Full day Van Long Natural Reserve and Hoa Lu ancient town in Ninh Binh

First, you will be picked up at your hotel in Hanoi Old Quarter around 8 am for the day trip to reach Ninh Binh. You will arrive at the Van Long Nature Reserve after a two-hour drive (110km).

 

There, you will board a bamboo rowboat as soon as you arrive for a 2-hour rowing along this beautiful wetland of Van Long and then admire magnificent sceneries surrounded by picturesque rice paddies and towering limestone mountain peaks. The reserve boasts 457 higher order species of plants including eight species recorded in Vietnam’s Red Book. Van Long's fauna includes 39 species of birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish. Some of these species have been classified as globally endangered animals such as the white-breeched langur.

 

After having lunch at a local riverside restaurant, you will make a short transfer down a tranquil countryside road to Hoa Lu, the very first capital of Vietnam eleven centuries ago. Here, you will spend one hour visiting the Dinh and Le temples of the Ancient Capital Hoa Lu which are dedicated to King Dinh and King Le, the founders of the ancient capital during the 10th century.

 

Then in the afternoon, you will return to Hanoi and finish your tour at your hotel around 5pm.