The Legend of Múa Cave, Ninh Bình
Múa Cave is a place with a unique name, associated with an ancient legend. It is said that when King Trần Thái Tông returned to Hoa Lư to establish the Thái Vị Temple, he often came to the cave at the foot of this mountain to watch royal concubines and maidens perform dances and music. Since then, locals have called it “Hang Múa,” which means “Dancing Cave.” In English, it is commonly referred to as Mua Caves Ecolodge.
In addition to its poetic charm, Múa Cave also holds historical significance. During the resistance wars to protect the nation, the base of Múa Mountain served as a “mobile hospital,” a place of treatment and shelter for wounded soldiers participating in the struggle.
How to get there?
The Mua Cave (or Hang Mua) is 5 km from Ninh Binh, right next to Tam Coc. Traveling around in this region is very simple, because you can easily rent a bike or a scooter at one of the dozens of rental shops and hotels in the city. It is about a 20 minute ride on a scooter from the city to the Mua Cave and just over half an hour by bike. From Tam Coc it is just 5 minutes.
When you arrive by bicycle or motorbike drive all the way to the end for parking, on the way you will see other people trying to point you to their private parking spot. When you arrive at Hang Mua there is a ticket office next to the parking lot and you have to pay 100,000 dong ($ 4) entrance.
Should you go to Mua Cave in the morning or in the afternoon?
In spring, you should go to Mua cave in the morning to enjoy the cool, fresh air that spring brings to the North region in general and Ninh Binh Mua cave in particular.
In the summer, choose to go in the afternoon when the sky has begun to change color, this is when the weather is at its best, making it easy to take those unique virtual live photos. Remember to buy yourself a quality travel camera to help preserve beautiful photos.
The stairs
Follow the path all the way to the end and you will reach the foot of Mua Cave mountain. You can go left to the Mua cave or you continue to follow the path up the mountain to the viewpoint. The walk up takes only about 15 minutes, depending on how fit you are. There are 500 steps in total.
Viewpoint of Mua Cave
When you take the way up left to the top, you come to the first incredible viewpoint with a spectacular view of the Ngo Dong river below that makes its way around the towering mountains in the valley.
Walk a little further until you reach the top of the Hang Mua Cave, to the second lookout point. The locals call this place “dragon mountain”, you can see a graceful dragon standing here that is built of stone scattered on the ridge at the top. There is also a statue under a sheltered pagoda that is surrounded by incense and food.
If you have taking the stairs to the right at the junction you get to another viewpoint, with great views over the rice fields.
Visiting information Mua Cave
Ticket price: 100,000 VND
Opening times: 6:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Parking
There is parking available right next to the entrance for cars, buses, motorbikes and bicycles for a small fee. Make sure you drive all the way to the end, to the entrance, because on the way locals try to let you park on their terrain.
Food & drinks
There are a couple of restaurants and small food stalls around Mua Cave, even half way on the viewpoint there is a small place to buy some drinks. Though, it is smart, especially on hot days, to bring some water with you.
Accommodation
There are some accommodations close to Mua Cave, most of them you will find in Tam Cac. But there is even a place to stay right at Mua Cave called Mua Cave Ecolodge.
EcoTravel is honored to come with you to enjoy this unique temple!
