Nho Quan is where you can "refresh" your two-day weekend trip to Ninh Binh, with experiences unlike previous trips.
Ninh Binh with Trang An, Bai Dinh, Phat Diem stone church, Tam Coc - Bich Dong... are familiar destinations for many tourists. However, Ninh Binh is a place with many other interesting experiences to suit your upcoming trip. The two-day itinerary below is for tourists departing from Hanoi and neighboring provinces to Nho Quan, a place located in the northwest of Ninh Binh.
Day 1
Morning
The journey from Hanoi to Ninh Binh follows the Phap Van - Cau Gie expressway, National Highway 1A and DT477 to stop by Chau Son Monastery. Visitors should note that traffic jams often occur at the city entrance on Saturday mornings.
Chau Son Monastery was built in 1939, located in a quiet mountainous area, near the intersection of three provinces: Ha Nam - Hoa Binh - Ninh Binh. The first time you see the Monastery, you will feel like you are in Europe.
According to the Ninh Binh Department of Information and Communications, the design of the monastery is in the Gothic style with a 0.6m thick surrounding wall and 1.2m thick columns, creating warmth in winter and coolness in summer. The highlight of the monastery is the columns designed into small symmetrical towers 64m long. Outside the church are paintings of Jesus carrying a cross in prayer. Inside the church is a wide corridor with natural light. The garden space has hundreds of cool green trees and is carefully tended.
Note, you need to prepare polite clothes, do not wear revealing or short clothes. "You will not be able to go inside if you wear shorts or tank tops. The time is also quite tight, so it is best to contact in advance to have enough information," said a tourist from Hanoi.
On weekdays, the monastery limits visitors so visitors will not be allowed to visit. On the occasions when there is a mass at the beginning of the month, the church will be open to visitors after the prayer time: Morning: 8:00-10:30 (Sunday to 10:00) and afternoon from 14:30 to 16:30 (Sunday from 15:30-16:30) except during Lent (around March) and the retreat in early August.
Noon
There are not many restaurants around Nho Quan area. So there are two options: go to the resort and eat at the restaurant there, or stop by any restaurant along the road.
"We went to a restaurant called Vuon Bia Lau Nuong, right on Highway 12B, only about 5 km from Chau Son Monastery as suggested by Tripadvisor and Google Maps. This is a cool garden restaurant, with rustic dishes. The vegetables are grown right in the home garden," said Ms. Ha, from Hanoi. The restaurant has also received many good reviews.
Afternoon
Check in to a hotel, such as Cuc Phuong Resort, about 10km from Chau Son Monastery and about 3km from the main gate of Cuc Phuong National Park. In addition to Cuc Phuong Resort, visitors to this area can stay at Trang An Golf & Resort or Vedana Ninh Binh Resort, with prices ranging from 1 million VND to 2 million VND per night.
More affordable is Cuc Phuong Hotel from 200,000 VND per night. Inside the National Park near Mac Lake there are stilt houses and hotels with prices from 150,000 VND to 800,000 VND per night.
In the afternoon when the sun sets, you can relax in the resort grounds with a walking path or a light jog of about 5 km and at the resort swimming pool. If you are not staying in the resort, walking or taking sunset photos by the rice fields on the newly completed wide and beautiful road leading to the gate of Cuc Phuong National Park is an alternative.
For dinner, enjoy local specialties such as grilled goat and chicken at the property or one of the restaurants recommended by Tripadvisor including Thao Linh, Cuc Phuong, 1.5 to 2.5 km from the National Park gate.
Day 2
The second day is a journey to explore Cuc Phuong National Park. If you come here around April, you will admire the butterfly season flying all over the sky. At other times of the year, the experience is light trekking, walking or cycling in the peaceful green space. After breakfast, you check out and move to Cuc Phuong National Park.
You should spend at least two and a half hours exploring Son Cung Cave because the walk to the cave entrance takes quite a long time. The path to the cave is full of trees and there are some sections where the trees are hard to walk. In addition, you also have to climb many steps. The cave is still primitive and quite dark, so prepare a flashlight. One of the highlights of the caves in Cuc Phuong National Park is its primitive appearance.
The path to the thousand year old tea tree.
You should prepare water along the way because walking can make your body lose a lot of water and get tired. On the journey, don't forget to visit the thousand-year-old tree . This is a giant tree 45 m high, 5 m in diameter and has a circumference that more than 20 people can hug around.
"To explore Son Cung cave and the Cho tree, you should drive into the center of the forest. Remember to dress neatly. You should wear pants and long-sleeved shirts to avoid scratches and possible leeches," Ms. Mai, a tourist from Hanoi, advised.
If you are traveling with a group of friends or colleagues, you should rent a bicycle and leisurely stroll through the forest. If you are physically fit, you can cycle straight into the center of the forest for about 20 km and rest, camp, and have a relaxing lunch. Note that the road has many steep sections. If you just want to cycle for fun, you can challenge the 7 km from the forest entrance to the Ancient People's Cave.
Thousand-year-old teak tree. Photo: Hoang Long
If you have children, the ideal choice is to visit the rescue center, the conservation of flora and fauna (with a tour guide), then drive into the center of the forest, on the way you can trek a short distance (about 1.5 km one way) into the ancient tree, or climb about 100 steps to reach the cave of the Ancients. Arriving at the center around noon, you will walk to a large grassy area, where you can camp, have lunch and relax, children can draw, play group games...
Families can also choose to join a tour to release wild animals such as birds, monkeys, reptiles, wild cats, civets... into the wild in the primeval forest. When joining the tour, visitors will cross the forest, admire the pristine scenery and visit some points of the national park. The tour is limited to 15 people at a time so as not to affect the release activities.
"There are many areas in the forest where there is no phone signal. There are also no restaurants. Therefore, you should bring light food and drinks such as bread or cakes, cold cuts...", Ms. Mai added. Note that you need to clean up when eating and drinking in the forest.
Entrance fee to Cuc Phuong National Park is 60,000 VND per adult, 10,000 VND per child, 30,000 VND for a car, bicycle rental is 120,000 VND per day.
In the forest, it gets dark quite quickly. Around 4:30 pm, you should end the trip and return to Hanoi.
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