Vietnam - Trang An Landscape Complex

"Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex (Viet Nam) is inscribed as a mixed natural and cultural property. Situated on the southern shore of the Red River delta, Trang An is a spectacular landscape of limestone karst peaks permeated with valleys, some of which are submerged, and surrounded by steep, almost vertical cliffs. Exploration of some of the highest altitude caves that are dotted across the landscape has revealed archaeological traces of human activity dating back almost 30 000 years. They illustrate the occupation of these mountains by hunter-gatherers and how they adapted to climatic and environmental changes. The property also includes Hoa Lu, the old capital of Viet Nam in the 10th and 11th centuries, as well as temples, pagodas, paddy-field landscapes, with villages and sacred sites..

The visually spectacular Trang An karst limestone landscape rises from the vast flat coastal floodplains of the Day and Van Rivers. The property covers 6,172 hectares. It is mainly made up of three contiguous protected areas:
1) Hoa Lu Ancient Capital
2)Trang An - Tam Coc - Bich Dong Scenic Area along the Sao Khe River, with fields for rice and other crops and farming villages
3) Hoa Lu Special-Use Primary Forest, where excavations of a series of limestone caves in recent years have provided evidence for seaso

Source: UNESCO World Heritage

I visited Ninh Binh, south of Hanoi and took a tourist boat ride through the rice fields and underneath the caves. Thanks to Victor of Singapore, who went on this same tour, for sending me this wonderful postcard which brought back fond memories. Nice stamp of Vietnamese pho noodles used. Postmarked Hanoi August 4, 2010 and arrived in Penang on August 12, 2010.