Halong Bay is surrounded by the city of Halong, Cam Pha Town and the Van Don Island District. Part of Quang Ninh Province, it spans 1,553 square kilometres and contains 1,969 islands of various sizes. Halong Bay is always at the top of tourist’s travel list when visiting Vietnam.
With its dramatic landscapes, culture, people and food, Halong has everything you need in a dream holiday. If you a little more need persuading, here are 5 reasons to make you fall in love with Halong:
1. World Natural Heritage & New 7 Natural Wonders of the World Site:
Halong Bay was recognized by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage in 1994, as a way to recognize its immense beauty and preserve the natural landscape for future generations. Halong bay has stunning scenery,and is the most popular tourist destination in Vietnam for both domestic and international travelers.
In 2011, Halong Bay was declared one of the official “New Seven Wonders of Nature” (www.new7wonders.com) because of its unique beauty and ecological significance. It shares this honor with the Amazon River, Iguassu Falls (Argentina/Brazil), Jeju Island (South Korea), Komodo (Indonesia), Table Mountain (South Africa) and Puerto Princesa Underground River (The Philippines).
2. Spectacular mountain and sea scenery
The terrain of Halong Bay encompasses islands and mountains interspersed between sea valleys and limestone cliff islands. This creates wonderful scenic contrasts of rock, water and sky. Halong Bay underwent limestone tectonic processes about 500 million years ago, and Karst formations over 20 million years. This process created thousands of limestone towers and caves, each with its own distinct shape, and they are unlike any islands or bay areas in Vietnam. Halong Bay has 14 endemic plant species and about 60 endemic animal species that have been discovered among the thousands of plant and animal populations here.
This combination of limestone islands, caves and marine life makes for a breathtaking scenery in which travelers cannot help but marvel at its beauty.
3. Clean, sandy beaches
Halong Bay has many beautiful beaches with white sand, turquoise sea and a cool breeze, making it ideal for tourists seeking a beach vacation. Many of them are relatively untouched and wild, while others have been developed with facilities for tourists. The favorite beaches visited here are Titop Beach, Ngoc Vung Beach, Quan Lan Beach, Bai and Chay Beach.
4. Entertainment Activities
Halong offers a variety of different types of tourism, from sightseeing, culture and shopping to adventure sports. There is rich culture to be explored and you can spend time experiencing the daily lives of the local fishermen and islanders to gain a better insight into Vietnamese culture..
You can watch the sunrise or sunset on the desk of the cruisers and admire from above (seaplanes, the top of Titop, Poem Mountain), visit some famous caves, rocky islands, fishing village of Halong Bay. For adventurous travelers, who will experience the special feeling when surfing on the waves with water motos, kayaking through stone islands, swimming under the blue waves, or hiking in the Titop island, Soi Sim island to enjoy the majestic scenery of Halong Bay.
With many commercial centers and markets in the city center, you can spend some time browsing for souvenirs, clothing and seafood, in particular, Halong has some pearl farming areas, and travelers can learn about the painstaking process of inserting the nucleus into the oyster for cultivation, how they extract the pearls after several years of growth, and of course, you can pick up some beautiful pearl products such as rings, earrings, necklaces and shell souvenirs.
5. Fresh Seafood
Vietnamese cuisine is justifiably renowned worldwide, and travelers to Halong Bay will be spoilt for choice with the delicious seafood on offer. Served everywhere, from hotels, streetside restaurants to aboard the myriad cruise boats, it is a seafood lover’s haven. Marine life is abundant in the bay, and the dishes created are highly nutritious while being cooked in a variety of ways to suit all tastes.
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