Van long floating village - Kenh ga geyser, 1 day
Kenh Ga floating village - The landscape is stunning with hundreds of limestone peaks jutting out of the emerald green paddies Vietnamese fishermen rowing boat with their legs, kids herding ducks & buffaloes and people living in the house boats are all daily scenes. We drive to Kenhga and then have boat trip along the small river to visit floating fish farm, floating village, limestone formation, and local people. Opportunity to see rural life of peaceful hidden village by the river. You will visit "Te" grass village of Luu Thuong. (well-known traditional village of Luu Thuong - "Te" grass village, Luu Thuong is under Phu Tuc town, Phu Xuyen district, Hatay province). Visit wood turning village of Nhi Khe (Nhi Khe village, Nguyen Trai commune, Thuong Tin district) where is famous for its wooden turning carreer with a hundreds year.
| - Length of the trip | : 1 days |
| - Trip Starts from | : Hanoi city |
| - Trip Ends in | : Hanoi city |
| - Required booking time | :15 hours for individuals and 5 days for group in advance |
| - Rates per person | : 59$ - Nomal (Vietnamese lunch) |
| - Rates are valid from 1 Janualy 2008 |
Details of Tour:
AM (7h30): Pick up you at office and leaving Hanoi for Van Long then have a boat trip around natural caves and grottoes, admire the wonderful landscape of the tourist area. 12h00 Picnic Lunch. PM (12h30): Take about 3 hours road ride to the ferry-boarding a boat and cruising along Hoang Long river (that is mean the Dragon river), admits beautiful shaped limestone formation, rice paddies to visit the floating village Kenh Ga (Chicken Canals-see lonely page). Life and activities on the river watching is water puppet on the theatre (you can imagine). You can will to see Hot mineral-Spring (Natural stream). 15h30 transfer back to Hanoi. End of tour.
Tour price:
| Price | Group | Private | Booking |
| Standard | 59$ | 1 pax | 2-3pax | 4-6pax | over 7pax | BOOK |
| 125$ | 83$ | 56$ | 42$ |
The trip includes
The car with air-condition
English speaking tour guide
Meals specified in tour program
All entrance, permission and visiting fees
The trip excludes
Visa to Vietnam
Departure airport tax
Meals which are not included in the program
Personal travel & medical insurance
International flights to and from Vietnam
All personal & daily expenses
All gratuities and tips to drivers and guides
Note: Surcharges for peak seasons, Christmas and New Year Holidays, lunar New Year Festival, extras for room, air tickets upgrades shall be applied
General information about Ninh Binh:
Geography
Ninh Binh Province, which covers an area of 1420.7 sq. km, is more than 90 km far from Hanoi. It borders Ha Nam Province in the north, the South China Sea in the east, Thanh Hoa Province in the south, and Hoa Binh Province in the west. On geographical aspect, Ninh Binh has favorable conditions for economy and trade development.
Ninh Binh lies in the Red River Delta Area, being influenced by Hanoi Capital and the economic growth triangle of Hanoi, Hai Phong & Quang Ninh. This special advantage enables Ninh Binh to become an important link as a distribution center of the Northern Delta to Central and Southern Vietnam, and for barter with Laos and Cambodia.
Topography
As Ninh Binh is situated in the area adjacent to the Red River Delta and the sedimentary rock band in the west, and in the depressed area of the Red River Delta adjoining the South China Sea, it has a diverse topography. It encompasses plains, mountains, hills, depressed area and coastal area. On topography, Ninh Binh has three distinct geographical areas:
Mountainous area and semi-mountainous area comprise of limestone mountain range, sandstone mountains and soil hills intermixed with narrow valleys, marshes, and low-lying fields around the mountainsides. This area possesses natural minerals, especially limestone, which is potential for production of building materials, such as cement, and for tourism development as well as for growing fruit trees and industrial crops. Delta is an alluvial land, which is suitable for agriculture development to meet domestic consumption and export demand. Coast and sea are favorable for growing crops and husbandry, and exploitation of onshore and offshore resources.
Climate
Ninh Binh lies in the intertropical monsoon zone. There are four seasons, including spring, summer, autumn and winter. It is often cold in the winter because of the influence by coastal climate, forests and mountains with a relatively dry weather by early winter and wet weather in the second half of winter. It mean annual temperature is about 23 °C with lowest temperature ranging from 13 °C to 15 °C in January and with highest temperature of 28.5 °C in July. The total hours of sunshine are more than 1,100 annually. Ninh Binh’s weather is determined by two monsoons. The winter monsoon lasts from November to March while the summer monsoon starts in May and ends in September
Other typical traditional festivals
Festival of Thai Vi temple
The festival is organized annually on 14-17 March of lunar calendar in Van Lam village, Ninh Hai commune, Hoa Lu district with the purpose of commemorating Kings Tran. The festival is composed of two parts:
Objects of workship: is carried out under two ways, namely procession and sacrifice. The procession is performed by over 30 teams coming from communes in Hoa Lu district and others within the province. After procession, sacrifice is implemented.
Entertainment activities: performing kylin dance and dragon dance, playing human chess, wrestling, rowing, etc. All these activities take place in Thai Vi temple.
Festival of Dich Long temple
The festival is held annually on 6-7 March of lunar calendar in Dich Long pagoda in Gia Thanh and Gia Vien districts. The festival includes two parts:
Workship: consists of thurification and Buddha worship.
Entertainment activities: performing kylin dance, dragon dance, playing chess, competing in writing Han scripts, etc.
Festival of Bai Dinh pagoda
The festival is held annually on 6 January of lunar calendar in Sinh Duoc village, Gia Sanh commune, Gia Vien district. The festival comprises two parts:
Workship: includes thurification and commemoration of heroic martyrs.
Entertainment activities: are taken about 3 days, including playing chess, wrestling, etc.
Bao Ban Non Khe Festival
The festival is held annually on 14 January of lunar calendar in Non Khe communal house in Yen Tu commune, Yen Mo district. The festival includes two parts:
Workship: includes sacrificing, thurifying and commemorating the founders of village and commune and heroic martyrs; respectively informing Thanh Hoang of success and fondness of learning of childrens of the village and achievements that the village got in a year earlier.
Entertainment activities: including the same folk games of other festivals.
Festival of Nguyen Cong Tru temple
The festival is held annually on 13-15 November of lunar calendar in Nguyen Cong Tru temple in Quang Thien commune, Kim Son district. The festival also includes two parts, namely worship and entertainment activities with such folk games as kylin dance, dragon dance, chess, etc.
Travel to Van Long Nature Reserve in Ninh Binh
Travel to Van Long Nature Reserve, Van Long Nature Reserve is located about 90 kilometers south of Hanoi. Near the Hoa Lu old capital and Tam Coc-Bich Dong sites, the nature reserve is a must-see destination for tourists visiting Ninh Binh Province.
The Van Long Nature Reserve lies amidst the seven communes of Gia Vien District on the northeast section of the province and 17 km. from the town of Ninh Binh. The reserve extends over 3,000-hectares and is the largest in the northern plain. Tourists who come to admire the reserve will have the opportunity to view rich flora and fauna within the most bio-diversified wetland in Vietnam, according to research by national and international scientists.
The eco-tourism destination was built by the Association of Forest Investigation and Zoning based on a community self-management model sponsored by the Embassy of the Netherlands in Vietnam. This model has helped to promote community participation in terms of conservation and the sustainable use of biological resources to maintain the riverine wetland ecosystem of Van Long Nature Reserve in Ninh Binh.
The reserve boasts 457 higher order species of plants including eight species recorded in Vietnam's Red Book. Van Long's fauna includes 39 species of birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish. Some of these species have been classified as globally endangered animals such as the white-breeched langur. There are currently only 50 langurs in the world.
Starting at Van Lam wharf, tourists can view the varied landscape of the Van Long wetland via basket boats. The natural scenery featuring imposing mountains and tranquil reservoirs offer peaceful surroundings that put tourists at ease. The surroundings are so calm and quiet that tourists can hear the sounds of the oars rowing, the fishes swimming and the birds singing. The reservoir water is clean and bears the green color of the water-plants and mosses from beneath.
Traveling deeper on the reservoirs, the scenery becomes wilder and is as beautiful as a watercolor painting with a flock of white storks within the mountain peaks and dragonflies flying up the face of the reservoir. The boats will float through mountains with intriguing names such as Meo Cao (scratching cat), Co Tien (lady fairy), Mo Coi (orphan) and Hon Sach (book); each of these names are rooted in old Vietnamese legends and folk tales.
Along with the diverse fauna and flora in Van Long Nature Reserve, there are also 32 beautiful caves such as Ca (fish), Rua (tortoise), Chanh (lemon) and Bong (shadow) caves waiting to be discovered. Each cave is beautiful, but according to the locals, Ca Cave under the foot of Hoang Quyen Mountain is considered the most beautiful and the longest (250 meters). There are many kinds of fish in the cave. People say that a black fish weighing 45 kilograms was once caught here, which gave the cave its name.
The other caves include Thung Doi (Bat), the tallest one (210 meters) and Bong, the widest (16 meters). There is also a cave named Luon (creep), where tourists have to bend down when passing through its gate to avoid the stalactitiles from the ceiling of the cave.
When passing through, tourists will discover a lake, surrounded with the walls of mountain.
Visiting Van Long, tourists should not also miss the other cultural relics such as the tree of fig, aged 600 - year - old, Chi Le and Mai Trung pagodas, the temples of Le Kha Lang, the Nguyen God, the pagoda and Dich Long cave, the remnants of Dinh Tien Hoang King temple and the picture in the wall of Meo Cao Mountain. Before leaving Van Long, tourists could not forget tasting the specialty of Ninh Binh Province, a dish made from the meat of mountain goat and chicken.
Tourists could visit Van Long Vietnam for one day or spend a night at Van Long Resort of Thao Son Co. to enjoy the fresh air of the rural area. The resort is located at Gia Van - Gia Vien - Ninh Binh, tel: (030) 641 290, email: info@thaoson-vanlong.com.vn.
Kenh Ga Floating Village
Not far from this Vietnam's ancient capital lies the small fishing village of Kenh Ga. To many the name will be unfamiliar, but then this is often the case with well-kept secrets. The name actually means Chicken Canal and is derived from a local hot sprin
Over a millennium ago after centuries of Chinese occupation, Vietnam's first independent dynasty was founded at Hoa Lu in the northern province of Ninh Binh. In choosing the location for his new capital, King Dinh Tien Hoang decided to base himself amongst the area's rugged mountains, fed by a system of water currents which would surround the capital, forming natural barriers.
Today Hoa Lu has become a popular tourist destination as people flock here to be rowed through this scenic landscape. The area is commonly referred to as 'Halong Bay on land' and justifiably so as the gigantic towering limestone outcrops are very reminiscent of those in Halong Bay.
Not far from this Vietnam's ancient capital lies the small fishing village of Kenh Ga. To many the name will be unfamiliar, but then this is often the case with well-kept secrets. The name actually means Chicken Canal and is derived from a local hot spring which water is used to soak chickens to make it easier to pluck their feathers.
Set on the banks of the Hoang Long River, Kenh Ga is a remarkable place, not only because it is surrounded by the same massive rocks that dominate Hoa Lu, but also because for most of the year the entire community lives on the water itself. The floating village of Kenh Ga receives relatively few visitors compared to nearby Hoa Lu and the peoples' aquatic way of life has changed little over the centuries.
The principal reason for its lack of visitors is that the village is accessible only by boat. Gliding along the river and canals, weaving one's way through the boathouses and fishing vessels of Kenh Ga is a unique experience for there is no other place in Vietnam that combines the stunning backdrop of the limestone cliffs with an authentic floating village.
I decided to discover the people and way of life of Kenh Ga on a traditional rowboat. The first thing that struck me was just how friendly the villagers were. On the banks of the river women stopped washing their clothes to wave at this strange-looking visitor. They shouted 'Hello' and 'Tay', which means westerner.
Most of the villagers looked upon my arrival with amusement, as they could not imagine why I would be interested in their simple rustic ways. And yet that was the very reason for my being there - to witness a way of life that is slowly but surely disappearing in Vietnam as she rushes headlong to embrace all things modern.
The canals that interlace the area were a hive of activity, as people went about their day, re-enacting scenes that had been played out here for centuries. Fishermen stood chest-deep in the murky waters pulling plants from the riverbed to feed their ever-hungry catch which were kept in bamboo fish traps lining the banks. Elsewhere, concrete-bottomed barges laden with rocks and stones from the nearby quarries chugged slowly by, their bows straining to stay above the water line.
An old man in an even older boat rowed past me, shepherding a hundred or more ducks downstream using a long bamboo stick to which end a bright piece of cloth was attached. The ducks obediently filed past my boat, their concentration unbroken; their attention fixed on the cloth.
As I glided through another canal, I glimpsed an amazing sight - women rowing their small boats using their feet! This they appeared to do with the greatest of ease and it should come as no surprise as the villagers spent most of their lives on the water. It began when they were children being ferried to and from school by boat.
However, not everybody lives on the water, and aside from the floating homes there are also a number of rough- hewn stone cottages that cling to the imposing cliff face. When the rainy season comes, many of the villages' residents abandon their boathouses and seek shelter on higher ground in these rustic homes.
After a fascinating afternoon on the water, my boatman ushered me back to the 21st century in the form of my waiting vehicle. Many will tell you that time travel belongs in the realms of science fiction, but just briefly that day at Kenh Ga I managed to catch a glimpse of another age.
Ninh Binh - a spa for all seasons
"I don't know what the water contains but I thank god that my son is now healthy and can play with his friends without disturbing us..."
Nguyen Thi Thu says that a dip in the Kenh Ga hot mineral springs cured her son from the scabies that caused him to itch for a year. Thu, from Ha Noi's Hai Ba Trung District, took the five-year old to the spa in Ninh Binh Province, north of the capital, after a friend had been similarly cured. Kenh Ga is just 21km north-west of Ninh Binh Town.
"It's easy to reach by bus, motorbike or boat," says Tourism Promotion Centre Bui Van Manh.
"The boat takes you up the legendary Hoang Long River to the freshness of the mountains, rice fields and the Kenh Ga floating village and hot springs.
"The landscape is very beautiful and travellers can enjoy the province's river life."
The French tested the spring during the 1940s. They found its temperature was a a constant 53 Celsius and the water contains carbon dioxide, sodium, and bicarbonates. The water is excellent for skin ailments such as scabies and vitiligo. Villager Truong Chi Binh swears that drinking from Kenh Ga spring cures a variety of stomach ailments and obesity.
Elderly Luong Thi Chi recalls that in the 1960s visitors included Chinese from Viet Nam’s northern border who took to the spa for their health. The flow of people was so great that they built their camps at the foot of Hang Ca Mountain on the left bank of the Hoang Long River, source of the springs.
There the water bubbles and steams. It tastes of salt and acid, Chi says: People queue for days to a take a bottle of it home with them.
The Dich Long Temple at Kenh Ga is built 80m up a mountain of the same name.
Dich means flute and Long means wind. On its right is a grotto where people pray to statues of the Buddha amid colourful stalactites of different shapes and sizes. On its left is the Toi or dark grotto with a big, round and very smooth stalagmite rising from the ground that looks like a women's breast. Entering the cave gives the feeling of entering a work of art that has been carved by a hand carved by a hand so skilful, no man could ever emulate. Beyond the Toi is the Sang, or light, grotto that carries the name because it opens to the wind. When a breeze plays on the conical limestone formations they sound like flutes.
The Dich Long festival begins on the sixth day of the first lunar month and goes until the end of March. In addition to Dich Long, the Kenh Ga springs are also close to two other popular sites in Ninh Binh Province, Van Trinh and Van Long. Van Trinh cavern, is just 30 minutes from Kenh Ga by boat and at 3,500sq.m matches the Thien Cung Cave in Ha Long Bay.
Van Trinh, or as the locals call it, Giang Tien, is located in Mo Mountain in Nho Quan District's Thuong Hoa Commune. Legend says that a young fairy wanting to help the local people feed their children found the place so marvellous that she chose the cave as her living quarters. The fairy's swimming pool inside the cave is always filled with clear water. The poor sought the fairy's help by leaving a piece of cloth in the temple as an offering. When they returned, they found the cloth had been replaced with a baby's jacket that helped the child grow quickly. The people repaid the fairy by building a temple in her honour at the foot of Mo Mountain.
The Van Long Forest hosts many species of flora and fauna including conifers, Tibetan bear and the king cobra. It has a range of mountains – Nghien, Hom Sach, Da Ban, Meo Cao, Co Tien, Voi Dung, Canh Cong and Mo Coi - reachable reached by boat. Van Long also boasts 32 caves. The most attractive is the Ca (Fish) at the foot of Hoang Quyen Mountain.
