Lung Khuy Cave

Between Hà Giang's big names like Mã Pí Lèng and Lũng Cú, Lùng Khúy Cave is easy to overlook. But if you want something different from passes and viewpoints, it's well worth the detour: a short climb up a mountainside, then a step from bright daylight into a cool, quiet world of stalactites and stalagmites. Locals call it the 'first cave of the plateau', and many visitors rank it among the most impressive caves they've seen.

The cave is named after Lùng Khúy, the Hmông village at the foot of the mountain, and the name is said to mean 'dragon in the rock'. Geologists believe the limestone here formed in an ancient sea more than 400 million years ago, and the area around it is full of karst peaks, valleys and sinkholes. Lùng Khúy lies within the Đồng Văn Karst Plateau UNESCO Global Geopark.

For a long time the cave stayed hidden: its original entrance was only about 1.5 m high and 1 m wide, covered by trees and vines. Locals opened it to visitors at the end of 2015, widening the entrance into a small gate and adding paths and lights inside. Surveys put the whole cave at about 517 m long and 31 m deep, with an area of nearly 15,000 m² and four openings at around 850-1,100 m above sea level - though visitors only see part of it.

The cave is about 45 km from Hà Giang city and about 10 km from the former Tam Sơn town (now part of Quản Bạ commune). Follow National Highway 4C over the Bắc Sum pass to Tam Sơn. Near the turn-off for the Quản Bạ Twin Mountains (Núi Đôi), a narrow concrete lane leads off the highway - coming from Hà Giang, it's on the left just past a Petrolimex petrol station - and runs about 4-5 km through very scenic farmland to the village and parking area. Parts of the lane are worn and potholed, so take care if you're not a confident rider; buses can't get down it.

There are two ways in. The lane from the junction is the one cars can use, though they may not get all the way to the village. The other, opposite a restaurant on Highway 4C, is very steep and narrow and better suited to motorbikes.

The Walk Up

From the parking area at the foot of the mountain, a stone path of about 1.2 km (some visitors say closer to 2 km) winds up the slope to the cave - turn right in the village and follow the marked path. The first and last sections are steep, with the final stretch a long flight of steps up to the ticket office; the middle is easier.

Allow 30-45 minutes. The views make up for the effort: the Quản Bạ valley, cornfields, Hmông houses with rammed-earth walls and yin-yang tiled roofs, and, in season, mustard flowers or plum blossom. Alternatively, locals offer motorbike rides up a lower road to a small parking area close to the entrance, from where you join the path on foot.

Inside, the cave is huge and cool, staying at around 18-20°C year-round. A solid walkway with handrails and wooden boardwalks runs a one-way loop of roughly 300-400 m: in along the right-hand side and back along the left. Along the way you pass dense clusters of giant stalactites, stalagmites, stone columns and curtains in strange shapes, and you can hear water dripping from the ceiling into small pools.

The lighting is a soft warm yellow rather than the bright coloured lights of more commercial caves, and the formations are largely untouched. Some smaller side spaces can only be reached by crawling.

It rarely feels crowded - many visitors find only one or two other groups there. The downsides: tourism here is still basic, it's very humid inside, the cave could be cleaner, and several sections have broken lights and are quite dark, so a headlamp helps a lot.

Lùng Khúy is one of the first stops on the Hà Giang Loop, so it fits easily into day one alongside Quản Bạ Heaven Gate, the Twin Mountains and Lùng Tám village. A good rhythm is to leave Hà Giang city in the morning, stop at the Heaven Gate, then head to the cave before lunch. Allow 1-2.5 hours in total - quicker if you just want a look, longer if you like taking photos, studying the formations or are in a big group.