Sung sot cave

After breakfast we are heading to Sung Sot cave located on Bo Hon Island. The cave was named by a French explorer who set foot on the island in 1901 and was so taken with the beauty and enormity of the cave that he named it “Grotte des surprises,” which translates as “the cave of surprise” However, it wasn’t until 40 years later, in 1993, that the cave was opened to the public. Known as the largest limestone cave in Halong Bay, Sung Sot Cave features a wide range of rock formations and sparkling stalactites and stalagmites.

We are now boarding a smaller boat that will take us to the cave.

Sailing on a small boat to get to Bo Hon island.

Boats docking at Bo Hon wharf.

The entrance of the cave.

The first thing you see once you get on the island is a tall mountain with lust vegetation and the cave is inside the mountain.

Walking into the entrance of the cave.

There are about 100 steps up to get to the entrance of the cave.

View of the bay as we are going up.

The stairs going up are pretty narrow.

Narrow walkway to the first vista point.

Vista point with magnificent view of the bay.

We have reached the summit and we are now entering the cave. The entrance is quite narrow and you have to go down about 16 ft. to reach the first chamber. The cave is divided into 2 chambers, each with unique traits and beauty.

Once you pass through the entrance the interior of the cave is filled with cascading stalagmites.

It was very surprising to see how big the cave is once you get in an gives an impression of entering an immerse theatre whose ceiling is covered by stalactites and stalagmites.

The Cave has a total area of almost 107,639 square ft., 98 ft. high, and is located 82 ft. above sea level.

The first part of Surprise Cave is considered as an opera house of the ocean. The cave ceiling is like a huge velvet carpet, which is decorated with a lot of splendid stalactites in the shape of chandeliers.

It is so beautiful and so amazing the enormity of the stalactites and stalagmites covering this whole area.

We are now going to the second chamber by passing through a narrow passage way.

Some of the stalactites are pretty low so people have to watch out and not bumping into it along the way.

Gorgeous rock formation along the way to the 2nd chamber.

Surrounding the chambers are plenty of rock formations in various shapes.

The 2nd chamber.

The more you get inside the cave, the more amazed you will be. The second part of Surprise Cave is twice larger than the first part, with the area up to 6,458 square ft.

Close up view of stalagmites that been there for millions of years.

The second chamber is a least 5 times bigger than the first chamber.

The second chamber holds a long-standing legend called “Saint Giong.” (Thanh can be translated to Saint in English) who is a pretty famous figure in Vietnamese folklore, who left these items here to protect Halong Bay from evil demons.

The second chamber is known as the “Serene Castle”. This chamber is large and grand with an extremely high ceiling and has many interesting rock formations.