Quang Binh Guide - All you need to know
Lying in the middle of Vietnam, Quang Binh is located about 170km north of Hue and 488km south of Hanoi. Quang Binh is famous for not only beauty spots but also interesting cuisine.
Famous for Son Doong – the world’s biggest cave, Quang Binh is definitely worth your visit if you are an explorer of nature. The province is about 500km away from Hanoi capital, which shares its eastern border with the East sea and western border with Laos. Despite having two borders with only 50km distance, Quang Binh has so much to offer, from diverse topography of gorgeous mountain and coastal lines to white sandy beaches.
Ken Cave in Tu Lan Cave System
Coming to Quang Binh, travelers have the chance to explore UNESCO-heritage Phong Nha – Ke Bang National park, Son Doong cavern, ancient Dong Hoi citadel, and many other tourist attractions, which promises you a fulfill historical, cultural, and landscape discovery adventure.
At first, Quang Binh belonged to Van Lang kingdom. Then it became a part of Cham kingdom before Dai Viet took over with Ly Thuong Kiet’s victory.
Afterwards, a prince of Nguyen Lord settled in the province and turned it into a strong state called “Dang Trong” – a rival of de facto Dang Ngoai. Under Nguyen Lords, Quang Binh was an important front to defense Dang Trong from Dang Ngoai’s attack.
During French and American colonial period, Quang Binh was a stronghold of Vietnam Northern communists. Throughout wars, the province was severely damaged by bombing and battles.
Besides being a shelter from battlefields, Quang Binh is also the home of many famous Vietnamese persons such as Ngo Dinh Diem (the president of Southern Vietnamese before 1975), poet Han Mac Tu, and general Vo Nguyen Giap.
Name main history attraction:
Paradise Cave: Paradise Cave is newly discovered in Vietnam and considered as the largest cave systems in the world, making it a must-visit destination of a lifetime. The cave is a natural wonder belonging to Phong Nha Ke Bang National Park. Located in Son Trach Commune, Bo Trach district, Quang Binh Province, this cave is recognized by Unesco as a World’s Natural Heritage in 2003. Tourists travelling to Paradise Cave will be satisfied with its spectacular ecosystems and never-before-ng through the sli﷽ wonder full seen scenery. Visitors will get to explore the adventurous journey to see the mysterious beauty of stalactites, stalagmites living and maturing in the cave, sailing through underground streams of 60 - 100m long, wading through cool springs to get to Gieng Troi - a natural wonder welcoming you with wonderful sun rays. If you are a nature lover, the cave is destined for you to explore with its variety of flora and fauna.
Paradise Cave in Quang Binh
Phong Nha Cave: Phong Nha Cave, also known as "Phong Nha-Ke Bang World Natural Heritage", is one of the most interesting tourist attraction site in Binh Thuan Province, distinguished by its magical and stunning beauty inside the cave. Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park was set up to protect one of the world's two largest karsts with about 300 caves and to preserve the northern Truong Son ecosystem in the North Central region of Vietnam. The main attraction of this national park is the limestone formation in 300 caves, underground rivers with many rare and precious species. The caves have a total length of more than 80 km but only 20 km has been explored, including 17 km in Phong Nha area and 3 km in Ke Bang area. So far, tourists can explore up to 1500 meters of the cave which includes some remarkable caves in Phong Nha cave system are Dark cave, Cha An cave, En cave, Tien cave and Palace cave.
Culture (ethnicity, living custom, religious belief, special tradition and festival, etc.)
Quang Binh province has about 900,000 locals, including mostly Kinh and some ethnic minorities such as Bru-Van Kieu, and Chut. The province is still being developed to escape poverty, however, the locals are still friendly, and hospitable.
Throughout a year, Quang Binh hosts some traditional festivals besides the nationwide popular ones such as Nghe Temple Festival, Xuong Dong Festival, and Cau Ngu Festival. Xuong Dong and Cau Ngu festival are organized yearly in December and June to express gratefulness for good crops, and pray for safe fishing trips.
Weather:
(How many season - Weather of each season - Which is the best time for traveling)
Located in a tropical region which bears both Northern and Southern climate, Quang Binh has two main seasons. Rainy season lasts from September to March with an average rainfall from 2,000mm to 2,300mm per year, which may cause interruption to your plan visiting the place’s famous hidden caves due to water increase. Hence, travelers are suggested to come to Quang Binh during its dry season (from April to August). During this season, weather is more gentle with 24- 25 degree Celsius, and clear blue sky.
Transportation:
Nhat Le Bridge in Quang Binh
As a strategic located province, you can conveniently travel to Quang Binh by land, railway, and airway. Travelers are recommended to travel with tourism agency for best convenience of getting there and visiting the iconic attractions.
TRAVEL TIPS
- Local specialties needed: Besides visiting natural attractions, travelers should spare time to try Quang Binh specialties since these kind of dishes are not available anywhere else in Vietnam. The locals offer wide variety of dishes to explore such as banh canh Ba Don, rice cakes, local wine, snakehead noodle soup, etc.
- Pack your bag carefully: Quang Binh traveling requires many different preparations such as rain, heat, rough terrain, cave exploring, forest walking, beach swimming, etc. Therefore, you should think throughout your traveling plan while packing your bag in order not to suffer from any difficult time.
