13 Oct 2019 - Hanoi Day 2: Sung Sot Cave (Surprising Cave)

Sung Sot Cave was allegedly first discovered by the French in 1901, who took it upon themselves to name it “Grotte des Surprises”, or Surprising Cave, because of its ‘surprising’ beauty.  The cave welcomed its first visitors in 1993, a mere one year before Halong Bay would receive its first bestowment of World Heritage site status from UNESCO.

The cave entrance is up in the middle of the hill so we had to climb up about 100 steps to reach it.  We were so tired by the time we arrived at the mouth of the cave.  However, it was all worth it once we saw the beauty of the cave interior.

Sung Sot Cave is divided into two main areas. The first one is like an immerse theater. The ceiling of this area is covered by stalactites and stalagmites, which looks like a silky "velvet carpet" with beautiful motifs or a myriad of glistering and aglow chandeliers.

Connected by a small passageway, the second section of the cave covers a staggering 10,000 square meters, which is big enough to hold more than 1,000 people.  The cave is about 30 meters high and sports a 500-meter long passage.

Sung Sot Cave is the largest and most beautiful cave in Halong Bay.  Over the years, we had visited many caves in different countries and this one is definitely the largest that we have ever been to.

At one point, money notes were scattered around by visitors.

Unlike some other caves that we had visited, this cave is not as cold, probably due to the fact that sunlight is able to reach certain part of the cave.

It took us around 45 minutes to walk through the vastness of the cave without much stopping.

Mission accomplished!  As we stepped out of the cave exit, we were presented with a spectacular view of the surrounding.

At this point, we had to walk down the steps, crossed a stone bridge to the other side of the island where we boarded our cruise and got ready for the next stop, Titop Island.

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