Head to the southeast of Hanoi about 90km, Trang An Landscape Complex occupies a huge area of 6,172ha of Hoa Lu, Gia Vien, Nho Quan, Tam Diep Town and Ninh Binh City. The complex is also covered by a buffer zone of 6,268ha with rice fields and villages. Including three protected areas which are Hoa Lu Ancient Citadel Cultural – Historical Area; Trang An – Tam Coc – Bich Dong Scenic Area and Hoa Lu Special – Use Primary Forest, Trang An Landscape Complex has both cultural and natural values that are really needed to be preserved. In 2014, it was recognized as a World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site by UNESCO based on 3 aspects: culture, aestheticism and geology – geomorphology.
As for culture, there were many valuable archaeological shreds of evidence found in Trang An like intact, shells, animal bones, pottery, kitchen tools, stone tools and human remains that proved for the appearance of ancient human over 30,000 years ago. Nowadays, Trang An has its famous with many temples, pagodas and palaces that serves a lot for the spiritual life of Vietnamese.
In term of aesthetic values, the karst tower landscape of Trang An is one of the most magnificent place remaining the rustic beauty in the world. Trang An has a mighty array of cone-shaped rock towers rising from the land and water with narrow incorporate ridges that look like mythical enormous swords surrounded by a hundred wavy streams and green rice paddies spreading out to the horizon.
Last but not least, Trang An also has an outstanding and diverse array of classical karst landforms like depressions (cockpits), valleys (poljes), rockfall collapse structures and deposits, subterranean caverns and rivers, caves and speleothems.
