave, we need to use a torch.

Bright cave: Because it's short and we can see from side to side clearly.

How do we get there and what's the best way to explore them?

This is area belong to Halong bay, but it's on the border of Halong Bay, Baitulong Bay and Lanha Bay. It's far from Surprise cave area around 2kms and will be take 01 hour more. The system of islets are really imposing. Exploring dark and bright cave, the best way is doing kayaking and swimming through the tunnel. We can visit bright cave easier because it doesn't depend on the tide. It's very difficult to go inside the dark cave because it's depend on the tide.

The best way to get there is book Halong legacy cruise tour, you will spend 2 nights on the Legacy Cruise and you will be visit Dark and bright cave on the second day.