Ninh Binh

Small boats follow waterways between the limestone peaks and pass through a string of caves cut under the hills. About four people share a boat, rowed by hand, and each route takes two to three hours. Duck your head where the cave roofs drop low.

Boats are rowed along the Ngo Dong River through rice fields and out through three caves. Some rowers work the oars with their feet, a sight people come for. Late May and early June, when the paddies on both banks turn gold, are the busiest.

Seat of the Dinh and Early Le dynasties from 968 to 1010, a basin walled by hills. Temples to emperors Dinh Tien Hoang and Le Dai Hanh survive; the palace went once the Ly moved the court to Hanoi. A 10-minute drive links it to the Trang An ticket office.

A new temple complex covering a whole hillside, a corridor of 500 arhat statues climbing it from foot to top. Halls holding a huge bronze Buddha and bell crown the slope. The gate is far from the main hall, so people usually ride the electric cart.

Close to 500 stone steps lead to a stone dragon lying on the crag, with Tam Coc's river and paddies winding below. The steps are steep and shadeless, so skip midday; at sunset the summit runs out of room for photographers.

Three pagodas, lower, middle and upper, stacked up one mountain, the middle one set inside a cave. You can cycle from the Tam Coc pier, and it is quieter in the afternoon than in the morning when the boat crowds pass.

Father Tran Luc built it of stone and timber in the late 1800s, outwardly a tiled Vietnamese temple. Dozens of whole ironwood trunks form the columns, and a large pond lies in front. It is some 30km southeast and shut to sightseers during Mass.

Declared Vietnam's first national park in 1962, with a forest trail to a tree reckoned a thousand years old. Near the entrance an endangered primate rescue centre lets you see langurs up close. In April and May clouds of butterflies cover the paths.

A flooded limestone basin grown with reeds, where the endangered Delacour's langur lives on the crags. Only rowed bamboo boats go out, no motors, so it is calmer than Trang An. The langurs show on the rocks in the early morning or the late afternoon.

A temple to the Tran kings where the dynasty's first emperor is said to have retired in the 13th century. It sits in the paddies behind Tam Coc village, down a dyke path, its stone gate and pillars mossy. Most visitors pass it by, so it stays quiet.

A valley forest walled in by limestone peaks, where thousands of egrets fly home to roost at dusk. Row into the channels under the trees as they settle, and the branches above turn white. By day the birds are mostly gone; arrive toward evening.

Homes and boats crowd the Hoang Long River here, and even the school run goes by water. Boats from the landing thread through the village and upriver to a hot spring in a limestone cave. The water stays warm all year, drawing bathers even in winter.

A small pagoda set in a cave midway up a limestone cliff near the old capital of Hoa Lu. Climb the steep stone stairs, pass through the cave and a still pond appears, ringed by peaks. Tour groups skip it, so it stays quiet even at midday.