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| Inside the freshly discovered cave. (Photo: VNA) |
Locals in Truong Son commune, Quang Ninh district, are behind the discovery, and they call the area the Son Nu (mountain girl) cave, confirmed Hoang Trong Duc, Chairman of the Truong Son People's Committee.
Located near such ecotourism destinations as Cha Rao and Cha Cung streams, the cave is approximately 1.8km long, with a width ranging from 20m to 50m and an average height of about 35m. To reach its location, people need to cross about 7km of convenient transportation and 2km of a trail alongside a stream.
It features an underground stream originating from the Vietnam-Laos border. In summer, the water level inside the cave is not significant, allowing local residents to paddle through. The boat journey from its entrance to exit takes a little over an hour.
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| Limestone formations inside the cave. (Photo: VNA) |
According to Duc, the People's Committee and relevant agencies have conducted an on-site survey to assess the overall cave structure, aiming to develop adventure tourism in the area in the near future.
Quang Binh is home to Son Doong Cave, accredited as the world’s largest and most beautiful natural cave by the World Records Union and the World Records Association./.
Moc Chau, Cuc Phuong National Park honored at World Travel Awards 2023
According to VOV, popular local tourist destinations including the northern highlands town of Moc Chau and Cuc Phuong National Park were honoured at the 30th annual World Travel Awards (WTA) held on September 6 in Ho Chi Minh City.
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| Attractive green tea hills in Moc Chau |
According to the results, Moc Chau, which is home to the world's longest glass bridge in the mountainous province of Son La, was crowned as 'Asia's Leading Regional Nature Destination' and ‘Vietnam’s Leading Regional Nature Destination' for the second consecutive time.
Back in 2022 Moc Chau was also named as the World's Leading Regional Nature Destination.
Moc Chau represents the gateway to the northwest and is the stopover for inter-regional tours such as Hanoi - Son La - Dien Bien Phu - Sa Pa - Lao Cai, transnational tourism routes such as Hanoi - Son La - Luang Prabang of Laos – Thailand, and Son La - Lai Chau - Yunnan of China.
The average local temperature is 20 degrees Celsius. In the winter, from Pha Luong and Mt Van Ho, visitors are able to view the beautiful 50,000-ha plateau through a thick fog.
The site typically charms tourists with many beautiful and unique natural landscapes such as majestic Mt Pha Luong, poetic Dai Yem Waterfalls, and Doi Cave with its magnificent natural stalactite system.
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| Cuc Phuong National Park (Source: Ninh Binh provincial Department of Tourism) |
Meanwhile, Cuc Phuong National Park, a scenic tourist destination located in the northern province of Ninh Binh, was named as ‘Asia’s Leading National Park’ by the World Travel Awards for the fifth consecutive year.
Situated 120 kilometres from Hanoi, Cuc Phuong is the country’s first national park and founded on July 7, 1962.
Covering an area spanning 22,000 hectares of land in 14 communes of four districts under the three provinces of Ninh Binh, Hoa Binh, and Thanh Hoa, the national park boasts enchanting scenery and offers a stunning range of biodiversity.
According to surveys, Cuc Phuong boasts 2,234 floral species of 931 genera and 231 families. Included in these are 430 species of medicinal plants and 229 species of edible plants, with 57 species being listed in the Vietnam Red Book of endangered species and also in the IUCN Red Book.
The WTA was launched back in 1993 to acknowledge excellence in the travel and tourism industry. The annual event has been dubbed as the ‘Oscars’ of global tourism.
Ha Giang named Asia's leading emerging destination
The northern highlands province of Ha Giang has been named Asia's leading emerging destination, VNA cited the saying of Vice Chairman of Ha Giang provincial People’s Committee Tran Duc Quy.
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| Xin Man district in the northern highlands province of Ha Giang. (Photo: VNA) |
At the World Travel Awards (WTA) 2023 held in Ho Chi Minh City on September 6, the northern mountainous province which is famous for its dangerous mountain passes beat nine other rivals to the honor, Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei, Flores in Indonesia, Koh Kood in Thailand, Melaka in Malaysia, Morioka and Okinawa in Japan, Phnom Penh in Cambodia, Sumba Island in Indonesia, and Taipei in Taiwan.
“Asia's leading emerging destination” is an important category in the WTA, focusing on evaluating related criteria such as environmental landscape, cultural identity, heritage values, security, safety, and civilised friendly people, and experiences.
Being honored at the award known as the "Oscar of the world tourism industry", Ha Giang's image has been enhanced, affirming its important and solid position on the regional tourism map, Quy said. The award is a clear testament to the efforts that the Ha Giang tourism industry has made.
According to the provincial official, the province has mobilised resources to develop its tourism, improve tourism linkages with other localities in Vietnam and promote its tourism on digital platforms.
According to the provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the province attracted about 2.3 million visitors in 2022, and posted tourism revenue of over 4.5 trillion VND (187 million USD).
In the first eight months of this year, it welcomed more than 1.9 million visitors including nearly 189,000 international visitors. Total tourism revenue was estimated at nearly 4 trillion VND.
Ha Giang tourism has been developing in a sustainable way, turning the province into an attractive destination for domestic and international tourists and gradually becoming a key economic sector of the province.
Ha Giang is an old land, home to more than 20 ethnic groups, the Mong, Tay, Dao, Nung, and Giay, who have their own traditional culture, lifestyle and customs, plus exciting festivals for visitors and researchers.
The region embraces many historical relics and majestic landscapes, such as the Heaven Gate, the Quan Ba double mountains in Quan Ba district; the Mong King’s Vuong Palace, the Lung Cu National Flag Pole in Dong Van district; the Ma Pi Leng Pass in Meo Vac district; and picturesque terraced fields in Hoang Su Phi, and more. They attract many visitors to come for fun or for research.
In 2010, the Dong Van Karst Plateau in Dong Van district was officially recognised by UNESCO as a global karst geo-park, the first of its kind in Vietnam and the second in Southeast Asia (after the Langkawi Park in Malaysia)./.