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Sung Sot Grotto
Location: Situated in the
centre of the UNESCO-declared World Heritage
area, Sung Sot or Surprise Grotto is on Bo Hon
Island.
Characteristics: It is
one of the finest and widest grottoes of Halong Bay.
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Ascending to the grotto, the way is covered by trees
and foliage and consists of great paved stone
blocks. Inside, it is partitioned into two chambers;
the first one being similar to a wide theatre hall.
Many stalactites hang from the high ceiling, with
numerous possible forms and shapes. From the wharf,
you climb 50 steep stone stairs to the mouth of the
grotto, which lies 25m above the sea level. Going
down some 10 stone stairs, you reach the mouth of a
grotto. The grotto covers some 10,000m2. Inside the
grotto there have thousands of stalactites and
stalagmites along the 500-meter paved passage.
A narrow passage leads to the second rooms, where a
flow of light meets visitors. Light posts line the
passage and serve as signposts and ornaments. The
lighting system with elegant styles adds more charm
to the beauty of the grotto. The chamber is so
immense it could contain thousands of people at one
time.
At the deepest point of the grotto, a "royal garden"
appears with a clear pond and a seemingly
fascinating landscape of mountains. Many birds and
plants (benjamin figs, cycads and centenary banyan
trees) live here. On nice days groups of monkeys
might arrive in search of fruit.
Up in the 30-meter roof of the grotto, one can
figure out small, soft and even concave spots, which
look like patterns in the ceiling of a theater. A
huge piece of stone stands up to the ceiling by the
grotto’s mouth. This evidences one of the typical
karst-style grottoes with high scientific values.
At the side of the entrance, the rock seems to form
the shape of a horse with a long sword. Legend has
it, that after having defeated the An aggressors,
Thanh Dong (Saint Dong) helped the population to
chase away evil spirits and demons. After this feat,
Saint Dong flew to heaven, leaving a stone horse and
sword to continue to keep the demons away.
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Source:
TCDL
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