Dong Van Karst Plateau

Dong Van Karst Plateau was recognized as official member of the Global Geo-parks Network (GGN) on October 3, 2010, in Lesvos (Greece) for its prominent values on landscape, palaeobiology, geology, geomorphology and local culture. It has become the first geo-park of Viet Nam and the second one in Southeast Asia (after Langkawi Geo-park in Malaysia).

Located on an altitude of 1,000m-1,600m, the 2,350 square km Dong Van Karst Plateau is one of Viet Nam's special limestone areas which house prominent imprints depicting the development of the earth's crust. 80% of the karst formations of Dong Van Plateau are limestone created by environment conditions and different development stages of nature.

Vietnamese scientists have improved that many relics which produced a stir in the world geology sector. The milestone seams here with the thick of up to 4,000 meters have not ever been found in any region in Southeast Asia. The found fossils showed the appearance of organism on the plateau 500 million years ago. According to these scientists, there are only five moments when species were extinct, two of them were found on ancient fossils in Dong Van plateau. These discoveries are very important for researching of shaping process of the earth’s crust. The scientific information will bring in wonderful surprises for tourists on the travel to explore the stone plateau besides natural beauties and geomorphic sceneries.

What to see:
1.     Rock Gardens: Owing to weather changes and Dong Van's geo-diversity, the karst evolution has formed "rock gardens" and "rock forests" of diverse forms in the area. The Khau Vai rock garden (Meo Vac) is just stunning, tourists can contemplate the peaks of rocks in the shape of various kinds of flowers.  Lung Pu rock garden (Meo Vac) has animal-shaped rocks such as tiger and dragon; Van Chai rock garden (Dong Van) contains round flagstones arranged like thousands of black sea lions.

2.     Terraced rice fields: Tourists will find a common thing here which is the ranges of mountains running one after another to form pyramids heading up to skies. All of them are now dotted with green corn fields and golden rice fields as a result of hard work of ethnic minority groups. In addition, a large number of caves and grottos found in the Dong Van Plateau provide a proof of the evolution of karst. Rong Cave in Sang Tung (Dong Van), Kho My Cave in Tung Vai (Quan Ba), En Grotto in Van Chai (Dong Van) are all great destinations in the area.

3.     Ethnic groups: In addition to geological, geomorphology and scenic values, Dong Van Karst Plateau reflects traditional cultural richness of 17 ethnic minority groups who have lived with the rocks for thousands of years. These groups include H’mong, Dao, Lo Lo, Tay, Nung, etc. Moreover, Pho Bang, Dong Van, Lung Cu, Sa Phin markets which are coupled with time-honored ethnic festivals, rituals, customs and culture of local people all enhance the unique charm of this plateau.

4.     Amazing topography: Visiting Dong Van District, tourists will be amazed by the uniqueness of the stone plateau such as the Ma Pi Leng mountain pass that is 2,000 meters high than the sea level. It is the border area between Dong Van district and Meo Vac district. Standing on the pass, tourists can physically touch clouds flying over it. Down the valley, terraced fields spread out with colors of grass-green and citrine, like hugging each mountain. In the distance there are some houses with rock fence, cows grazing and roads like huge pythons linking villages together.


How to get there:
From Hanoi, tourists take a local bus to Ha Giang City along the National Road No. 2. Then, from Ha Giang City, tourists travel on National Highway 4C for 43km to Quan Ba District through Can Ty Pass. There are stunning pine forests, steep drops, deep ravines, and razor sharp turns along the way before tourists reach to the karst plateau. This place is both mysterious and majestic with treacherous paths.