(HBO) - Thac Bo Cave is not only an attractive site of spiritual tourism in the festive season but also a renowned destination in tours of the Da River reservoir.
Thac Bo Cave in Suoi Hoa commune (Tan Lac district) is an
attractive destination for both Buddhist pilgrims and tourists.
Located in Bung hamlet, Suoi Hoa commune, Tan
Lac district, Thac Bo allows tourists to let their imagination run wild among
stalactites and stalagmites.
During the dry season, visitors must climb
nearly 100 stone stairs from the foot of the mountain to enter the cave. During
the flood season, boats carry visitors straight to a floating bamboo dock that
runs roughly 50 metres to the cave entrance. From the entrance, tourists can
look over the Da River, mountains and forests.
Dinh Son Tung, head of the district’s Culture
and Sports Bureau, said locating 100m deep in the mountain, the unique cave was
formed tens of thousands of years ago and divided into three areas, with the
first resembling a big living room. Thac Bo Cave holds a wonderful sight with
stalactites of all sizes and shapes – some look like carps, others look like a
tree, an umbrella, or a gong of the Muong ethnic group.
Many have even dubbed the cave as a giant
lithophone with its sounds created by mineral-rich water seeping down to the
stalactites.
The stalactites also pile up to form an altar
measuring about 50m high where people worship the Buddha. Stone pillars
naturally growing in the cave look like statues of the Buddha.
Visitors to Thac Bo pray for good luck, good
health and peace and explore the natural scenes.
There is a long list of nearby attractions that
visitors can add to their trip, such as the Ba Chua Thac Bo Temple, Trach
stream, Ngoi Hoa Cave and local ethnic villages like Ngoi and Muong Giang Mo.
Visitors should also take the chance to explore
special culture and delicacies of the Muong group./.
Hoa Binh has taken measures, focusing on removing barriers in terms of mechanism, policy, infrastructure, and upgrading technical infrastructure facilities serving tourism and the quality of human resources, to promote tourism development in the Hoa Binh Lake area.
Over the past time, Da Bac has deployed measures to lure more domestic and foreign visitors to the locality, aiming to turn tourism into the district’s economic spearhead.
Covering an area of over 52,000 hectares spanning districts of Mai Chau, Tan Lac, Cao Phong, Da Bac, and Hoa Binh City, Hoa Binh lake has strong potential for tourism development. In recent years, thanks to the attention of local Party Committees and authorities as well as support from international organisations, the advantages of tourism in the lake area have been utilised.
Mai Chau is a mountainous district and home to many ethnic groups such as Thai, Muong, Kinh, Mong, Dao, and Tay with distinctive cultural identities, creating a diverse and unique cultural treasure. Aware of its advantages, the district has paid attention to the preservation and promotion of ethnic groups’ cultural values so that culture will become a leverage for tourism and contribute to socio-economic development and life quality improvement.