Ninh Binh's Travel Experience From A to Z
14-Jun-2019
Ninh Binh, a land famous for its pristine nature and charming landscape has become a new tourist destination in recent years, not only in Vietnam but also in the world, attracting millions of foreign visitors annually.
Located just nearly 100km from Hanoi, Ninh Binh is a popular tourist destination that attracts both domestic and foreign visitors thanks to its beautiful landscapes and many famous cultural and spiritual tourist sites. Each season has its own beauty and charisma, so visitors can travel to Ninh Binh at any time of the year.
Almost every visitors coming to Ninh Binh cannot help admiring the gentle and poetic yet still breathtaking beauty with a series of landscapes such as Trang An, Tam Coc - Bich Dong, Van Long lagoon, etc. Each place is characterized by extremely different and profound features, creating a highlight to attract more and more visitors.
Transportation to Ninh Binh
Bus: Ninh Binh is only about 100km away from Hanoi, so bus is the most convenient means of transportation. Visitors can choose any bus at any time because the North-South buses run continuously.
Train: You can travel from Hanoi to Ninh Binh by SE7 (starts at 6:15) or SE5 (starts at 9:00) trains. Train is safe and cheap, but it can be inconvenient in terms of time. When you buy tickets, you should not choose the late trains because it may affect your schedule.
Plane: If you are in provinces far from Ninh Binh, you can fly to Hanoi, then continue to travel to Ninh Binh by motorbike, car or train.
Motorbike: If you like the feeling of traveling by motorbike on a long distance, you can also ride motorcycles with travel time of about 2 hours to have the opportunity to view the two sides of the road. Remember to run at the right speed and equip yourself with the necessary personal items to ensure your health and safety!
Hotel reservations in Ninh Binh (Where to stay?)
Ninh Binh has many hotels and motels with a wide range of budget, from modest to luxury, depending on the conditions and schedules of tourists. Some highly suggested hotels are Hoang Son Peace Hotel, Thuy Anh Hotel, Thanh Binh Hotel, Trang An Hotel, Non Nuoc Hotel, etc. In addition, there are high-end resorts like Emeralda Hotel - Resort & Spa in Van Long or Cuc Phuong resort in Cuc Phuong or Tam Coc Garden in Tam Coc Bich Dong.
Ninh Binh cuisine (What to eat?)
Ninh Binh mountain goat
This famous specialty is present at almost every restaurant in Ninh Binh. Ninh Binh mountain goats are raised on cliffs, fed with leaves of medicinal plants, so the meat is very fragrant, firm and nutritious. There are about 20 different ways to process goat meat such as goat cooked with rice husk, rare cooked goat meat, goat blood pudding, stir-fried goat meat, etc.
Kim Son “ca nhech” salad - Vietnamese salad made with small fried local paddy field eel
Tourists who enjoy this special dish will remember it forever because of the aroma and rich taste of the sticky rice, the sour taste of vinegar combined with the spicy and warm taste of ginger and chilli.
Ninh Binh mountain snails
Every year in the rainy and wet season, from around April to August, in the limestone mountain in Tam Hiep commune, Nho Quam district often appears this famous mountain snails. Snails often eat wild grass on the mountain, including precious medicinal plants. So snail meat is tough, crispy, sweet and very nutritious. Tourists can enjoy steamed snails with ginger, or stir-fry them with chilli and lemongrass, or mix them with salad.
Famous destinations (Where to go?)
Am Tien Cave (Tuyet Tinh Coc)
Am Tien Cave, or often called with the name full of the art of swordplay: Tuyet Tinh Coc of Ninh Binh, is located in Hoa Lu Ancient Capital. Most of the area of Am Tien cave is flooded and surrounded by rocky cliffs. It used to be an ancient crocodile pond to treat prisoners. Before, Am Tien Cave is located in the middle of the mountain, so visitors had to climb through 205 stone steps to the cliff, but now there is a tunnel through the mountain into the cave. The cave is shaped like a dragon's mouth so it is also called “Dragon's cave”. Many stalactites have a shape of rice plant, money tree, Buddha’s hand, lotus flower buds and drops of water.
Tam Coc - Bich Dong
Located only 7 km to the South of Ninh Binh city, it is a famous scenic spot of Ninh Binh which is often referred to as the "Inland Ha Long Bay". It owns thousands of limestone mountains along the river, creating a very spectacular landscape. Coming to this place, visitors have the opportunity to row around the Ngo Dong river that runs through the cliffs, discover mysterious caves, watch the golden rice fields..., all creating a "fairyland" that charms many tourists.
Trang An
Trang An has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural and Natural Heritage site. With its pristine and charming natural landscapes created from rivers running through the limestone mountains, intermingling with fanciful and mysterious caves, and similar to Tam Coc Bich Dong, coming to Trang An, visitors will have the opportunity to sail through the mountains and water, and explore the famous caves such as: Sang Cave (Light Cave), Toi Cave (Dark Cave), Nau Ruou Cave (Wine Cave), etc. Especially if you come here in autumn, you can admire the water lily flowers blooming radiantly on the water, making the place even more poetic and romantic.
Mua Cave
Mua Cave is located at the foot of Mua mountain, in Ninh Xuan commune, Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh. It is assumed that the road to the cave seems to be similar to the “Great Wall of China” with 500 stone steps to the top. This place is favored by tourists as a great choice in the season of ripening rice, because from the top of the Mua mountain, visitors can enjoy the view of the majestic mountain scenery, the winding rivers and the golden rice fields.
Van Long Nature Reserve
Located in Gia Vien district, Ninh Binh province, Van Long Nature Reserve is considered the largest wetland nature reserve in the Northern Delta. Rowing on the boats to discover the Reserve, visitors can easily see the rare white langurs, along with many other rare species of birds, animals and plants. In addition, it owns 32 caves with their unique features, of which the most famous and beautiful is the Ca (Fish) Cave. On top of that, Van Long is also a spiritual tourism site with the 600-year-old Thi (Gold Apple) tree, Chi Le pagoda, Mai Trung pagoda, Dich Long pagoda and cave, relics of Dinh Tien Hoang temple and Thanh Mau temple worshiping four Generals Hong Nuong, Thanh Son Tu Pagoda which is halfway up the mountain, etc.
Thung Nham bird garden
Located in Ninh Hai commune, Hoa Lu district, Thung Nham bird garden is home to hundreds of birds species with a population of about 50,000. Sitting on a rowing boat, visitors can admire the beauty of the heavenly pristine land which is hard to find anywhere else, watch flocks of white storks flying across the sky, or learn the habits of the birds living here, etc.
Bai Dinh Pagoda
It’s the biggest pagoda in Vietnam, possessing a lot of records such as owning the biggest bell tower in Vietnam, the biggest statue of Maitreya, or the longest corridor of Arhat, etc. It is truly the next stop you should not ignore when you come to Ninh Binh. Bai Dinh Pagoda’s festival takes place from the 6th of the first month of the year (according to the lunar calendar) until the end of March every year, attracting hundreds of thousands of tourists to visit, pilgrimage and discover famous tourist sites around the Pagoda such as: Van Trinh Cave, Cuc Phuong Forest or Hoa Lu Ancient Capital.
Ninh Binh’s specialties
Yen Mac fermented pork rolls
The cooking technique of this famous dish is quite elaborate. It has a light pink color and is freshly marinated with spices and guava leaves. Enjoying Yen Mac pork rolls, visitors will feel both the sweetness of the pork and spiciness from garlic and chili, or a little sour taste from guava leaves, with the strong aroma of lemon and fish sauce, all of which make the characteristic flavor of this special dish that eaters will remember forever .
Ninh Binh rice crust (Com chay)
Rice crust is one of the most famous culinary specialties of Ninh Binh. Delicious rice crust has a light yellow color; it is brittle but still flexible, fleshy but not too fatty.
Kim Son Wine
Ranked in the top 10 delicious wine specialties of Vietnam, Kim Son wine is distilled from glutinous rice, medicinal herbs and produced according to the secret recipes of Kim Son people. Wine is sold in most restaurants in Ninh Binh, however, you should go to Ninh Son district to enjoy the authentic and the true essence of this wine.
Other notes:
- Ninh Binh is a city with very good security, of gentle and friendly local people. However, tourists should not bring many precious assets when going to tourist destinations, instead better leave them at the safe of the hotel’s receptionist; also do not go to remote places late at night.
- When sitting on a boat to travel through caves, visitors should pay attention to the boatman's instructions to avoid hitting the rocks in the cave or sinking the boat leading to accidents; visitors are required to wear life jackets and comply with the regulations of the tourist areas.
- Tourists who climb mountains at some attractions such as Trang An, Bai Dinh, Tam Coc, etc. need to wear compact clothes, bring drinking water and wear sport shoes; do not wear shirts or pants that are too short, keep the environment clean and keep quiet when visiting temples and pagodas.
Some travel schedules to Ninh Binh for your reference:
Hopefully the "Ninh Binh's Travel Experience From A to Z" that JTA Tours shared above will provide you with useful information before your tour in Ninh Binh. If these information are useful to you, please share or save the article for reference when needed.
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