Exploring mysterious caves in Da Dung Mountain

By Mai Ly in Kien Giang

Da Dung Mountain, also known as Chau Nham Son Mountain or Bach (White) Mountain, is a national landscape endowed with primitive beauty which gives new meaning to discovering the mysteries of nature.

Located in Son My Commune, Ha Tien Town in Kien Giang Province, a small town 8km from the Cambodian border in the Gulf of Thailand, Da Dung Mountain is a magnificent masterpiece of nature. The mountain is just 100 meters in height but has over 14 caves filled with ancient legends.

From Ha Tien Town, 6 kilometers along National Road 80 heading to Xa Xia border gate and two kilometers from Thach Dong Cave, reaching Da Dung Mountain is an adventure. With an admission ticket priced at VND2,000, the adventure starts with a crossing of 1,300 meters toward the caves.

Each cave has its own private secrets and strange shapes: Than Kim Quy (Golden Turtle) Cave is a large rock in shape of a turtle, Doi (Bat) Cave has a stalactite in the shape of a wine gourd while Bong Lai (Elysium) Cave is filled with fresh air creating a fanciful scene of clouds hanging in mid air.

Kho Qua (bitter melon) Cave has stalactites in shape of giant bitter melons and a monk who is lightly nodding his head thoughtfully towards Sam Hoi (penitence) Cave. Visitors will be overwhelmed with a very cold and stuffy feeling as they descend into Cong Troi (Haven’s Gate) Cave, but as they reach the core they will experience fascinating sensations when they see the shimmering of the cave’s gate.

Some caves are linked together creating a mysterious labyrinth with stalactites in diverse shapes. Echoes can be heard resounding from rock walls as rhythms of drums when tourists slap their chests in Trong Nguc (Chest Drum) Cave, or as the limpid melodies of a bell when tapping on stalactites in Lau Chuong (Bell Tower) Cave.

Da Dung Mountain is also famous for Lady Chua Xu Cave and Coi Hang Da Cave, formerly known as the home of Thach Sanh and, according to legend, where Thach Sanh drew a bow and shot a giant eagle to rescue Princess Quynh Nga.

Da Dung Mountain is also home to many white egrets as this eco-environment is still fresh with clusters of mountain inserting swamps and grass fields and forest. It is a rock castle, with hundreds of natural bastions and bell-towers, and folk tales and legends.

(from The Saigon Times Daily)

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