Itinerary:
Hoa Lư was the capital of Vietnam in the 10th and 11th centuries. It lies in Truong Yen Thuong village, Truong Yen Commune, Hoa Lư District, Ninh Bình Province, Vietnam. The area is one of ricefields broken by picturesque limestone mountains, and is approximately 90 km south of Hanoi. Together with Phat Diem Cathedral, Tam Cốc-Bích Động, Bái Đính Temple, Trang An, and Cuc Phuong, Hoa Lư is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Ninh Bình Province.
In the late 10th century, Hoa Lư was the capital as well as the economic, political and cultural center of Đại Cồ Việt, an independent Vietnamese polity founded in 968 A.D. by the local warlord Đinh Bộ Lĩnh (posthumously known as Đinh Tiên Hoàng, or “First Dinh Emperor”), following years of civil war and a violent secessionist movement against China’s Southern Han Dynasty. Hoa Lư was the native land of the first two imperial dynasties of Vietnam: the Đinh founded by Đinh Tiên Hoàng, and the Early Lê founded by Lê Đại Hành. Following the demise of the Le Dynasty, in 1010 Lý Công Uẩn, the founder of the Lý Dynasty, transferred the capital to Thắng Long (now Hanoi), and Hoa Lư became known as the “ancient capital
Tam Cốc is a popular tourist destination near the city of Ninh Bình in northern Vietnam. The Tam Cốc (“three caves”) portion is a three-hour excursion by small boat along the Ngô Đồng River, beginning at the village of Van Lam and proceeding through a scenic landscape dominated by rice fields and karst towers. The route includes floating through three natural caves (Hang Cả, Hang Hai, and Hang Ba), the largest of which is 125m long with its ceiling about 2m high above the water. The boats are typically rowed by one or two local women who also sell embroidered goods.
* Detailed Itinerary:
07:00am, we’ll start our motorbike tour by riding through the city then following the High Way No 1 via some suburb districts of Hanoi like Thuong Tin, Phu Xuyen and Hanam province to get to Ninh Binh
At around 10:30am, we arrive at Hoa Lu Ancient Capital. In 968, Dinh Bo Linh declared himself as the King. Since then Hoa Lu existed as the capital for the next 41 years (968 – 1009), of which 12 years was under the Dinh dynasty – King Dinh Tien Hoang, the country named Dai Co Viet, and 29 years later was under the Le dynasty – King Le Dai Hanh. In 1010, King Ly Thai To moved the capital from Hoa Lu to Thang Long – present day Hanoi. Hoa Lu became the old citadel. In Hoa Lu there are now 2 temples have been built on the ground of the old royal palace, one is dedicated to King Dinh Tien Hoang, the other is to King Le Dai Hanh. The visit offers a chance to know more about part of feudal dynasties and historical periods in Vietnamese history.
11:30am, we’ll jump on our motorbikes to keep heading to Tam Coc at around 12:00pm. Right here, we’ll have a lunch at a local restaurant being served with goat meat which is famous as the local specialty .
1:30pm, 5 minute-walk to the boat station and start a 2-hour boat trip to visit Tam Coc. Known as “Halong Bay on land”, Tam Coc are three limestone caves stretching along Ngo Dong river. The boat trip is a nice journey along the river with peaceful scenery of limestone mountains, rice paddy and the site of some temples along the way from Hang Ca (first cave) to Hang Hai (second cave) and Hang Ba (third cave).
4:00pm, we’ll be ready to jump on our motorbikes again to ride back to Hanoi. Arrive Hanoi at 19:30. Finish unforgettable full day trip at your hotel in Hanoi!
* Inclusions:
+ Motorbikes
+ Gasoline
+ English speaking guide
+ Entrance fees to indicated sights
+ boat trip in Tam Coc
+ Lunch at a local restaurant
+ Bottled Water & coffee
+ Protection equipments for your elbows & knees and helmets
