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Situated in
the centre of the UNESCO-declared World Heritage
area, Sung Sot or Surprise Grotto is on Bo Hon Island, and
is one of the finest and widest grottoes of Halong Bay.
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.
A narrow passage leads to the second rooms, where a flow
of light meets visitors. 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.
It is
situated in the central tourism centre of the bay, as well
as Ti Top Beach, Bo Nau Grotto, Me Cung Grotto and Luon
Grotto. French named it "Grotte des surprises" (Grotto of
surprise)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. 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.=
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 Giong (Saint
Giong) helped the population to chase away evil spirits
and demons. After this feat, Saint Giong flew to heaven,
leaving a stone horse and sword to continue to keep the
demons away.
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