Facts about Trinh Nu (Virgin) Cave

Last updated on

March 7, 2019

In the previous article, Trinh Nu (Virgin) Cave was introduced from the “word-of-mouth” perspective so that we know about the legend of how the cave’s name is originated and its love story behind. This article will unveil the reality side of Trinh Nu Cave and allow readers to have a better understanding of this gorgeous attraction.

Geography

Trinh Nu Cave is situated in the core of Halong Bay at a longtitude of 107006’26” East and a latitude of 20050’04” North.

It is located on two wings of a small mountain arc in the east of the Bo Hon island chain on Ha Long Bay. Trinh Nu Cave is more than 3 km southeast of the Sung Sot Cave, about 500m away from the Trong (Male) Cave to the North, 16km away from Tuan Chau International Port to the East, and about 14km from Ha Long city center to the Southeast.

Structure

Trinh Nu Cave has a form of chamber with levels, sloping walkways, and 02 gates facing each other. They are about 15m high and 25m wide. The cave is surrounded with a system of stalagmites and stalactites with columns developed centrally and the gate to Northwest. The whole cave can be divided into three adjacent compartments.

2. Signature values

Aesthetics

This gorgeous cave has been discovered for a while. It is spacious with mystical nature scene. Lights gone through the cave make the stalagmites and stalactites sparkling and show their vibrant shapes as a lady with long hair elegantly looking out to the ocean. These stalagmites and stalactites glisten and are poured down from the ceiling like chandeliers. Towards the Southeast, it is absolutely a pristine scene whilst looking at the emerald seawater and standing-tall plants.

Geology

Trinh Nu Cave is a relic of the ancient karst cave and belongs to the fossil, chamber, and stratification cave group. The cave is 5-10m above the sea level. Fronting the Northwest gate is a beach made of sand mainly and animal shells. Scattering on the beach are massive stones covered by moss.

Majority of the stalagmites and stalactites have stopped developing, yet a few are still growing in the second compartment, whose cracks still allow raindrops to go through.

In the third compartment towards the Northeast gate, limestone blocks were collapsed due to a large underground stream flushing through the sea. This stream has abraded and dissolved the limestone beneath to cause hollow floor, which led to the fall.

Biodiversity

Inside Trinh Nu Cave, there is a tiny pond. According to the study of Bois Sket and Peter Tronteli, University of Liubliana, Slovenia, this pond contains 3% salt and has the living sign of the Alpheoid shrimp that lives in the salt water environment. A sample of Calanoid copepod – Bathynellacea is also found here. The interesting thing is this group only lives in freshwater and nearly impossible to be found in the seawater. There are also some kinds of bats and birds that often immigrate inside this cave.

A variety of vegetation is largely seen across the cave and many of them are seasonal.

History & Culture

Trinh Nu cave is one of archaeological relics of Ha Long culture and has been formed for 4,500 years. The culture presented a thriving culture of fishermen upon a large scale.

Currently, on the left side of the cave, there is a thin layer of sediment with an area of about 4m2 under a large rock consisting of shells and broken miscellaneous stuffs, including ceramic pieces that carried Halong culture’s signature. These show the area used to be a port from 14^th-16^th century. As the relics located nearby the cave gate and due to influences of tides and people coming over, the culture foundation has almost been destroyed completely.

In addition, Trinh Nu Cave is a relic of revolution history. During the Vietnam War, the cave was one of the focal points of the “No Number Ship”, which only transferred weapons and bullets from the North to support the South. The cave was also the Marine’s base camp with responsibility to secure waterways across Halong Bay.

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Trinh Nu Cave has been revamped and cleaned up to be friendlier with the Nature. It is also a new attraction exclusively exploited by Bhaya Cruises to allow guests from all over the world to come over and witness its mythical beauty. The building of Trinh Nu Cave is quite massive and can fit to different types of event. As included in our new routes, this venue will surely bring a fresh air to our passengers and hopefully inspires the love message from the ancient time.