Halls of stalactites
Under coloured lights.
xiquinhosilva from Cacau — CC BY 2.0 · xiquinhosilva from Cacau — CC BY 2.0 · xiquinhosilva from Cacau — CC BY 2.0 · xiquinhosilva from Cacau — CC BY 2.0
A cave of some ten thousand square metres in the Dau Go group of islands in the south-west of Ha Long Bay, about 4 km from the cruise port. Its name means «Heavenly Palace». It opened to visitors on 1 May 1998, though an inscription on its wall dated 1901 suggests an explorer had been inside long before. The entrance lies about 25 metres above the sea, up a flight of steps. Inside, chambers crowded with stalactites and stalagmites are lit in changing colours, and guides like to point out formations that resemble animals and figures from local legend. At the mouth of the cave archaeologists found layers of freshwater snail shells and stone tools left by the prehistoric Soi Nhu culture. Thien Cung is on route 1 of the day trips, together with its larger neighbour on the same island, Dau Go Cave, which nineteenth-century French visitors called the «Grotto of Marvels». The two take about an hour together.
Under coloured lights.
The «Grotto of Marvels» next door.
From the Soi Nhu culture.
Dau Go islands, south-west Ha Long Bay, about 4 km from the cruise port
They sit on the same island on route 1. Thien Cung is smaller and richer in lit formations, Dau Go is larger and was famous earlier; the two are visited together in about an hour.